What was Elvis' biggest failure as a performer?
Was it his appearance at the Grand Ole Opry in 1955?.....No
Was it Las Vegas in 1956?.....No
Most fans are aware that Elvis' first season in Las Vegas in 1956 didn't go well. The older Vegas audience couldn't relate to Elvis' new sound and performing style and as a result his booking was cut short. Similarly, Elvis bombed when he appeared at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville and there is the often published, but erroneous, story that Elvis was told to go back to driving a truck.
Few fans are aware however of Elvis' other big failure, a failure arguably bigger than his appearances in Nashville and Las Vegas.
The performance in question was Elvis' audition in March 1955 for the Arthur Godfrey Talent Scouts television program. The program was one of the most influential shows broadcast during the 1950s and was the launching pad for many future stars as success on it guaranteed exposure to a national audience and spin-off contracts.
Elvis' unsuccessful audition was the biggest failure of his career for two reasons, firstly, a lack of professionalism from Elvis and his management and secondly, the Las Vegas audience and Grand Ole Opry management were pleasant to Elvis, if not fully appreciative of his talent and groundbreaking performance style.
Elvis' audition for Arthur Godfrey show was arranged by prominent and influential disc jockey, Bill Randle through his association with Max Kendrick in New York where the show was based.
It was reported at the time that as a result of his rejection by the Arthur Godfrey people Elvis was depressed on the plane trip back home.
Interestingly, few Elvis biographies devote much space to the audition. There are only passing references to it in Jerry Hopkins' 'Elvis: A Biography', Peter Guralnick & Ernst Jorgensen's 'Elvis Day-By Day' and Guralnick's seminal work 'Last Train To Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley'.
Frank Coffey in his solid release 'The Idiot's Guide to Elvis' devotes a page to the audition, including: 'Then the country's most important amateur and young professionals talent showcase, the weekly primetime Talent Scouts had given stars like Pat Boone, The Mcuire Sisters and Shari Lewis their first national exposure.'
Coffey goes on to state: 'But Elvis wasn't quite "talented" enough at least not by the standards of Godfrey's people.Was it that Elvis wasn't good enough in their minds? Or was it that he was just too controversial?"
Peter Brown and Pat Boeske in 'Down At The End Of Lonely Street: The Life And Death of Elvis Presley' suggest: "Not photogenic enough" ruled Arthur Godfrey and too "greasy".
The truth is actually very interesting and appears to have nothing to do with Elvis being controversial. It had to do with a lack of professionalism on the part of both Elvis and his management (at the time Bob Neal although
Colonel Parker was loosely involved on the periphery). Quite simply they hadn't thought through what was required to be accepted and successful on Talent Scouts, a program broadcast from a major urban (not rural) city to a national audience.
As noted in Ger Rijff and Jan van Gestel's excellent photo-journal, Memphis Lonesome: 'Presley bombs. He bombs so bad that Kendrick refuses to do anything for Randle in New York for months on end. Says Randle: "Presley forgot the words, picked his nose, and was the antithesis of what Arthur Godfrey looked for in talent. He had a dirty red suit on, food all over it, and his clothing was rumpled. He had terrible acne, he just looked like a bum and he couldn't perform for them, and it was just a disaster, a real disaster."'
15.04.2006, 09:48
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