Holy Toledo --> Presley Pummels His Accuser!

[drjohncarpenter]

Is this the tape that was suggested and then when we all guessed what it was the drawbridge went up??

Looking forward to hearing it sometime soon though

You may be referring to the alleged recording of a pre-show rehearsal on 12-15-1956 (Shreveport).

[Igotstung]

Great post. I am assuming the lion cub was named after the Hilbilly cat?

I really enjoy the research you put together in an accessible and passionate manner Drjohncarpenter.

[drjohncarpenter]

Great post. I am assuming the lion cub was named after the Hilbilly cat?

I really enjoy the research you put together in an accessible and passionate manner Drjohncarpenter.

Thank you for the kind words!

Yes, the Toledo Zoo named the lion cub after the exciting new singer from Tennessee.


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[drjohncarpenter]

Is this the tape that was suggested and then when we all guessed what it was the drawbridge went up??

Looking forward to hearing it sometime soon though

Anyway, whatever recording was discussed, the time is now to hear something new.

Some of the Ron Ross recording from November 1956 in Toledo was actually posted on SoundCloud in 2019.

It's called "WOWO 90th Special: Part 3 1954-1972."
The segment begins at 8:12 and includes some of his backstage interview, and a bit of his opener, "Heartbreak Hotel."

Direct link:
https://soundcloud.com/user-674387683/wowo-90th-special-part-3-1954?si=2910be247f3d48e4b629bc78c62d80c9&#t=8%3A12


Yeah, the quality is only so-so, but it's still fun to hear. We've had these 1950s questions and answers before, as well as "Heartbreak Hotel," but I do detect a little point of interest in each from Toledo:

• Elvis says "Don't Be Cruel" exactly the way his mom did backstage in Tupelo two months earlier

• "Heartbreak Hotel" has a little bit more of a stop-start rhythm to it

So there's an exciting :70 for your Elvis weekend.




BONUS WOWO

The station shared a "Best Served Youth" Edison Foundation Mass Media Awards with San Francisco's KRON-TV in December 1956.

Surely WOWO's coverage of Elvis live in Toledo played a part.




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[drjohncarpenter]

Looks like the dearth of first-gen fans online extends to almost no one caring about the audio WOWO shared on SoundCloud.

It was his greatest decade, I'll always be thrilled by anything we can find that adds a little more to the puzzle.

There was never, and will never again be, someone like Elvis Presley.

[AndrewJ]

Definitely a fun listen - a little poignent too when he says he's 'never lonely' given the theme of Volume 2 of the Guralnick biography

[drjohncarpenter]

Definitely a fun listen - a little poignent too when he says he's 'never lonely' given the theme of Volume 2 of the Guralnick biography

Of course he did mention the subject just a few months before, when taping "The Truth About Me" magazine disc.

Am I in love? No. I thought I've been in love, but I guess I wasn't. It just passed over. I guess I haven't met the girl yet, but I will. And I hope it won't be too long because I get lonesome sometimes. I get lonesome right in the middle of a crowd, and I get the feeling that with her whoever she may be I won't be lonesome, no matter where I'll be.

[drjohncarpenter]

from what label?? official or non-official??

Hopefully not via a shady, grey market imprint.

Welp, looks like hope is in short supply three weeks later.

[drjohncarpenter]

BONUS RON


WOWO Radio's Ron Ross eventually left the radio (and TV) business to try his hand at politics in the "New Frontier" of the Kennedy era. It was a delight to find he was an impassioned Democratic candidate in 1962 for Indiana's 4th congressional district. He was unable to unseat the incumbent, though.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1962_United_States_House_of_Representatives_elections#Indiana


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[drjohncarpenter]

As members may already know, shady grey market companies have already set wheels in motion to issue the complete, 12-minute recording made by WOWO Radio disc jockey Ron Ross of the 11-22-1956 AS in Toledo, which has been part of this discussion from the start.

Fortunately, you can hear it now on YouTube, uploaded by one of the folks who helped uncover it.

Interview w/Ross
Heartbreak Hotel
Long Tall Sally

[cut]

Don't Be Cruel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mm6HJKJCGmo

The quality is listenable, though Ross offers some narration over the music here and there.

There's a tape break before "Don't Be Cruel" begins mid-song. Perhaps it was damaged, or he missed a couple of songs in-between, like "I Was The One" and "Love Me Tender."

Regardless, Elvis is cool and confident. Nice to hear the tempos aren't rushed on "Heartbreak Hotel" or "Don't Be Cruel."

D.J. Fontana is a powerhouse on drums.

[drjohncarpenter]

A couple of lucky fans, a mom and daughter, got to chat with the star after he finished his second show that Thursday in Toledo.

THE JEWEL BOX

By JUEL REED COVER

[snip]

He Was The Most

Among the thousands of Elvis Presley fans who jammed the Arena in Toledo Thanksgiving Day were many from Port Clinton. But two local ones, Mrs. Bob Gerding and daughter Vicki of Monroe St., got the chance of a long personal conversation with Elvis afterwards.

They met him at the hotel, and he talked with them for a long time while scores of other Presley fans were waiting. Their personal reactions to the noted Elvis are interesting as well as their accounts of the fans' actions.

Port Clinton Daily News - Tuesday, November 27, 1956
https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/709261462/

One wonders what they spent so much time talking about, we'll likely never know. Margaret Gerding passed in August 2007, Vicki lives in Columbus now. Times flies, but memories are forever.

https://www.crosserpriesmanfuneralhome.com/obituaries/Margaret-L-Gerding?obId=4106744