unknown date, possible 1957 ?

unknown date, possible 1957 ?


http://cgi.ebay.com/1958-ELVIS-PRESLEY- ... 5190663d27


Mississippi

If you look at the guys other auctions it looks sketchy. There are some standard studio shots he's offering as vintage wallet sized. Something looks amiss.

unknown date, possible 1957 ?


http://cgi.ebay.com/1958-ELVIS-PRESLEY- ... 5190663d27


Mississippi

thx MS, another great candid from this seller.

unknown date, possible 1957 ?


http://cgi.ebay.com/1958-ELVIS-PRESLEY-in-Car-Signing-REAL-B-W-PHOTO_W0QQitemZ350314970407QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH

Interesting shot.



DJ Fontana, unknown, Elvis - circa September 1957

You can see Presley signing some kind of program with his face on the cover, perhaps for "Jailhouse Rock," and that appears to be D.J. Fontana in the front seat of a very full vehicle.

My guess? This is connected to a live performance from 1957, perhaps September. Recall Elvis had to rehearse a new guitar and bass player (Hank Garland, Chuck Wiginton) for his Friday, September 27, 1957 Benefit Show in Tupelo. Maybe the new gang were taking a dinner break with the boss.

Pushing the theory a tad farther, the fellow in-between DJ and Elvis looks not unlike the new bass player, and Fontana pal.




Chuck Wiginton, Elvis
Friday, September 27, 1957
Benefit Show, Tupelo, MS


The gig was a one-off for Chuck, who was called in by DJ directly and signed no contract -- it was a verbal agreement. Let's hope he got paid. After the show he went back to his day job at a Dallas bank.

From the same ebay seller



Davide

What type of vhicle is Elvis driving
A sedan or wagon?
would like to know
bob

What type of vhicle is Elvis driving
A sedan or wagon?
would like to know
bob

bripet56, where are you?

Pushing the theory a tad farther, the fellow in-between DJ and Elvis looks not unlike the new bass player, and Fontana pal.




Chuck Wiginton, Elvis
Friday, September 27, 1957
Benefit Show, Tupelo, MS


The gig was a one-off for Chuck, who was called in by DJ directly and signed no contract -- it was a verbal agreement. Let's hope he got paid. After the show he went back to his day job at a Dallas bank.

It was a benefit concert... does the artist and/or the band get payed anyway?
And whose responsibility was it to pay the band?

It was a benefit concert... does the artist and/or the band get payed anyway?
And whose responsibility was it to pay the band?

Benefits vary, but it's likely that management took care of paying for the band and related expenses. But it's also likely they figured out some way to quietly make a buck off of the show.

It was a benefit concert... does the artist and/or the band get payed anyway?
And whose responsibility was it to pay the band?

Benefits vary, but it's likely that management took care of paying for the band and related expenses. But it's also likely they figured out some way to quietly make a buck off of the show.

Why your remark about hoping the guy got his money?

The guy on the right could be DJ, or even Gene Smith which would make more sense. The guy in the middle doesn't look much like the picture of Chuck and it would be pretty odd for them to be riding together with Elvis driving to a gig in Tupelo or anywhere else for that matter by 1957. That car, and you'ld have to check with Brian, looks like the big caddy they used at Graceland to haul stuff around in. It's anyone's guess though

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Why your remark about hoping the guy got his money?

1) He was a last-minute sub for Bill Black, not a regular
2) Management had a way of "forgetting" to properly compensate people

The guy on the right could be DJ, or even Gene Smith which would make more sense. The guy in the middle doesn't look much like the picture of Chuck and it would be pretty odd for them to be riding together with Elvis driving to a gig in Tupelo or anywhere else for that matter by 1957. That car, and you'ld have to check with Brian, looks like the big caddy they used at Graceland to haul stuff around in. It's anyone's guess though

Looking at your blow-up, it appears we see DJ, Gene Smith and Elvis.

Smith accompanied Elvis quite a bit back then, including the Tupelo gig. Perhaps Brian's input on the vehicle will shed some light in what they were doing.

Why your remark about hoping the guy got his money?

1) He was a last-minute sub for Bill Black, not a regular
2) Management had a way of "forgetting" to properly compensate people

The guy on the right could be DJ, or even Gene Smith which would make more sense. The guy in the middle doesn't look much like the picture of Chuck and it would be pretty odd for them to be riding together with Elvis driving to a gig in Tupelo or anywhere else for that matter by 1957. That car, and you'ld have to check with Brian, looks like the big caddy they used at Graceland to haul stuff around in. It's anyone's guess though

Looking at your blow-up, it appears we see DJ, Gene Smith and Elvis.

Smith accompanied Elvis quite a bit back then, including the Tupelo gig. Perhaps Brian's input on the vehicle will shed some light in what they were doing.

I'm at a loss on guy in the middle, I can't recognize him to be anyone from that or any other era. Maybe, and I mean maybe, it might be Arthur Hooton or Junior Smith. http://www.pbase.com/jroy/image/59249740
From the poor quality photo, it looks as though the guy has a real short, sloped forehead where most of the other guys had higher hairlines. My guess though would be Arthur http://www.pbase.com/jroy/image/59249741

Man, this is a hard one. I've been spending the entire evening trying to figure out when this photo was taken but I haven't come up with much.

The car LOOKS like a 1955 Chevrolet Station Wagon like the one below but I never heard of Elvis owning such a car. Of course, the car didn't have to belong to Elvis. It's NOT a Cadillac or any of the Station Wagons that we know Elvis owned.

1955 Chevrolet Station Wagon.jpg

It DOES appear to be Elvis on the front page of the magazine or whatever he's signing but I can't seem to find anything that fits.

It looks like the clothes he wore in a couple of photos in one of the Memphis Recording Session books.

And IS is DJ in the right front seat?? Scotty and Bill in the back??

Seems I just ended up with a lot of new questions and not any answers to the photo.

Sincerely
Brian
http://www.brian56.dk

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Great to have you on board Brian. It is an unusual photo.

Do you agree it may be circa Sep '57? If so, that would eliminate Arthur Hooten, he wasn't around then, was he?

It still looks like D. J. Fontana, Gene Smith and Elvis in the front. And there are others in the back.



Given the angle of the car, and what we see in the background, could this have been taken as Elvis was driving out of Graceland? Again, seeing D. J. in the car, it would fit with the late September, Tupelo benefit time frame. There just aren't than many photos like that. And in the other tours that year, IIRC, Elvis travelled separately from the band.

Someone has to buy this and get a better scan.

Another photo, but the same car .


http://cgi.ebay.com/1958-ELVIS-PRESLEY- ... 519072a6aa

Mississippi

Thanks Mississippi for the new photo which shows a very important detail. The program Elvis signed in the first photo seem to be the tour program that was issued in 1957 with a photo from Jailhouse Rock IIRC. I'm at work right now so I can't check to see if it really is this program.

With the new evidence it is obvious that the photo is from the fall of 1957. I don't think it looks like he's driving out from Graceland but I might be wrong.

On this new photo the seller writes that the car looks like a 1955/1956 Ford but I haven't been able to find any photos that fits as well as the Chevrolet I posted above.

I doubt it has anything to do with the Tupelo show as the clothes are completely different as to what we already have from this day.

Sincerely
Brian
www.brian56.dk

It does not look like Graceland



This looks like the top of a palmtree, so my guess is that it is from LA : Sept 4-8 :
leaving the hotel or Radio Recorders Hollywood (Christmas album)

is this the same vehicle that was posted earlier?

It's in the Hard Rock Honolulu

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is this the same vehicle that was posted earlier?

It's in the Hard Rock Honolulu

No Deb, I doubt that even belonged to Elvis. That appears to be a 59 Caddy

I think Brian's right about the chevy but its a 56 or probably a 57, not a 55, the mirror is wrong for a 55 (though if you search for pix of any the mirror is all over the place)





Here's a blowup of the second one, that looks more like Gene to me now than DJ but it still could be either.

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Last edited by JamesVRoy on Thu Feb 11, 2010 6:25 pm, edited 6 times in total.

It does not look like Graceland



This looks like the top of a palmtree, so my guess is that it is from LA : Sept 4-8 :
leaving the hotel or Radio Recorders Hollywood (Christmas album)

That's not a palm tree, that's just the shading (not to say its not LA). If this were an ink blot test I'd say I see half the face of a guy.

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that looks feasable................

Thanks Mississippi for the new photo which shows a very important detail. The program Elvis signed in the first photo seem to be the tour program that was issued in 1957 with a photo from Jailhouse Rock IIRC. I'm at work right now so I can't check to see if it really is this program.

With the new evidence it is obvious that the photo is from the fall of 1957. I don't think it looks like he's driving out from Graceland but I might be wrong.

For the new photo I think you mean to thank E-Cat.

Thanks to E-Cat's shot, my assumptions are verified:

DJ Fontana, unknown, Elvis - circa September 1957

You can see Presley signing some kind of program with his face on the cover, perhaps for "Jailhouse Rock,"

Elvis 1957 Concert Tour Program - cover and inside




This 1957 program in the girl's arms offers a clue to the time frame.

"Jailhouse Rock" premiered in Memphis on October 17, elsewhere in the U.S. within a few weeks after that. Elvis' short tour of Los Angeles hit the city on October 28 (Mon) and 29 (Tue).

Could this photo have been taken before or after one of these shows?

Or could the program have been sold at one of the Los Angeles movie premieres?