Publicity photo

I've seen this photo numerous times on the web but unfortunately, no description about it. It's one of my favourite early elvis photos. The tall and greasy pompadour, long sideburns and high collar are a visual representation of how wildly this young man dressed in the early 50s. I assume it dates back to 1953-1954.

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I like this photo a lot, Elvis looks so cool.

In the Peter Guralnick book Elvis Day By Day the photo is from 53-54 and he states that Scotty Moore believes it was taken when Elvis was in high school or shortly after.

And was used as one of Elvis' earliest publicity shots.

I've seen this photo numerous times on the web but unfortunately, no description about it. It's one of my favourite early elvis photos. The tall and greasy pompadour, long sideburns and high collar are a visual representation of how wildly this young man dressed in the early 50s. I assume it dates back to 1953-1954.

Elvis "put his cat clothes on," and wore them proudly. There are photos from both 1953 and 1954 where we see those long sideburns, although the ones from 1953 also show him with a perm, a la 27 year-old movie hero Tony Curtis. It is not a casual shot but a publicity portrait. My guess is this was taken circa April-May 1954, when he was trying to get something going as a singer, despite the indifference to date of Sun Records owner Sam Phillips.

At that time there was an incident which stayed with him forever, although the story got convoluted after fame hit. I refer to the now-legendary "go back to driving a truck" comment often attributed as coming from the Grand Ole Opry's Jim Denny, after Elvis' October 2, 1954 debut. It was actually from a previous rejection a few months earlier, where the statement was made by someone else.

That awful rebuke occurred when Presley joined local Memphis musician Eddie Bond and his group at the Hi Hat Club for a couple of numbers. The date may have been Saturday, May 15, 1954, and Elvis had girlfriend Dixie Locke along with him. He never forgot Bond's curt dismissal. A few years later, traveling by train in late April 1957 to Culver City to film "Jailhouse Rock," Elvis mentioned to pal George Klein that Bond had told him to stick to driving a truck, because he would never make it as a singer. "I wonder what Eddie Bond thinks now, GK," he said. "Man, that sonaofbitch broke my heart."

I believe that this high collar suit is the same one he wore at the 1953 Mid-South Fair fair so it's likely it was taken in 1953-1954. His sideburns are equally as long in both photos.

And thanks for the story doc, I think I might of heard of it before. He sure showed that Eddie Bond guy he was wrong!

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I've seen this photo numerous times on the web but unfortunately, no description about it. It's one of my favourite early elvis photos. The tall and greasy pompadour, long sideburns and high collar are a visual representation of how wildly this young man dressed in the early 50s. I assume it dates back to 1953-1954.

Elvis "put his cat clothes on," and wore them proudly. There are photos from both 1953 and 1954 where we see those long sideburns, although the ones from 1953 also show him with a perm, a la 27 year-old movie hero Tony Curtis. It is not a casual shot but a publicity portrait. My guess is this was taken circa April-May 1954, when he was trying to get something going as a singer, despite the indifference to date of Sun Records owner Sam Phillips.

At that time there was an incident which stayed with him forever, although the story got convoluted after fame hit. I refer to the now-legendary "go back to driving a truck" comment often attributed as coming from the Grand Ole Opry's Jim Denny, after Elvis' October 2, 1954 debut. It was actually from a previous rejection a few months earlier, where the statement was made by someone else.

That awful rebuke occurred when Presley joined local Memphis musician Eddie Bond and his group at the Hi Hat Club for a couple of numbers. The date may have been Saturday, May 15, 1954, and Elvis had girlfriend Dixie Locke along with him. He never forgot Bond's curt dismissal. A few years later, traveling by train in late April 1957 to Culver City to film "Jailhouse Rock," Elvis mentioned to pal George Klein that Bond had told him to stick to driving a truck, because he would never make it as a singer. "I wonder what Eddie Bond thinks now, GK," he said. "Man, that sonaofbitch broke my heart."

I am now revising my guess on this classic portrait to maybe something taken in July or early August 1954, before he temporarily shaved the sideburns back. The reason is because this photo is seen in personal appearance ads after he became a Sun artist, so it must have been a professional PR session.

For example, check this ad for his December 28, 1954 gig at Cook's Hoedown Club in Houston:

a54122501.jpg

Source: http://www.elvisconcerts.com/earlyconcerts/Concert_expand.php?id=51


For the curious, this $1.25 show would cost about $11.00 in today's USD.

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Thanks for the feedback doc! This is definitely a professional shot and thanks to this ad we can be sure this picture was taken pre '55.
What I don't understand is why in some newspapers ad they "photoshopped" his sideburns.

Thanks for the feedback doc! This is definitely a professional shot and thanks to this ad we can be sure this picture was taken pre '55.
What I don't understand is why in some newspapers ad they "photoshopped" his sideburns.

Well, no one Photoshopped anything in 1954.

My guess is the image was altered by whoever created and paid for the ad in the paper, either the venue or management. It may have been done to match Elvis' current appearance.

To make him more "suitable" for the public right?

To make him more "suitable" for the public right?

It may have been done to match Elvis' current appearance. His sideburns were shorter in December 1954.