60 Years Ago - The Final Ed Sullivan Show.

[Davelee]

60 years ago today Elvis give his final Sullivan show at CBS studios in NYC. This show is famously dubbed From The Waist Up.

Elvis had 3 segments on the show that day: the first seg had him singing a melody of three of his big hits Hound Dog, Heartbreak Hotel and Love Me Tender.

Rehearsing the melody:

tumblr_nhs132E1N81qimbk8o1_500.jpg

The second seg he performed full versions of Don't Be Cruel (his biggest hit at that time) Too Much (his latest hit which had only been released two days earlier) and When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again (where Elvis sings over the top of Scotty as he's just about to go into the solo).

Second seg:

Elvis-3rd-appearance-on-Ed-Sullivan-1-6-1957-2.jpg

The final segment he sings Peace In The Valley

Elvis and ED:

edandelvi.jpg

"this is a real decent, fine boy. We've never had a pleasanter experience on our show with a big name than we've had with you... you're thoroughly alright"

[drjohncarpenter]

Hey, it's still January 5 here!

So sad Elvis would only appear on network TV three more times before he left us.

[Davelee]

Hey, it's still January 5 here!

So sad Elvis would only appear on network TV three more times before he left us.

It's 7:00am Jan 6th in the morning here.

Yes, it is sad!

[drjohncarpenter]

Note the astounding performance of "Don't Be Cruel" is the new arrangement he "borrowed" after seeing Billy Ward and His Dominoes do it in Las Vegas the previous November, and it is far and away the best live version we have. The singer in the r&b group who blew Elvis' mind with "Don't Be Cruel" later went solo and had a fantastic career. His name? Jackie Wilson.

Also note the shirt Elvis wears while singing "Don't Be Cruel" was a gift from Natalie Wood, the lame vest made by Barbara Hearn especially for him. He was a crafty fellow.

[Davelee]

Note the astounding performance of "Don't Be Cruel" is the new arrangement he "borrowed" after seeing Billy Ward and His Dominoes do it in Las Vegas the previous November, and it is far and away the best live version we have. The singer in the r&b group who blew Elvis' mind with "Don't Be Cruel" later went solo and had a fantastic career. His name? Jackie Wilson.

Also note the shirt Elvis wears while singing "Don't Be Cruel" was a gift from Natalie Wood, the lame vest made by Barbara Hearn especially for him. He was a crafty fellow.

He knew and liked his women that's for sure - who could blame him, lucky fellow.

[jeanno]

I tend to prefer the 2nd show over the other two but boy, does he look cool on the final one with that golden vest! The real king of rock.

[TCBell]

60 years ago today Elvis give his final Sullivan show at CBS studios in NYC. This show is famously dubbed From The Waist Up.

Elvis had 3 segments on the show that day: the first seg had him singing a melody of three of his big hits Hound Dog, Heartbreak Hotel and Love Me Tender.

Rehearsing the melody:

tumblr_nhs132E1N81qimbk8o1_500.jpg

The second seg he performed full versions of Don't Be Cruel (his biggest hit at that time) Too Much (his latest hit which had only been released two days earlier) and When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again (where Elvis sings over the top of Scotty as he's just about to go into the solo).

Second seg:

Elvis-3rd-appearance-on-Ed-Sullivan-1-6-1957-2.jpg

The final segment he sings Peace In The Valley

Elvis and ED:

edandelvi.jpg

"this is a real decent, fine boy. We've never had a pleasanter experience on our show with a big name than we've had with you... you're thoroughly alright"

Allegedly, Colonel Parker insisted that Sullivan make this public statement as penance for earlier attacking Elvis.

[emjel]

All the Sullivan shows were good, but that Don't Be Cruel part is superb. Not sure where that 60 years went though. The music scene has changed so much in those years, and in my opinion, not for the better.

[Davelee]

I tend to prefer the 2nd show over the other two but boy, does he look cool on the final one with that golden vest! The real king of rock.

Yeah, I prefer the second one too. Hound Dog and Don't Be Cruel are fab, but the Love Me performance is outstanding!

[Davelee]

All the Sullivan shows were good, but that Don't Be Cruel part is superb. Not sure where that 60 years went though. The music scene has changed so much in those years, and in my opinion, not for the better.

I agree about the music scene over the years, we had some real good bands and singers, but the music scene is more about promotion than talent.

[drjohncarpenter]

"this is a real decent, fine boy. We've never had a pleasanter experience on our show with a big name than we've had with you... you're thoroughly alright"

Allegedly, Colonel Parker insisted that Sullivan make this public statement as penance for earlier attacking Elvis.

I've never read that, and I doubt it's true. No one told Ed Sullivan what to do on his show, and in fact one can clearly see Presley had already won over the TV host towards the end of his second appearance in October 1956. If one watches carefully, as Presley turns and begins to exit stage right after completing "Hound Dog," Sullivan playfully swipes at the back of his head. He genuinely liked the young man.

[TCBell]

"this is a real decent, fine boy. We've never had a pleasanter experience on our show with a big name than we've had with you... you're thoroughly alright"

Allegedly, Colonel Parker insisted that Sullivan make this public statement as penance for earlier attacking Elvis.

I've never read that, and I doubt it's true. No one told Ed Sullivan what to do on his show, and in fact one can clearly see Presley had already won over the TV host towards the end of his second appearance in October 1956. If one watches carefully, as Presley turns and begins to exit stage right after completing "Hound Dog," Sullivan playfully swipes at the back of his head. He genuinely liked the young man.

It's in the Dave Marsh book.

[jeanno]

I tend to prefer the 2nd show over the other two but boy, does he look cool on the final one with that golden vest! The real king of rock.

Yeah, I prefer the second one too. Hound Dog and Don't Be Cruel are fab, but the Love Me performance is outstanding!

I agree 200%

[poormadpeter2]

"this is a real decent, fine boy. We've never had a pleasanter experience on our show with a big name than we've had with you... you're thoroughly alright"

Allegedly, Colonel Parker insisted that Sullivan make this public statement as penance for earlier attacking Elvis.

I've never read that, and I doubt it's true. No one told Ed Sullivan what to do on his show, and in fact one can clearly see Presley had already won over the TV host towards the end of his second appearance in October 1956. If one watches carefully, as Presley turns and begins to exit stage right after completing "Hound Dog," Sullivan playfully swipes at the back of his head. He genuinely liked the young man.

It's in the Dave Marsh book.

Sullivan had already defended Elvis before the 2nd show (possibly before the 1st, I can't find the date), saying in an interview that he didn't know why Elvis had been picked on during the Milton Berle appearance - Sullivan had found the entire show to be crude and vulgar. It's a back-handed compliment, but still a defence of Elvis and a suggestion his performance in June was no better or worse than the rest of Berle's show.

[drjohncarpenter]

"this is a real decent, fine boy. We've never had a pleasanter experience on our show with a big name than we've had with you... you're thoroughly alright"

Allegedly, Colonel Parker insisted that Sullivan make this public statement as penance for earlier attacking Elvis.

I've never read that, and I doubt it's true. No one told Ed Sullivan what to do on his show, and in fact one can clearly see Presley had already won over the TV host towards the end of his second appearance in October 1956. If one watches carefully, as Presley turns and begins to exit stage right after completing "Hound Dog," Sullivan playfully swipes at the back of his head. He genuinely liked the young man.

It's in the Dave Marsh book.

Dave Marsh's Elvis has beautiful art design by the late Bea Feitler to complement his thoughtful, if sometimes over-the-top prose, and I still have my hardback copy. It's been years since I looked at it, though. That misstatement regarding Sullivan is a good example of how much we have learned since 1982. The book was reprinted in paperback by Thunder's Mouth in mid-1997.

[GLAISTER]

We may not have a 'Tiger Man' acetate (yet!) but we do have all three of these glorious shows available in pristine quality and on official DVD and what a joy they are to behold ...

And I agree with all the other posters on here - that 'Don't Be Cruel' is the best, perfect imperfection at its most perfect!

[jurasic1968]

I wrote this in other topic, but I like to ask once again: does anyone knows if the Ed Sullivan shows with Elvis were repeated on TV in the 60's? If no, the Elvis new fans only had a chance to see clips of the first show of them in the EOT movie from 1972.

[emjel]

I wrote this in other topic, but I like to ask once again: does anyone knows if the Ed Sullivan shows with Elvis were repeated on TV in the 60's? If no, the Elvis new fans only had a chance to see clips of the first show of them in the EOT movie from 1972.

We never had the Ed Sullivan shows in the UK PERIOD. So first time we had seen anything in reasonable quality was from EOT.