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Vacation Elvis Style - Part 6 / 13
Continuing with our series on the places Elvis performed and played,
we begin this week with Minnesota and work our way down through
South Dakota, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Missouri.
MINNESOTA
On 05/13/56 Elvis performed a matinee show in St. Paul at the
Auditorium then moved on to Minneapolis for an evening show at the
City Auditorium Arena. He returned to Minneapolis on 11/5/71 for a
show at the Metropolitan Sports Center in nearby Blaine. This was
the first stop on this tour in which J.D. Sumner and The Stamps
Quartet would permanently replace The Imperials. It was also on this
tour that comedian Jackie Kahane became Elvis's opening act. Elvis
had introduced the use of the cape as part of his costume during his
summer booking in Las Vegas, he now also wore capes on tour. His
last time to perform at the Sports Center was 10/17/76 and that time
he stayed in Bloomington at the Registry Hotel.He had concerts at
the St. Paul Civic Center on 10/2-3/74 and again on 4/30/77. He
dedicated the 1977 show to Calvin Griffith and the Minnesota Twins
baseball team,
many of whom were in the audience after winning their game that day.
Proctor Arena in Duluth was the site for concerts on 10/16/76 and
4/29/77.
Both times he stayed at the Radisson Hotel.
SOUTH DAKOTA
Elvis stayed at the Holiday Inn while performing at the Rushmore
Plaza Civic Center in Rapid City. This show on 6/21/77 was filmed
and recorded by RCA and CBS for the his album and TV special "Elvis
In Concert."
A fan tossed a rose on stage and after Elvis danced around with it
between his teeth, he threw it back into the audience as a
souvenir.Elvis had rooms at the Downtown Holiday Inn while
performing at the Sioux Falls Arena on 10/18/76 and on 6/22/77.
IOWA
Des Moines' Veteran's Memorial Auditorium was the site for shows on
5/22/56, 6/20/74, and 6/23/77. Before the 1956 show, the girls from
St. Joseph's Academy were advised not to attend due to his act being
considered lewd. For the 1974 show he had rooms at the Downtown
Ramada Inn and in 1977 at the Holiday Inn.
The Municipal Auditorium Sioux City was the venue for a 5/23/56
show.
On 5/28/76 he performed in Ames at Iowa State University's James W.
Hilton Coliseum. During this show Elvis tied knots in his scarves as
a means of weighting them to try throwing them further up and into
the balcony seats.
KANSAS
Elvis was in Topeka at the Municipal Auditorium on 5/21/56. He
stayed at the Hotel Kansan during this trip.
Elvis performed at the Wichita Forum on 5/18/56, staying at the
Lassen Hotel. According to reports, Marilyn Shirkey, a student and
the president of the local Elvis fan club, was the lucky recipient
of a gift from Elvis. He gave her his well worn blue suede shoes.
Several weeks before he came to Wichita, there had been a rumor that
he had been killed in a plane crash. On stage he told the screaming
girls, "I just want to clarify that rumor 'bout me being dead."
His next visit to Wichita was on 6/19/72 at the Henry Levitt Arena.
In the middle of a heat wave and without any air conditioning, it
was extremely hot on stage. Elvis joked while introducing a 50s
song, "I'd like to go back a few years--when it was cooler." He
would return to Henry Levitt Arena again on 10/7/74 and on 12/27/76.
Both times it was much cooler outside. In 1976, a fan gave him a red
Santa hat and he wore it on stage.
NEBRASKA
Elvis performed at the University of Nebraska Coliseum in Lincoln on
5/19/56. He stayed at the Hilton Hotel on 6/20/77 while performing
at Lincoln's Pershing Municipal Auditorium. This show was filmed and
recorded by RCA and CBS as part of the shows filmed for possible use
in the TV special "Elvis In Concert."
In Omaha, Elvis had a shows at the Civic Auditorium Arena on
5/20/56, 6/30/74 - 7/1/74, 4/22/76, and 6/19/77.
In 1976 he canceled his reservations at the Hilton Hotel and stayed
on the plane at Eppley Airfield until time to go to the Arena. The
1977 show was filmed and recorded and "My Way" from this show was
used in the TV special "Elvis In Concert."
OKLAHOMA
Elvis performed in Altus, Oklahoma on 6/24/55, however, we don't
have any information about the venue. He had a show at the Guymon
High School Auditorium on 6/1/55.Lawton's McMahon Memorial
Auditorium was the site for a 8:00 PM show on 6/23/55. Afterwards he
performed at the Southern Club also in Lawton.
He performed at the Oklahoma City Municipal Auditorium, later named
the Oklahoma Civic Center on 10/16/55. He returned on 4/19/56,
staying at the Biltmore Hotel. At this show a local minister, Dr.
Rupert Naney, was in the audience to monitor Elvis's behavior on
stage. While in town for a show on 11/16/70 at the State Fair of
Oklahoma Fairgrounds Arena, Elvis was pronounced by Governor Dewey
Bartlett an "Honorary Okie." At the 7/2/73 show at the Myriad
Convention Center Elvis welcomed home a Vietnam veteran. He
performed at the Myriad again on 7/8/75 and 5/29/76. In 1976 he
stayed at the Hilton Inn Northwest.
He had shows in Norman, Oklahoma at the University of Oklahoma Lloyd
Noble Center on 3/25-26/77. This time he stayed in Oklahoma City at
the Skirvin Plaza Hotel.
In Tulsa, Elvis performed at the Tulsa State Fairgrounds Pavilion on
4/18/56.
He stayed at the Fairmont Mayo Hotel when he had a concert at the
Tulsa Civic Assembly Center on 6/20/72.
He had shows at the Oral Roberts University Mabee Special Events
Center on 3/1-2/74 and again on 7/4/76.
For this July 4th. show, Elvis wore one of two special jumpsuits he
had made in celebration of the U.S. Bicentennial.
A highlight of the show was his rendition of the song "America the
Beautiful."
MISSOURI
On 7/20/55 Elvis was at the Cape Girardeau Arena. Along with several
others including Wanda Jackson and Bob Neal, he was giving a benefit
performance for the Southeast Chapter of The United Cerebral Palsy
Fund.
Elvis performed at a roadhouse called the B&B Club in Gobler,
Missouri on 4/8/55 and 9/28/55.
This club burned down in 1962. The Poplar Bluff National Guard
Armory was the venue for a show on 3/9/55.
Elvis performed at the Kansas City Municipal Auditorium on 5/24/56.
Or at least he tried to. After only 20 minutes on stage a riot
erupted and D.J. Fontana's drums, Bill Black's stand-up bass were
damaged and D.J. ended up in the orchestra pit. Elvis ran from the
frenzied fans who pursued him, ripping at his clothing, until he was
rescued by security. He performed at that venue again on 11/15/71
and 6/29/74,
staying at the Hilton Hotel during the latter visit. Kemper Arena
was the site of concerts on 4/21/76 and 6/18/77.
Elvis performed at Springfield, Missouri's Shrine Mosque on 5/17/56,
and on 6/17/77 he performed at the Hammons Center at Southwestern
Missouri State University. He and his entourage had rooms at the
Howard Johnson Hotel.
On 10/21-23/55 Elvis was a part of shows at St. Louis's Missouri
Theater. After that time, all of his shows in St. Louis took place
at the Henry J. Kiel Auditorium. His show on 3/29/57 was the last
time Elvis wore the pants to his gold lame´suit on stage, preferring
for the rest of 1957 to wear the gold jacket with black slacks.
Elvis stayed at the Hotel Chase during this visit. He had shows at
Kiel Auditorium again on 9/10/70 and 6/28/73 staying at the
Chase-Park Plaza Hotel. His last show in St. Louis was on 3/22/76,
this time staying at the Bel Air Hilton Hotel.
Elvis stayed with his great-uncle Floyd Presley when he performed in
Sikeston, Missouri on 1/21/55 at a benefit for the National Guard
unit at the National Guard Armory. On this trip he met local
performer Onie Wheeler. Elvis and singing group The Browns went to
the Lakeview Inn nightclub where Onie Wheeler was booked. They
joined him on stage with Elvis playing the drums. Soon after,
Wheeler toured with Elvis and the others for part of 1955.
Elvis performed again at the National Guard Armory on 9/7/55.
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