It is well-known that Elvis Presley played in many little towns in Texas during the fifties. Most of these concerts are accurately dated, but for others it has been hard to verify the exact date. One of these elusive concerts took place in Hawkins, Texas. Stanley Orbest in his fantastic book Rockin' Across Texas sets the concert date as December 17, 1954. This date was changed when Ernst Jorgensen released his amazing book A Boy From Tupelo, arguing that Orbest's date was not possible since Elvis was in Memphis on the 17th. Ernst guessed that Elvis performed in Hawkins on December 23, 1954.

Gladewater Daily Mirror - December 21,1954.

After some research and some luck too, we found this short reference in the Gladewater Daily Mirror from December 21, 1954, mentioning that "Ken Spradlin appeared last night [12/20/1954] on the Elvis Presley show at the Hawkins High School gymnasium". So the first concert in Hawkins, Texas was on December 20, 1954. This finding doesn't detract from the value of the two Elvis Presley books mentioned above. Both are a must in every Elvis collection.

Gladewater Daily Mirror - December 21,1954.

There are other concerts where the dates remain undiscovered, and also some that could be just rumors. This only adds to the fun and the mystery of discovering all the details about Elvis' concerts.