"I'd Cut My Throat To Get Tickets"
By Elizabeth Rhodes
The Charlotte Observer

At 11.30 a.m., three hours before Elvis Presley was to give the first of two Saturday performances at the Charlotte Coliseum, Mary Roseann Sherlock ambled into Ed the Scalper's Golden Eagle Motel room in search of a cheap ticket.

She flopped on the bed, eyed Ed cooly and wailed, "I would like to be dead. I have suffered so to get tickets. I'd cut my throat to get tickets."

By 12.30, twin lines of eager Elvis fans snaked halfway around the Coliseum. Hawkers offered Elvis buttons for $1, posters for $2 and small binoculars for $5. The crowd was noticeably short on men and children and noticeably strong on women, many of whom weren't born when Elvis first made it big 20 years ago. As he swung into his first number, "C.C. Ryder," flashbulbs punctuated the music and the 12,OOO screaming fans nearby drowned out the noticeably paunchy singer.

Soon fans were storming the stage. One threw a red carnati on. Elvis clasped it in his teeth. Screams. Women pressed against the wall. He threw scarves in return. Finally, one jeans-clad woman somehow made it onto the stage and ran into Elvis's arms. He kissed her. A policeman pulled her away. No one seemed to mind when he forgot the words to "Burning Love", one of his biggest hits.