Yes, Elvis Did It Again
Dotti Einhorn
Daytona Beach Morning Journal
August 10, 1956

Elvis Presley did it again last night. He did it in Peabody Auditorium and he did it twice.

The only way we can describe what he did is to say he "performed."

If he were a woman we'd say he did an oldfashioned bump and grind routine while he alternately crooned and shouted into a microphone.

Each well calculated jerk of his famous pelvis drew a scream of approval from a packed audience Elvis knew it would. He grinned before he started each convulsive movement and he laughed aloud at the audience afterward.

Occasionally he stood still and sang gently.

The audience quieted and he set his hips into movement again. We got the impression maybe he'd prefer to sing quietly more often if the hip movements weren't better box office.

His speaking voice is gentle and his manner both off and on stage is relaxed and easy going when he isn't singing.

Actually the Tennessee troubadour doesn't have a bad voice when his fans will let you listen to it.

But, his fans apparently don't care about the voice - except when it lowers to a sexy moan. They scream then, too.

Elvis reached his peak in his last number, "Hound Dog." He peeled off his jacket (more shrieks), grabbed the microphone, made like a perpetual motion machine and ran from one side of stage to the other.

The shrieks became earsplitting as he dived on the knees toward the audience and came part way down the stage steps.

But, not one tried to kiss him or reach for his clothes. There were three cops at each stairway who scared them off.

There was more on the program than just Elvis. A hot combo, a sexy girlsinger, a rubberlegged comedian, a male quartet and an Irish tenor drew almost as many screams as the star.

Nothing any of Presley's "friends" could do was wrong. They came on after a warning that shouts of "bring on Presley" would have not effect on the prepared program.

We think some of the acts were pretty good.

We couldn't really tell.

The audience was som enthusiastic it was catching. We clapped just as loud as anyone and laughed just as loud as anyone, too.

Back to Elvis. We laughed at him, too, when he started the bump and grind routine.

But, when he got going full swing we found him kind of fascinating. In fact, if he comes back, we'll probably go see him again. But honestly, we won't scream.

Courtesy of Francesc Lopez