Elvis Has Amarillo Crowd All Shook Up
by Lois Reed
Amarillo Globe-News
June 1974

"I ain't seen his face yet, but, oh, WOW," moaned a teen-ager, much as her mother might have moaned nearly 20 years ago, minutes before Elvis Presley ran onstage.

The blue lights went down; "2001" came up - and then the master rock 'n'roller was there - Wednesday night in civic Center Auditorium.

Strutting onstage dressed in a peacock blue and white suit, Elvis took over for an hour's worth of awe and delight on the part of the audience.

What the comic had said earlier in the evening was true. Trying to be sexy next to Elvis is like trying to be tall next to Wilt Chamberlain.

Teen-agers and old ladies and freaks and cowboys and kids and the inform - all screamed and clapped and swayed with The Gyrator.

Elvis' popularity and endurance as a box office draw cut across the barriers of generation, creed and musical taste. All kinds came to see Elvis and he gave them all kinds of music.

As flash bulbs exploded like kamikaze fireflies, he bumped out the standards of rock and roll: "C. C. Ryder," "I Got A Woman," "Poke Salad Annie," and "I'm All Shook Up."

The audience was. Fans jammed the Civic Center for a coveted 60 minutes with Elvis. Some left with scarves thrown from the stage. Two left with kisses and a lot of envious friends.

Each time a different song swelled up, so did the cheers - and tears for those of us old enough to remember early Elvis on the Ed Sullivan Show.

"You Ain't Nothin' But A Hound Dog" and "Fever" put mom and daughter alike into a frenzy. And dad (who shelled out for tickets to the sellout) clapped in time.

Elvis pleased 'em all. "Why Me Lord?" and a most reverent medley of "Dixie" and "Battle Hymn of the Republic" combined with "Heartbreak Hotel" and "Let Me Be There" to demonstrate the versatility of a star.

Elvis backs himself up with a good bit of Texas talent. His advance groups, however, were just soul food hors before the main dish.

Elvis pioneered the bump and grind of pop singing stars, but it hasn't lost its effect on an audience (or reporter) despite being copied by thousands in two decades. Elvis doesn't let on that he's approaching 40.

He's still the "Big Boss Man." As he slipped into "I Can't Help Falling In Love With You" the audience was standing. He swung a little to the left and a little to the right.

Noisy Panhandle and area residents cheered as he darted offstage. The King.

Courtesy of REX's 1970s W.E.N.S.W #164