Thursday, August 13, 2009

Elvis Kissed Mama...


...well, not exactly.

Mama and Daddy never missed a chance to see Elvis when he came to Atlanta. The most memorable weekend was in 1976 when he played the Omni (located on the present site of the Georgia World Congress Center).

Elvis set attendance records that weekend that were never broken as long as the Omni was operating. Two shows were originally scheduled, an evening show Saturday night and a matinee on Sunday afternoon.

Those tickets (in the days before Ticketmaster--back when you had to physically stand in line to get them) sold out in 45 minutes.

Concerts West then added a Sunday night performance. Then a Saturday matinee. Then another Sunday matinee, and another Saturday matinee.

My parents went to the Saturday evening and Sunday matinee performances. Saturday night Daddy decided he had to have a pair of boots like Elvis wore, so Sunday afternoon they went to the Florsheim store on Peachtree Street and he ordered a pair of white patent leather ankle boots just like the King wore. Daddy still owned them when he died, and I still have them today.

Sunday afternoon Mama said Elvis was singing "Love Me Tender" when he looked up where she was standing and waving. She said he looked directly at her and blew her a kiss. Mama said it, so I know it's so.

3 comments:

Michael Ruffin said...

Ruth don't lie.

Michael Ruffin said...

I never saw him in concert; I did watch the concert films and listen to the concert albums, especially "Aloha from Hawaii."

I liked his sense of humor, especially when he sang:

"I hope this suit don't tear up baby" instead of "because I love you too much baby" and "You know, I ain't never lied to you (no, not much)"in "Suspicious Minds."

emily said...

I would have given anything to see him.
ANYTHING.