IN his 42 years, Elvis never sang “Viva New York.”
He signed his first major record contract here and rocketed to international fame from the Midtown stage of “The Ed Sullivan Show,” but the Southern boy from tiny Tupelo, Miss. – who died 25 years ago this week – never really warmed to the grand stage of the teeming metropolis.
“He didn’t like the hustle and bustle of New York,” says Gordon Stoker, a member of Elvis’ backup group, the Jordanaires.
After coming here a dozen or so times from 1955 to 1957 to record his albums, Elvis set foot in New York only once before returning in 1972 for his Madison Square Garden concerts – and that was in 1958, when his troop train brought him to the Brooklyn Army Terminal to board a ship for Germany.
“Elvis felt rejected by New York,” explains Ernst Jorgensen, co-author of “Elvis Day by Day” (Ballantine Books).
He was particularly upset at a stunt cooked up by Steve Allen, who had him sing “Hound Dog” to a forlorn-looking, real-life hound during a visit to Allen’s TV show in July 1956.
“He went back to Memphis after that and said, ‘Those people in New York are not gonna change me none,’ ” says Jorgensen. “He also felt he was murdered in the press in New York, seeing stories which called him ‘vulgar.’ “
It took a lot of persuading to get Elvis come back 14 years later to perform at the Garden.
“He didn’t know how New Yorkers were going to accept him,” recalls longtime Elvis pal Joe Esposito, his road manager and his best man when he married Priscilla.
“He was really concerned. He thought they might boo him off the stage.”
Kathy Westmoreland, a singer and Elvis’ onetime girlfriend, remembers him telling her, ” ‘You know, they’re a sophisticated audience . . . I don’t know if I’ll get such a good reception.’ “
He had nothing to fear.
The King became the first performer to sell out four straight shows at the Garden – and the crowd was so anxious to see him, they booed the poor Las Vegas comedian who opened the show off the stage.
Elvis first set eyes on New York in March 1955, when he flew here to audition for “Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts” show.
He was reportedly so nervous after the flight, he offered a subpar performance and was sent packing.
When he returned a few months later to sign his RCA deal, he didn’t have much time to do sightseeing – but he did his best to get a taste of New York.
“Elvis and [his then-manager] Bob Neal went out and rode the subways,” recalls Scotty Moore, who played guitar with Elvis “from day one.”
“He had a brain like a sponge – he’d soak up stuff.”
One night, Elvis set out to sample the New York nightlife, recalls Chick Crumpacker, then a promotion manager for RCA. “He took my secretary, Arlene Blum, to the Latin Quarter nightclub.
“He was totally charming. At the end of the night, he hailed a cab, gave the driver $20 and Arlene’s address and shook her hand goodnight.”
That was one of the King’s few brushes with the big city at night.
Driving back from a radio event in New Jersey, Crumpacker says, Elvis took in the Manhattan skyline with aplomb.
“He may have oohed and ahhed a little,” he says, “but he was determined to be cool.”
WHERE WAS ELVIS? (map)
1. “The Ed Sullivan Show,” Maxine Elliott Theater, 109 W. 39th St.
2. “Stage Show,” 1697 Broadway at 53rd St.
3. “The Steve Allen Show,” Hudson Theater, 145 W. 44th St.
4. Warwick Hotel, 65 W. 54th St. (where he stayed while recording at RCA Studios in mid-1950s).
5. New York Hilton, 1335 Sixth Ave. (where he stayed for 1972 performance at the Garden).