Guest
August 16, 1987/ June 6, 1956 On the tenth anniversary of Elvis Presley’s death, Liz Pursell met a woman -Julie Campbell - who was the opening act when he performed in San Diego in 1956. Julie Garrett was a local singer. She wasn’t too thrilled about it because she saw Elvis on the Ed Sullivan Show and wasn’t all that impressed. She explained that since everything was censored back then, the performance was a lot tamer than his live performance. After she sang “Rock around the Clock,” she stuck around to see what all the fuss was about. “He had that charisma that only a superstar has.” It was June 6, 1956-not 1957. The original film was retrieved for this story. This is the original script-and yes, it says “Alvis Presley.” The latest teenage idol, Alvis Presley, came to town last night and here’s a view of the more than four-thousand youngsters who jammed into the San Diego arena for his performance…Channel Eight’s Julie Garrett helped entertain while fans waited for the 21 year old hill-billy singer, star of the show…Another KFMB and Channel Eight favorite, Joe Graydon, introduced Presley…The crowd went wild as the new teenage version of Johnnie Ray, wearing a pale green sports jacket, strolled to the microphone and broke into a rock ‘n roll number. The audience, made up mostly of young teenage girls, squealed and swooned, but no casualties were reported. Police said later that some parents complained that it was not the type of show for juveniles to have seen. The screams of the audience drowned out most of the singing. The film of him singing in the beginning is not our film--it’s likely a handout tape.
