Edge of Reality [Elvis]

1956 - Meara, Meara on the Wall

Hey! Sorry for the delay in posting! I wanted to wait until I saw the new Elvis movie (which I did, and it was phenomenal!!!). I just wanted to make sure I got some facts right.

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My ears rang from how loud the fans were screaming in the audience, but according to my manager Colonel Tom Parker, I couldn't plug my ears since I may give off a message that the fans were causing something negative to their favorite star. All I could do was tone down the hundreds of people by waving my arms like a bird.

"Thank you, ladies and gentlemen of Galveston," I said into the microphone when most of them quieted down. "I'm gonna sing one last song for y'all, and that's 'That's Alright Mamma.' You may know it as the song that started it all. Thank you."

They all cheered again, and I got to the song. It was the very end of the concert, and I felt the sweat rolling down my back under my black suitcoat and collar shirt, and I felt it at my temples. This was an indoor amphitheater, so the heat from all the bodies sat in it, as well as the scent of them all. Given, it wasn't too bad since girls liked to wear perfume. I could smell a sweet and strong perfume on one girl up near the front of the stage. A rather cute girl who I winked at, and she swooned into the girl next to her.

This was my twentieth concert of the year, and it was only January. Sometimes, I would have two concerts in one day, a morning and an evening show. So, technically, this was my tenth destination in my 1956 tour. I had many more concerts to go, probably into the hundreds, according to the Colonel. He had been my manager since last year after he basically bought me from Sam Phillips.

I got through the song, and the crowd went nuts, and that included the screams. If this went on for hundreds of more concerts, I would be deaf by my twenty-second birthday. My fans asked for an encore, but I went on backstage and grabbed some water. I was parched and heated. It was eastern Texas in late January, the 26th to be exact, so the outside was cool, just not the inside. I checked my watch. It was passed ten. I collapsed in a chair and drank down the water that was given to me by one of the backstage guys.

"Good work out there, Mr. Presley," said that same guy who looked not that much older than me. He had a Southern drawl that sounded Texan. It was a tad different than my own Southern drawl.

"Thanks," I said and wiped the sweat from my brow, and people bustled around behind the black curtain.

"You're welcome. I really don't know how ya do it. This is your tenth concert since startin' your tour?"

"Twentieth," I corrected. "I've had two concerts in each location so far. Ten locations, includin' this one."

"You about ready to throw in the towel?"

I pressed my lips together, then saw my manager come up to me, his suit coat and hat still on, despite it being around eighty-five degrees in the building. It felt that hot, at least. I took mine off.

"I'm gettin' used to the busy life of a star," I said, not wanting to let my fairly new manager know I wanted to at least rest for a week. I knew I couldn't do that now. My next long break away from the concerts would be in three weeks.

"And you will continue to do so," said the Colonel. "Elvis, let's head on to your dressing room, huh? I know it's a little cooler in there since there is an air conditioning unit."

From the beginning, I had to call him "Colonel." He never liked people calling him by his first name, or even using "Mr." in front of his last name. And he had an accent, too. I didn't know where from - Europe somewhere. "Right. That sounds delightful." I stood up. "Well, it was a pleasure, Mr..."