The Life And Career Of Elvis Aron Presley: 1954/55

After having recorded another disc at the Memphis Recording Service, Sam Phillips contacted Elvis and invited him to a casting session. He wanted to see, if he could get anywhere with the kid. Because the young Mr. Presley hadn't a band, Sam also invited the guitarist Scotty Moore and the bass player Bill Black. Elvis sang many ballads and country songs, but nothing met the taste of Mr. Phillips. He wanted something fast, something with rhythm and drive. I guess Elvis was just joking when he came up with an over the top. highspeed version of the c&w tune "That's All Right", but obviously that was what the owner of the label had been waiting for. The trio did the same with "Blue Moon Of Kentucky" and soon the single was ready to hit the market. Scotty Moore was assigned to manage the group, the earnings were split 50/50 between the singer and the musicians. Elvis got half of the money, Scotty and Bill got 25% each.

The success of "That's All Right" lead to live performances and further singles. The audition for the radio show "The Grand Ole Opry" failed, but the smaller and more trendy "The Louisiana Hayride" offered a contract of 12 months. With the exception of five days, Elvis and his band had to appear on the show every Saturday. Elvis got 18 USD, Scotty and Bill 12 USD per show.

In late 1954 or early 1955 the trio met the drummer DJ Fontana. He soon became a part of the group, but didn't participate in the earnings. In contrast to the others, he was paid per gig.

To professionalize the management, Elvis gave the job to Bob Neal, a local concert promoter and radio dj. But the young singer had also caught the attention of Colonel Thomas Andrew Parker, the manager and business partner of Hank Snow. He booked the youngster for his well established client's "Hank Snow's All Star Jamboree" and step-by-step won Elvis'  confidence. The Colonel regarded SUN Records as too small and Bob Neal as too incompetent to take the singer to the top and the young Mr. Presley agreed. In contrast to Neal, Parker currently managed a real star and previously had established a young Eddy Arnold. He obviously knew the business and was well connected. In August 1955 Elvis signed the Colonel as his personal advisor.

After Elvis and Parker had agreed upon looking for a new record label, the advisor got the permission to do so from his underaged client's parents. Without the knowledge of Bob Neal the Colonel spread the rumor, Sam Phillips was about to sell the Presley contract. The owner of SUN Records decided to join the game and demanded 35,000 USD. Considering that it was 1955 and Elvis was more or less a nobody, the sum was astronomical. On October 29th Phillips and Parker made a contract: If Phillips received an accordant offer until November 15th, Elvis was free to go anywhere. Of course the advisor was prepared. RCA already had agreed to buy the contract. However, the decision makers were discouraged by the outrageous amount and so it took them until the very last day of the time limit to agree. On November 21st the contract was officially signed. For 35,000 USD Sam Phillips released Elvis from SUN Records and handed over all of his recordings to RCA. The label also paid a bonus of 5,000 USD to the young singer, Hill & Range paid another 1,000 USD for his consent to have his future recordings published through their company. To recoup the high costs as soon as possible, RCA quickly put their own version of "Mystery Train" / "I Forgot To Remember To Forget" in the stores. Therefore the single was available from SUN and RCA Victor. In December 1955 the label added the other four original SUN singles to the catalogue.

While Colonel Parker was busy dealing with RCA, Bob Neal booked further concerts for Elvis. Additionally he tied his client to the Louisiana Hayride for another year. Due to his increasing popularity the Hillbilly Cat now received 200 USD for each performance, ten times as much as previously! For each show he missed, Elvis had to pay a penalty of 400 USD. Elvis happily accepted the deal.

In total the year 1955 was a lucrative one for the young singer. He had earned over 25,000 USD, which was ten times as much as the average household income!