The Life And Career Of Elvis Aron Presley: 1956
On January 10th Elvis started to record for RCA Victor. Even though the results didn't meet the expectations of the decision makers, "Heartbreak Hotel" / "I Was The One" was released just seven days later. In March the label also issued a longplayer called "Elvis Presley", which was a compilation of material acquired from SUN and new RCA recordings. To address a less solvent audience, the tracks were also spread on a set of two extended players and a single extended player. The all featured the same cover and they all were named "Elvis Presley". It took a few weeks, but finally "Heartbreak Hotel" took off and peaked at the number one of the Billboard Chart. The album also became a number one hit and was the first longplayer in the history of recorded music, that earned a label more than a million USD.
In the background Colonel Parker took care, that his client was also getting a piece of the publishing cake. If possible, all new songs were to be published through Elvis Presley Music, of which the eponym held 25%. Parker also was able to get Elvis on television. He appeared on The Stage Show six times, on March 26th the young man did a screen test for Hal B. Wallis. The Colonel believed in multi media marketing and so his client also had to be present in the cinemas.
Until now Parker had acted as Presley's personal advisor, but after the first quarter of 1956 he officially took over the management from Bob Neal. For 25% of Elvis' earnings he focused on his new client 100% and even had split up with Hank Snow, a well established country star. One of the Colonel's first steps was to get out of the contrackt with The Louisiana Hayride. In the past it was great to appear on the radio show on a weekly basis, but now these appointments kept Elvis from doing more lucrative things. Finally it cost Elvis a one-off payment of 10,000 USD and the consent to do a charity show in December to be released from his duties. Parker also financially and artistically separated his client from Scotty Moore and Bill Black. When they started out, the trio had agreed to share the earnings. De facto they were a band and Elvis was their star. For Parker the one and only star was his client and it was completely irrelevant, who provided the music. From now on Scotty and Bill were paid per assignment, just like any other musician. The Colonel also took care, that other musicians or singers than Elvis were not mentioned or pictured on the records. Exceptions were made only, if laws or contracts with record companies, publishers or others forced him to do so. Scotty and Bill were shocked, when they realized, that Elvis agreed to kick them out and didn't even bother to talk to them. Until now they had regarded him to be their friend.
As a result of the screen test Paramount offered a contract for a movie with an option for six further projects. Elvis was to be paid 15,000 USD, if the studio drew the option, the fee would be raised step-by-step to 100,000 USD for the final motion picture. Presley and Parker accepted the deal.
The next step was to sell Elvis to a more conservative audience. Therefore he performed at The New Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas. For two weeks the "atomic powered singer" (that's the slogan, the hotel promoted the star with) received 15,000 USD. RCA went into the same direction and made the traditionally written ballad "I Want You, I Need You, I Love You" the next single of the young singer. The harmony vocals were provided by The Jordanaires, an established gospel group and a long-time favorite of Elvis. The track peaked at number three, but the single sold much worse than "Heartbreak Hotel". The Vegas gig also didn't turn out as expected. The older people neither liked the music, nor the presentation of the songs.
The television audience felt the same. On June 5th Elvis performed "Hound Dog" on The Milton Berle Show and caught flak in grand style. As a result, Steve Allen did everything to avoid such a malaise. On his show the singer performed in a tux and sang the "scandaleous" song to a basset hound. The plan worked well, the tv viewers stayed calm. Right after his appearance on "The Steve Allen Show" the young star was interviewed on "Hy Gardner Calling!". The very next day Elvis produced a studio recording of "Hound Dog". When it was released on a single with "Don't Be Cruel", the 45 topped the charts and sold more than four million units just on the domestic market. Finally "Don't Be Cruel" / "Hound Dog" became the most successful single release of the decade.
Meanwhile Colonel Parker had made a deal with Hank Saperstein. For a one-off-payment of 35,000 USD and a profit share of 45% the merchandising guru was allowed to sell Elvis' image. It didn't take long, before his likeness and name appeared on more than 100 different products. At the time this was a novelty, today it's regarded as the re-invention of the merchandising industry.
On August 13th Elvis signed with 20th Century Fox. The studio paid 100,000 USD for his appearance in the western movie "The Reno Brothers", besides that they got an option for two more projects. They would be paid with 150,000 USD and 200,000 USD. Just seven days later the singer had to appear on the set, shortly afterwards it was decided to include some songs and re-name the movie to "Love Me Tender". Elvis introduced the song on September 9th on "The Ed Sullivan Show". The legendary host had offered the record amount of 50,000 USD for three appearances on his show.
RCA tried to capitalize on the popularity of their new star by re-releasing all tracks of the album on singles. Besides that they issued an extended player called "The Real Elvis", which was created to cash-in on the success of "Don't Be Cruel" / "Hound Dog". The result of all that was another 1.6 million sold units. In September 1956 the label also released "Love Me Tender" / "Any Way You Want Me". The titel song of Elvis' first movie was received very well and became another number one hit.
Colonel Parker used these successes to improve his client's contract with RCA. From now on Elvis would receive royalties of 5%, which were settled against an annual payment of 135,000 USD and weekly payments of 1,000 USD.
20th Century Fox released "Love Me Tender" on November 15th, on the same day RCA started to ship the accordant soundtrack ep. Also in November the label issued the second longplayer of the young star. This time the album was named "Elvis". Of course the label didn't forget to release the tracks on the extended players "Elvis - Volume 1" and "Elvis - Volume 2". Once again the business was great, the second lp even outsold the first one.
On November 16th Colonel Parker registered a new publishing company called Gladys Music. While Elvis Presley Music was tied to the BMI (Broadcast Music Incorporated), the new enterprise was connected to ASCAP (American Society Of Composers, Authors And Publishers). The reason was, that some composers belonged to ASCAP, others to BMI. Now Elvis could deal with all of them and get 25% of the royalties for publishing.
When Elvis visited SUN Records on December 4th, he bargeed in Carl Perkins' recording session. The piano player was the soon-to-be-famous Jerry Lee Lewis, later Johnny Cash visited, too. Carl, Jerry Lee and Elvis jammed a bit, Sam Phillips reacted on the spot and started the recording equipment. After the king's demise these tapes would be released on an album called "The Million Dollar Quartet". It should have been "The Million Dollar Trio", because Johnny Cash can be seen on the photo, but cannot be heared on the recording.
Eleven days later Elvis performed the concert for The Louisiana Hayride, which he had agreed to do in March. Hal Kanter, the director of the singer's next motion picture, was in the audience to visualize the people's reaction to Elvis. His impressions were later worked into the script of "Loving You".
During this period Elvis decided to change his look and dye his hair black. He would continue to do so until the very end. The only exceptions were his Army stint and the shooting of "Follow That Dream".
At the end of the year "Elvis Presley" had become a brand. His record sales had exceeded the mark of 10 million units, he had movie contracts with Paramount and 20th Century Fox and his concerts were sold out. His appearances on television generated top-notch ratings and his fees had broken the industry record. Through Elvis Presley Music and Gladys Music Elvis also got a share in the publishing and the merchandising sold like a wildfire. No other star had been promoted and exploited that way before. Soon it would become a standard of the industry, but Colonel Parker and Elvis were the first to work this way.
Financially the Colonel's way paid off in grand style. With 282,349.66 USD Elvis' income of 1956 was a tenfold higher than the previous year.