Timeline:
January 30: Elvis goes to the local skating rink, the Rainbow Rollerdrome, to meet a young girl, Dixie Locke, he's had his eye on for some time. Driving her home that night, they make a date for the movies; Locke would soon become Presley's first real girlfriend.February 16: Elvis brings Dixie home for supper in order for her to meet his parents.
February 26: The couple visit the All-Night Gospel Sing at the Ellis Auditorium in order for Presley to see The Statesmen Quartet, whose bass vocalist, James "Big Chief" Wetherington, specializes in wild leg shaking and gyrations while at the microphone.
May 15: Elvis auditions with the house band at Memphis' Hi Hat Club and is told he'll never make it as a singer.
June 26: Sam Phillips, head of Sun Records, calls Elvis in to record two songs, "Without You" and "Rag Mop."
July 7: Dewey Phillips of Memphis' WHBQ plays "That's All Right (Mama)" and its flip, "Blue Moon of Kentucky," on his Red Hot & Blue R&B show. An instant hit, the song is immediately played 14 more times. Callers to the station insist that Elvis must be a black man.
July 12: Elvis Presley signs his first contract with a manager -- his guitarist, Scotty Moore.
July 28: Elvis gives his first print interview.
July 30: Elvis gets his first billing, opening third at a Slim Whitman show.
October 2: Elvis bombs at the Grand Ole Opry, which does not approve of his take on traditional country music. The Opry's talent director, Jim Denny, famously tells Presley he should go back to driving a truck. Elvis swears never to return.
October 23: "That's All Right" b/w "Blue Moon of Kentucky" hits the Top Ten in the Nashville and New Orleans markets, representing the first hit for Elvis outside of Memphis.
October 25: Elvis records five songs at KWKH in Shreveport, LA. None of these recordings exist today.
November 6: After several very successful dates there, Elvis signs a year long contract with Shreveport's "Louisiana Hayride" concert/radio show.
November 26: Elvis sends a telegram to his father, Vernon: "HI BABIES HERES THE MONEY TO PAY THE BILLS STOP DONT TELL NO ONE HOW MUCH I SENT I WILL SEND MORE NEXT WEEK STOP THERE IS A CARD IN THE MAIL STOP LOVE ELVIS"
Next... Elvis 1954 recording sessions
1954 -- Elvis timeline --> 1955
