Interesting read, thanks RA!

The unruly Vancouver crowd for Elvis was repeated 7 years later in 1964 with The Beatles. The crowd was getting out of control and MC Red Robinson was sent out on stage in the middle of a song by Beatles manager Brian Epstein and told the crowd to to settle down and to back up. The concert ended rather quickly and The Beatles got on a plane that day and left Canada. They never returned to Vancouver to perform. 

Elvis Presley actually crossed the border into Canada twice. Once in April for Toronto and Ottawa and again in August for the Vancouver concert.

Although CHUM had not yet changed format to Top 40 by early April when Elvis came to town (that wouldn't happen for almost two more months), CHUM's country DJ Josh King MC'd the Maple Leaf Gardens concert.

Last edited by Doug Thompson (November 14, 2024 4:22 pm)

I love the fact that Elvis was once considered a country artist. 

I have a story about this (well, close to this) that no one else knows. My sister-in-law went to an Elvis Presley comeback concert in Buffalo in 1971 or '72. (She can't quite recall the year, but it was likely the latter.)

What happened there remains a cherished part of her life. 

She and a friend took a bus from Toronto and they managed to worm their way down to the front of the stage, hoping to get a souvenir from the man himself. Elvis spotted her standing there, took off his scarf, and threw it down to her. Unfortunately, another female fan was standing nearby and grabbed the garment. My sister-in-law had one half, this intruder had the other. 

They began fighting for possession of the ultimate souvenir - it had Elvis' sweat on it, for God's sake! - pulling at the thing. Finally, as it threatened to become an all out melee in the middle of the show, as they pulled on it, the scarf ripped in half, leaving her holding one end and her now mortal enemy grasping the other. 

Stadium officials told them to be happy with what they got, and ordered them away from the area.

The incident was printed in the Toronto Telegram, which she saved. And it's still a cherished memory. Mounted on the wall of her kitchen, she has a framed copy of that article and the half piece of the scarf. And she was lucky enough to get the one with Elvis' name printed on it. 

It never fails to spark a conversation whenever anyone comes to visit their house. I've often asked her if she's ever had it appraised but she said it's not for sale at any price. And she's probably right. What a great souvenir and a great story that likely could never happen today.