Elvis Presley: The Searcher Page #3

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(music fades)

(traffic honking)

Priscilla:

Once he moved to Memphis,

everything started

opening up for him.

He was 13.

Ferris:

As BB King once said,

when he moved to Memphis,

"It was like moving to Paris."

It was a different culture,

and a sense in which

things were connected

and happening,

that someone like Elvis

could not even

imagine in Tupelo.

The wealth, the affluence,

the scale of buildings,

the power of that river

flowing by.

Jackson:

Memphis is

a very diverse city,

not an integrated city,

but a very diverse city.

So you had a lot

of people moving there

after the war.

Man:

Well, you know

I love my baby

Jackson:

It was really the hub

for people from that Southern

cotton plantation area

to either stay or use it

as a stepping stone

to go somewhere else.

Ferris:

Like many Southern families,

the Presleys moved

to the big city

seeking a little better

opportunity.

Portia Maultsby:

Memphis developed a very

vibrant entertainment district,

'cause, you know,

people brought with them

their music, their culture.

Petty:

You've got that spill

there of the blues,

of gospel, pop music,

country music.

All those things,

they cross over each other,

and radio definitely

had to play

a big role in his influences,

because I don't think he was

carrying the kind of dough

to have an enormous

record collection.

(Petty chuckles)

Porter:

WDIA, it was a 50,000 watt

African-American radio station

that artists like

Bobby "Blue" Bland

were being played

'cause the whole emphasis

was black music.

Black music was just beginning

to take root in our area,

and there's no doubt in mind

that Elvis Presley

listened to WDIA.

Percy Mayfield (on radio):

It's a real pleasure

to invite you

to keep your radio

dial turned to 1070.

That means WDIA.

That's 50,000 watts

of powered entertainment

for your pleasure.

(children chattering)

West:

We were both just

above the poverty level.

I lived in one housing project,

and he lived in

Lauderdale Courts

about three or four

miles away.

We grew up the hard way.

(children chattering)

Alan Light:

The apartment

in Lauderdale Courts

that the Presleys moved into

was part of the early

New Deal housing program.

It was affordable,

but it was bigger than

anything they were used to.

They gave him everything.

They let him sleep

in the big bedroom.

They saved what

little money they had

so that he could buy a guitar,

he could buy a record player.

And they gave him that

same sort of independence

to go out in the city

and be exposed to other musics.

(jazz playing)

Train I ride

Priscilla:

He loved the bright lights.

He loved the music in the city.

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