{} The Best Music You've Never Heard {}
After Elvis Presley’s set at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, announcer Al Dvorin tells the crowd, “Elvis has left the building.” The phrase soon enters the cultural lexicon, used to signal that an event is truly over.
Elvis Presley makes the first of three contracted appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show. Sullivan had previously announced he would never have such an act on, but ratings prevailed and Sullivan offered Elvis a record $50,000 for the three shows. Charles Laughton hosts, filling in for an ailing Sullivan as Elvis performs “Don’t Be Cruel,” “Love Me Tender,” “Ready Teddy” and “Hound Dog” but is shot from the waist up only to avoid scandal. The show draws a staggering 54 million viewers.