Murfreesboro remembers Elvis Presley March 14, 1974

It was 50 years ago this March 14 that Elvis Presley performed the first of five sold-out concerts at Middle Tennessee State University's Murphy Center. Tickets went on sale two months in advance and sold out in a day. The price of admission? Ten dollars on the floor and five bucks for a bleacher seat.

The other four shows took place March 19, 1974, and in 1975 on April 29, May 6 and May 7.

While 12,400 fans saw the entertainer at each concert, there were a fortunate few that either met Presley or got within shouting distance. Most of them retain distinctive memories of their close encounters of the Elvis kind.

One of Presley's biggest fans in Murfreesboro was the late Pat Patterson, who had a jukebox filled with his songs. She enjoyed his first Murphy Center concert from the bleachers, but earlier that day, she and her three daughters, Vickie, 12, Rhonda, 7, and Kim, 5, got a glimpse of him at the Smyrna airport.

Elvis Presley March 14, 1974: Elvis in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

'Our dad was a pilot, and we got to go to the airport often. We knew Elvis was going be there, and Dad took us to the airport', recalled Kim, who operates Veda's Flowers & Gifts in Murfreesboro with her sister Rhonda. 'Elvis' car was not able to be there, and we had a gold Cadillac. Some of the people let him know we had one, and dad offered his, and Elvis rode in it. When he got in our car, we were standing right there at the door. Some of Elvis' people drove the car'.

Afterward, the girls and their mother were invited to take a private tour of Elvis Presley's plane, the Lisa Marie.

'We got the opportunity when they asked us if we wanted to get on the plane, and we went on and we got a couple of decks of Elvis playing cards and some silk scarves autographed by Elvis, and they offered us some (soft) drinks. It was the first time I ever had a cherry Coke', said Kim.

Kim's sister Vickie shared her recollections with a Murfreesboro newspaper in 2017, saying, 'I remember seeing Elvis' sunglasses laying on a table, but Mom had told us not to touch anything. It was like going into the largest candy store you had ever seen. One wall had stacked containers of every candy you could think of, and we were allowed to pick out whatever we wanted'.

Elvis Presley performed the first of five concerts at Middle Tennessee State University's Murphy Center on March 14, 1974. Ticket prices were $5 and $10 and sold out in a day.
This photograph of Presley, wearing his aqua blue vine jumpsuit, was the first full-color cover of 'Collage', a student-run creative arts magazine at MTSU.
His other shows took place March 19, 1974, and April 29, May 6 and May 7, 1975. MIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY

Law enforcement's role

From the airport, Presley and his entourage made their way to the Ramada Inn on S. Church Street in Murfreesboro where the entertainer cooled his heels in Room 208.

There, two young Rutherford County deputy sheriffs, Sam Goodwin, then 26, and David Puckett, then 24, were tasked to provide security for Presley at the hotel.

Goodwin, the son of Rutherford County Sheriff Robert Goodwin, noted that Elvis' manager Col. Tom Parker, rather than using city police, wanted the county sheriff to be in charge of handling security because he had jurisdiction over the entire county.

'Houston Carlton, who was the county's chief deputy, met them at the Smyrna Airport, and then brought Elvis to the Ramada Inn. David and I knew what door he would be coming in, and we were right there at the door. When he came in, we walked him to his room', said Goodwin.

'David said, 'We got to get a picture'. I didn't think we should. He had a camera. I was shy about asking him if we could have our picture taken with him, but Elvis was very obliging. We took turns taking each other's picture with him. The second time I was with him (for the March 19 concert), I asked him if he would autograph it for me, and he said, 'Sure'.

'He had about three or four bodyguards in the room, and there was a big box of Elvis handkerchiefs. I remember going in after he left, and he had his outfit all laid out nice on the bed. Another thing I noticed, he had a religious book there.

Rutherford County Deputy Sheriff Sam Goodwin, a Murfreesboro native, provided security for Elvis Presley at the Ramada Inn during the entertainer's two appearances at Murphy Center in March 1974.
Goodwin had his picture taken with Presley on the first occasion and had the singer autograph the photo when he returned five days later for his second concert.

'I wasn't all excited like his fans were. To me it was just a job. We went back to the entrance so nobody could come in. He had a whole wing with his entourage on the south side of the motel. We were there the whole time he was there, about two or three hours. He got there before his singers and his band. I remember J.D. Sumner of the Stamps Quartet coming in.

'Women would come and knock on the side door, and we would open the door. One woman came up there with a three-ring binder, and said she was in charge of taking pictures of all his shows. We asked some of Elvis' people, and they said, 'No, never heard of her. She's just a fan'.

'We did let in those wearing a gold chain necklace with the lightning bolt and the letters TCB, which stood for Taking Care of Business (Elvis' motto). And they did. There were no shenanigans, none whatsoever. The Colonel didn't want anyone to embarrass Elvis or the show.

'I noticed that Elvis wore three-inch heels when he was dressed for the show. When he got into the limo to head over to the concert, I made sure the area was secure We were in the back when he left, and when the limo came up, one woman rushed past me and tried to grab a hold of Elvis and his hair.

Those who attended an Elvis Presley concert at MTSU in 1974 may have owned a button similar to this one.
Courtesy Of Albert Gore Research Center.

His bodyguard, Red West, jumped in real quick and held her back, and she said, 'Elvis, we love you'. And Elvis said, 'Hold it, lady, don't harm the merchandise'. There were a lot of people there, mostly women, of course'.

Puckett, who left law enforcement and later served as an assistant district attorney for 22 years in Cannon and Rutherford counties, recalled a few memories about his brief few hours guarding the superstar.

'For 50 years now, my wife, Linda, keeps reminding me, saying, 'Why didn't you tell Elvis that we just got married, and he might just have given us a Cadillac'. We did ask him for pictures. We had a camera and got our pictures made, and I did get him to autograph an envelope to me wife', said Puckett.

'My claim to fame is I had my pictures with Elvis when he came here and I had a picture with O.J. Simpson when he came here. It was pretty neat for being a 24-year-old kid. I grew up in Memphis, and Elvis' first house was not far from where we lived before he went to Graceland', added Puckett.

Goodwin tacks on a few more recollections, saying, 'From the hotel we went on to Middle Tennessee State University where he was performing. We were in a hall waiting from him to come out of the auditorium. I remember he was exhausted and so tired. He was sweating and had a towel around his neck. We followed his limo to Smyrna Airport, but we had to block cars and cut them off from following the limo. We put the lights on and held them back for a few minutes and then let them go'.

From the arena

Harold Smith,founding director of MTSU Student Programming and its concert series, never met Elvis, but did see portions of his concerts, and told the press, 'Every time before a show … it was just like it was the first Elvis had ever performed … nervous as he could be. But as soon as that orchestra started to play the '2001 Space Odyssey' theme, you could see the nervousness drain right out of him. And he'd go onstage and kill'.

Elvis Presley March 14, 1974: Elvis in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

A few weeks ago, Smith shared with Main Street Media, 'Elvis came here five times and sold out every time. I was involved in booking those shows, producing the shows, and my office was involved in everything to do with his appearance here.

'I had dealings with Col. Parker, and he was strictly business. The contractual agreement was somewhat more simple than a lot of other performers. Elvis Presley wanted six Coca- Colas in his dressing room. That's all.

'When he arrived at our venue (Murphy Center), other than a limo driver, he had three people with him: the West brothers (Red and Sonny West, Elvis' bodyguards) and Joe Esposito (Elvis' right-hand man, close friend and road manager). I didn't get to see much of the show', said Smith.

Elvis Presley March 14, 1974: Elvis in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

As for the last word on Presley's inaugural performance at MTSU, we'll leave that to Mike West, who, as a 21-year-old newspaper reporter in Murfreesboro, reviewed the concert. The headline read: 'Elvis Performs, Crowd Pleased'.

Here are a few paragraphs from the review: 'The audience, the largest in Murphy Center's brief history, was tense but not vocal. After all, Elvis fans are a different breed from any other set of fans. They're rabidly loyal, but they're also hard to please, but, when you get down to it, Elvis did more than please them.

'Personally, the high point was a moving, well-orchestrated version of Kris Kristofferson's 'Why Me Lord', which featured the super bass of J.D. Sumner.

'Another high point was 'Suspicious Minds'. … 'American Trilogy' - a Mickey Newbury concoction - was also enough to make one feel patriotic which is amazing when you consider the nation's current disenchantment. Perhaps this feeling points to the reason for Elvis' success. He offers his fans a musical world that's quite an improvement over their daily, often disenchanting grind'.

In a recent interview with Main Street Media, West said, 'What stood out about the concert was what it did to Murfreesboro. Everybody went crazy trying to get tickets. You had to call a number and give them your information from your credit card.

'The set-up was incredible. They had quadrophonic sound. That's the only time I ever saw that with speakers up front and in back of the Murphy Center. It was professional from start to finish. It started with the theme from '2001' and the drums were going and everyone was going berserk. There were a lot of women in their 30s screaming like teenagers', said West, who recalled that he had a seat in the lower tier but was pretty close to the stage.

'Elvis took off scarves and threw them in the crowd. One thing I remember was a woman threw her mink stole on stage, and they took it, and she got all worried about it. They contacted the crew, and they finally got it back to her. I think everybody from my era either loved him or hated him. I grew up on all his movies and his music'.

As for Elvis' final words to that first Murfreesboro crowd, he thanked them saying, 'You're a fantastic audience really, and, until the next time back in Murfreesboro, we bid you an affectionate adios'.

At the time, who would ever have believed the King would be dead three years and five months later at the age of 42.

Elvis in living color

The photograph above of Elvis Presley taken by Mike Freeman appeared on the cover of the May 1974 edition of Collage, a student-run publication at MTSU. It was the first color cover in the magazine's history.

The first full-color cover of 'Collage', a student-run creative arts magazine at MTSU, appeared in May 1974. It featured a picture of Elvis performing at the university snapped by 22-year-old Mike Freeman.

There Had Been Rumors All Day About Elvis...

By Jerry Kenion
Greensboro Daily News
March 14, 1974

Elvis arrived in Greensboro at 5 p.m. Wednesday, and only about 25 people were on hand to see him descend the ramp from his chartered plane.

There had been rumors all day. In beauty shops. In curb markets and grocery stores. Even at one of the local barbecue restaurants.

One story had it that Elvis arrived late Tuesday night and stayed at the Holiday Inn Four Seasons, being whisked away to the Hilton Wednesday morning. That one was false.

ANOTHER RUMOR was that he'd been in Greensboro most of the day Wednesday having arrived early in the day. Another wrong one.

Several avid Elvis fans got onto the right story and spent the major part of Wednesday afternoon waiting around Atlantic Aero at the Regional Airport. These female fans waited patiently, scanning the skies with their binoculars. They knew they were gambling, but all they had to lose was time.

Two enterprising Elvis - chasers were using the pay phone at Atlantic Aero to call friends who might know a bit more about the star's arrival. At the time this was going on, the plane that brought the band to town was sitting on the pavement, the band members long gone. Some of the fans took several pictures of this plane, just in case they missed Elvis' plane.

About 4 p.m. signs began to appear. Men with out-of-town accents were strolling purposefully around the terminal for small planes.

AND THEN, the tip-off. One of the out of towners made a long distance call at the pay phone. Eavesdroppers (three of us) heard him say, 'I'm at the airport waiting for Elvis right now'.

We'd all hit pay dirt. He wasn't there yet, and we wouldn't have to wait long.

The man at the pay phone moved out onto the pavement with two or three others and they stood around close to where a black limousine was parked in the grass beside a runway. Terminal employes began to move a bit more quickly.

Elvis was in the air, that much we'd overheard. It couldn't be long now. About a dozen women moved outside in the wind to keep their vigil.

Then the sleek white plane touched down and taxied toward the front of Atlantic Aero. There was a rush for the doors as two dozen women braved the jet blast to move a bit closer to the plane. The black limousine was parked just steps from where the singing star would hit the bottom step of the plane's stairs.

AN ORDERLY GROUP, the Elvis fans stopped moving toward the plane when one lone terminal employe said, 'That's far enough'. They were content to stand 40 feet away and see their idol descend from the plane.

Several people left the plane and climbed into the limousine. Then, there he was. The King. He walked slowly down the stairs, the wind blowing his black caped coat, and flared black trousers. Elvis paused to greet someone in his exclusive circle, glanced up through tinted sunglasses at the few fans waving and taking pictures, and disappeared into the limousine.

A few of the quick-thinking fans were waiting in their cars, ready to take off after the limousine when it rounded the corner of the parking lot. There were, of course, rumors that Elvis was going to several hotels. These sleuths were really to follow that car to find out for themselves.

It was all over. The King had arrived with no fanfare, The Colonel's (Tom Parker, his manager) tight security triumphed again.

Elvis Presley fans could move on to testing the security at the Coliseum before, during and after the 8:30 p.m. concert. And then, there were the hotels - he was bound to be at one of them and somebody would find out which one.

They never give up, these followers of Elvis. But they hardly ever get much more than a glimpse of the entertainer.

Elvis Presley March 1974

Elvis Presley with Oral Roberts | March 1, 1974
Elvis Presley Houston Astrodome | March 3, 1974
Elvis Presley March 6, 1974 | Montgomery, Alabama
Elvis Presley Ramada Hotel | Monroe Louisiana | March 7, 1974
Elvis Presley Ramada Hotel | Monroe Louisiana | March 8, 1974
Elvis Presley Live On Stage in Memphis | March 16, 1974
Elvis Presley Elvis Recorded Live On Stage in Memphis | March 17, 1974
Joe Esposito with Elvis Presley at the Memphis airport | March 18, 1974
Elvis Presley Recorded Live On Stage in Memphis | March 20, 1974
 Elvis' 1974 Easter Television Special

© Copyright 2024 by www.elvis.com.au & www.elvispresley.com.au

https://www.elvis.com.au/presley/murfreesboro-remembers-elvis-presley-march-14-1974.shtml

No part of any article on this site may be re-printed for public display without permission.