Wink Martindale has died age 91

Wink Martindale spent 74 years in the radio and television business, starting his career at 17 as a DJ before making a name for himself at Memphis-based station WHBQ. Martindale was in the studio, although not working on-air that night, when the first Presley record 'That's All Right' was played on WHBQ on July 8, 1954. Upon hearing the track, Martindale called Presley's mother to see if he could come to his station for a chat. The conversation is thought to be instrumental in launching the career of a young Presley.

At his tenure with WHBQ, Martindale became the host of the TV show 'Top Ten Dance Party' where Elvis made an appearance on 16 June 1956. In 1959 he did a trans-Atlantic telephone interview with Presley, who was in the Army in Germany. Martindale's second wife, Sandy, briefly dated Presley after meeting him on the set of 'G.I. Blues' in 1960.

The two stayed friends until Presley's death in 1977. Following Elvis' death Martindale aired a nationwide tribute radio special in his honor. 

Martindale remembered Elvis on Fox News: I met Elvis Presley on a hot July night in 1954. I was morning man at WHBQ Radio in the Chisca Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee. I did the morning show called 'Clockwatchers'. At night from 9:00 to midnight, we had a wild DJ on the air who played black music for white kids in those days. They called it race music, rhythm and blues music. He had 65 to 70 percent of the audience.

Now, even though I worked mornings, I happened to be there this particular night showing some of my hometown buddies around the radio station. I heard this commotion coming out of the studio where Dewey Phillips was doing his show called 'Red, Hot and Blue'. I excused myself from my friends, and I walked into the studio. I discovered that Sam Phillips, founder of Sun Records, had walked in with an acetate - not a finished record - but an acetate of a recording he had made just two hours earlier by a truck driver for Crown Electric Company whose name was Elvis Presley.

Wink Martindale and Elvis Presley at WHBQ in Memphis - June 16, 1956.

Wink Martindale and Elvis Presley at WHBQ in Memphis - June 16, 1956.

He wanted DJ Dewey Phillips to test it on the air to see if he had anything. Dewey Phillips played it. The switchboard lit up. It was called 'That's All Right Mama'. It turned out to be his first hit. He played it seven times in a row. I was the one delegated by Sam Phillips to call Elvis' parents, who lived in low rent housing out in east Memphis called Lauderdale Courts. They were very poor. I got on the phone, and I called the Presley residence and Gladys, Mrs. Presley, answered the phone.

FN: Was Elvis' family aware of what was happening on the radio?

Wink Martindale: They were listening, of course, and they were very excited about the way the audience was reacting to 'That's All Right Mama', Elvis' first record. I said, 'Mrs. Presley, Dewey would like him to come down to the studio. He wants to interview him. Where is he?' She said, 'Well, he was so nervous about his record being played. He went to see a double-feature Western. You'll find him at Suzores Theatre on Decatur Street'.

They got in their truck, and they went over to the Suzores and walked up and down the dark aisles. There was Elvis sitting all by himself watching this Western movie. They whispered to him about the excitement being generated by 'That's All Right Mama'. He, of course, was excited. They came down to the station. Dewey put him on the air and interviewed him. It was his very first interview as a pro. I met him that night, and he remained my friend until the day he died.

FN: What surprised you the most about Elvis?

Wink Martindale: He was a giver. Very few people knew that he gave away literally millions and millions of dollars to charitable organizations not only in this country but all over the world.

He was a great giver. If he was your friend, he was your friend until the day you died. I mean he would always be your friend and do anything for you that you needed him to do. He was that kind of a person.

Interview with Wink and Sandy Martindale

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