Here's a description from the Ed Sullivan website:
Following an innocent act by an Irish children’s choir called The Little Gaelic Singers, Elvis Presley took the stage and sang, “Don’t Be Cruel” and “Love Me Tender.” After Señor Wences’s ventriloquism act, Elvis returned to perform “Love Me.” During this song the camera moved in for a close-up of Elvis’ face, and then, as if on cue, he smiled and snarled his upper lip. The studio audience went wild. Elvis closed that evening with the performance of his hit, “Hound Dog.”
After the broadcast, a stuffed Elvis was burned in effigy by crowds in Nashville and St. Louis. The press was critical of his style and movements, and the supposedly negative influence of rock and roll on America’s youth. He scared parents. Of course this immediately made him wildly popular with millions of teenagers.
In this old video, I think the best part is watching his uncomfortable background singers, The Jordanaires, originally formed as a gospel group. Elvis looks like he's having the time of his life.
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