Andy and Elvis
July 25, 1955, stand-up comic Andy Griffith started a Florida tour at the New City Auditorium in Fort Myers. This tour was 9 shows in 5 different Florida cities. The opening act for this tour was Elvis Presley. Shortly after this, Elvis became so popular that he would never be anyone's "opening act" again. Not related to this tour, in July 1994, the band Confederate Railroad released their song "Elvis and Andy." ___ WBMUTBB mailing list WBMUTBB@wbmutbb.com http://www.wbmutbb.com/
Andy and Elvis
The boys at the lab and I were doing some research, and learned that one of the opening acts for The Andy Griffith Show, a live comedy show, was Elvis Presley. This tour had 9 shows, covering 5 Florida cities in 7 days, from July 25-31, 1955. Ticket prices ranged from $1.25 to $1.50. We knew Andy was special, but having Elvis Presley as your opening act can only be described as BIG. Here's a link to a Daytona newspaper ad for this show. http://www.elvisconcerts.com/newspapers/a55073002.jpg ___ WBMUTBB mailing list WBMUTBB@wbmutbb.com http://www.mayberry.com/tagsrwc/wbmutbb/
Allen, Andy and Elvis
Thank you Allen for the multiple postings allowing everyone to express their timely condolences and sense of loss concerning one of the finest men and great entertainers of our lifetime. On another note I wasn't aware that Andy once toured with Elvis Presley. Apparently in 1955 he joined Elvis and several Grand Ole Opry stars touring the countryNeedless to say Andy got top billing...this was in July of 1955 before either he or Elvis had hit the big time. Andy had been touring with his wife, Barbara doing a song and dance routine. So this would have been about the time he started doing stand-up comedy. Tickets for the shows sold for $1.25. How times change. You can't even get a nectarine crush for that price today. Vic Friskey ___ WBMUTBB mailing list WBMUTBB@wbmutbb.com http://www.mayberry.com/tagsrwc/wbmutbb/
Re: Andy and Elvis
Thank you for telling us about the tour, Mr. Friskey. Here is an Andy Griffith Scrapbook cid:part1.01080301.07000908@oldpinkhilltraders.comfrom the tour. It has a nice, two-page write up on Mr. Griffith in the beginning of the book. That same year Andy, Elvis and Imogene Cocoa performed a cowboy skit on the Steve Allen Show. It was mentioned on a forum that Elvis was eluded to or mentioned on TAGS a couple of times. ~Kim in MO On 7/6/2012 11:00 AM, wbmutbb-requ...@wbmutbb.com wrote: On another note I wasn't aware that Andy once toured with Elvis Presley. Apparently in 1955 he joined Elvis and several Grand Ole Opry stars touring the country. ___ WBMUTBB mailing list WBMUTBB@wbmutbb.com http://www.mayberry.com/tagsrwc/wbmutbb/
