The great radio host, Paul Harvey, presented a show called 'The Rest of the Story.' The show consisted of stories presented as little-known or forgotten facts about various subjects. Paul Harvey would hold back the critical element of the story, like a last name or location, until the end of the tale.
Paul begins his story by saying, "On the steamy 30th of July, Overton Park, Tennessee, was teaming with country music enthusiasts." Paul says there were "Big names and some small potatoes too."
Paul tells about a young man who was the smallest of them all. He had cut a record that no one had heard, but he was filler for the show. Paul notes, "He felt like a mule that got entered into the Kentucky Derby."
The young man was terrified, looking at the audience from backstage. He was jolted by his manager's tap on his shoulder, saying, "You're next." Paul says, 'They were the two most terrifying words he had ever heard."
He went on stage and started his first song. Paul says, "The enthusiasm of the audience had frightened the young singer, but now their waning enthusiasm frightened him more."
After what seemed like an eternity, his first number was over. He ran off stage and went to his manager, who told the boy he needed to find some confidence. He told the boy that he looked frozen stiff. The young man returned to the microphone, but now he was shaking so bad that everyone could see it. The crowd began to shout again, louder than before. For some reason, the audience seemed to be enjoying him. The intense trembling made the audience respond.
His manager told him after the show, "Whatever you do, don't stop trembling." Paul reveals the show was in 1954, and the shaking knees belonged to a young Elvis Presley, who later became the 'King of Rock n' Roll.' Paul closes with his traditional sign-off, saying, "And now you know the rest of the story."
There's a good stretch of Elvis Presley over on Amazon. We make a small share when you go through us. That keeps a couple of people and a houseful of cats in business.
