Cotton Bowl - Dallas, TX - Elvis on Waymarking.com

"On October 11, 1956, on the start of a 4 day tour in Texas that would include Waco, Houston and San Antonio, Elvis, Scotty, Bill and DJ performed at the Cotton Bowl as featured performers during the State Fair. It was reported that there were 26,500 fans in attendance, the largest paid crowd ever to see an entertainer perform in Dallas and the largest that band had ever performed to at the time.

The show, sponsored by KLIF Radio, lasted 90 minutes, 35 minutes of which was Elvis' performance. The first hour consisted of acts by Sherry Davis (a local who had also appeared on the Big D Jamboree and would take many photos of the tour), Howard and Wanda Bell, Rex Marlowe, Hubert Castle and The Jordanaires all backed by Hyman Charninsky and his orchestra.

The Dallas Morning News reported, a spotlight located high atop the press box cut a path through the cool Texas night and picked out the side-burned crooner in the back seat of the convertible. A roar snowballed out of the grandstand as the car circled the gridiron, then grew to an earsplitting crescendo. When Elvis waved his hand the roar increased. As he approached the stage it appeared that the crowd would quiet at least momentarily, but he made the mistake of tossing back his head and emitted a brief laugh. Pandemonium broke loose again and Presley never gave it another opportunity to subside.

His Newest record, 'Love Me Tender,' (the title tune from his recently completed motion picture), sold a million copies before it hit retail shelves. When he sang it midway through his show, the song brought joyful shrieks of ecstasy from the thousands of teenage fans."