Scotty Moore was a musician who toured with Elvis and other artists in the 1950s. He collected memories of his adventures on his website (
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From Moore's Big Spring page: (
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"Music has always been an integral of Big Spring area life . . . On April 26, 1955 Elvis, Scotty and Bill made their one and only appearance in Big Spring with a performance at the Municipal Auditorium. It was the second night of a five day tour with Capitol recording artist Dub Dickerson and TNT artists Chuck Lee and Gene Kay that had started the night before in Wichita Falls.
Stanley Oberst wrote . . . Elvis met and ate with Oscar Glickman, the owner and operator of The Record Shop at 211 S Main St., not far from the auditorium. Promoting his Sun recordings, Elvis attempted to sell Glickman copies from the trunk of his car, a practice of self promotion not uncommon for many artists in those days. Though reluctant and with little faith in the boy's future as a performer, he was won over by Elvis' charm. He bought a box of 78s and reputedly put one record on the shelf and the rest in the basement. . . .
Stanley Oberst wrote that forty years later, Glickman's grandson stumbled across the Sun label 78s that Elvis had sold him. Evidently they were overlooked by the gentleman that bought out the basement in '74.
Joyce Railsback . . . wrote that Elvis wore pink pants and a pink shirt with black trim. After the show she got to meet him and have a Hayride program autographed.
Following Big Spring, Elvis, Scotty and Bill played Hobbs, NM and then completed the tour at the Cotton Club in Lubbock. . ."
I got the photo of the advertisement of Elvis's Big Spring show from Scotty Moore's website. Moore credits Andy Crews for the ad.
The Howard County Historical Association recognized the significance of the Municipal Auditorium to the community with a historic marker placed in the 1980s. That marker reads as follows:
"THE MUNICIPAL AUDITORIUM
This auditorium was designed by Peters, Strange, and Bradshaw, Architects and constructed by C. S. Lambie & Company, Amarillo Texas. It was financed by a $200,000 bond election June 16, 1931, which also included in the complex the construction of a City Hall, Jail, and Fire Station. Mayor J. B. Pickle, along with City Commissioners L. L. Bugg, C. E. Talbot, J. L. Webb, H. Hinman, and Joseph Edwards, and City Manager E. V. Spence accepted the unit as completed September 6, 1932.
The Auditorium, with a seating capacity of 1412 became the center for cultural productions, both professional and local. Famous performers in the fields of dance, opera, and symphony brought unforgettable entertainment to the citizens of Big Spring. These personalities included Tom Ewell, William Bendix, Mindy Carson, Lyle Talbot, Charles Laughton, Celeste Holm, Basil Rathbone, Robert Massey, Agnes Moorhead, Martin Gabel, Herb Shriner, Percy Grainger, Ferrante & Teicher, Jose Iturbi, Lili Kraus, Richard Ellsasser, Earl Wrightson & Lois Hunt, Jose Greco, Marjorie Tallchief, George Shearing, Freddy Martin, Bob Crosby, Woody Herman, Carlos Montoya, Arthur Fiedler, Fred Waring, Mantovani, Hank Williams Jr., Robert Merrill, Elvis Presley, Wayne Newton, and Margaret Whiting.
In 1988 the Dora Roberts Foundation financed a complete remodeling of the building and also added air conditioning."
The additional waypoint is The Record Shop at 211 S Main Street, where Elvis sold his box of 78s to Oscar Glickman.