He gave the world a thrill

Elvis Presley made his memorable first appearance on Ed Sullivan's television show on this day in 1956 and the rest, they always insist on saying, is history.

(The photo posted here is from a 1960 show called the Frank Sinatra Timex Special. I couldn't resist sharing it now. I'm just sorry I don't have video of this dynamic duo singing "Love Me Tender'' and "Witchcraft'' together at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami.)

Reportedly one in three Americans tuned in to the Sullivan show, or about the same percentage that views this blog each day. Seriously, who could draw numbers like that today? Certainly not the President.

But it wasn't Elvis' first appearance on TV. That came earlier in the year, on January 28, when he sang "Heartbreak Hotel'' on Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey's Stage Show. Elvis would also appear on Milton Berle and Steve Allen's shows, setting the stage for his delirious debut on Sullivan.

There's a bit of misinformation flying around about the Sullivan appearance. It's true that some factions in ultra-conservative Fifties America found Elvis' onstage antics and gyrating offensive, but "the Pelvis'' was not censured by either Sullivan or CBS. It wasn't until Elvis' third appearance on Sullivan in 1957 that he was shown from the waist up, and that was more likely a publicity stunt hatched by his manager, Colonel Parker.

Whatever the reason, no songwriter has referenced the occasion better than Fred Eaglesmith:

Elvis Presley, he came up from Jackson
With a brand new way of singing, Lord, and a brand new way of dancing
And even from the waist up, Lord, he gave the world a thrill
He ended up on alcohol and pills.

"Alcohol and Pills'' is a cautionary lament about the hazards of fame and includes as evidence mentions of Hank Williams, Elvis, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and Gram Parsons. But you have to give Eaglesmith credit for slipping in the line "even from the waist up.''

Lord, he did give the world a thrill.