Ed Sullivan, a New York entertainment reporter and TV host, initially did not want Elvis on his show. But Sullivan was engaged in a ratings battle with Steve Allen. When Steve Allen notoriously hosted Elvis on July 1, 1956, Allen trounced Sullivan in the ratings. The Steve Allen appearance was notorious as Allen made Elvis stand still in a tuxedo and sing “Hound Dog” to a live Bassett Hound. It was Allen’s attempt to calm down the controversy that surrounded the performance from the Milton Berle Show. Elvis’s longtime friend George Klein said Elvis would refer to the Steve Allen show as “the most ridiculous performance of my career.” Elvis also told the makers of “Elvis on Tour” in 1972 that the show was “as funny as a crutch”. Steve Allen would later attend Elvis’ Las Vegas shows and on one occasion when Allen was in the audience in 1974, Elvis reminisced, “He’s a funny kind of man, you know, he’s a brilliant genius of comedy. He had me dressed in a tuxedo, singing to a little fat dog. I love him for it, but I will never forgive him.”
Sullivan did not like being outdone by Allen, so he agreed to have Elvis on his show three times. The first was on September 9, 1956, during the filming of “Love Me Tender”. He sang “Don’t Be Cruel”, “Love Me Tender”, “Ready Teddy” and a condensed version of “Hound Dog”. 82.6% of the American TV audience tuned into the show, over sixty million people. This was a record for audience percentage share, and it still holds today.
Elvis returned on October 28, 1956, treating the audience to “Don’t Be Cruel”, “Love Me Tender”, “Love Me” and an extended version of “Hound Dog”, generating hysteria in the live audience.
The third and final appearance came on January 6, 1957, two days before Elvis’ 22nd birthday. This time, the studio executives decided to film Elvis only from the waist up. Elvis performed a medley of “Hound Dog”, “Love Me Tender” and “Heartbreak Hotel”, followed by “Don’t Be Cruel”. Introducing “Don’t Be Cruel”, Elvis publicly thanked everyone for all the success that he had. Later, he performed “Too Much”, “When My Blue Moon Turns to Gold Again”, and finally the gospel song “Peace in the Valley”. The latter was a favourite of his mother, and Elvis promised her he would sing it on the show.
At the end of the show, host Ed Sullivan declared, “This is a real decent fine boy.” He went on to say, “We have never had a more pleasant experience with a big name than we have had with you. You are thoroughly all right. So, let’s give a tremendous hand to a very nice person.” Both Elvis and The Jordanaires were visibly taken aback and moved by the declaration.
