Elvis Presley Performs at Bethel Springs School

Elvis Presley Performs at Bethel Springs School. September 17, 1954. Shortly after local schools were back in fall session, a benefit concert was held on this site, September 17, 1954, at Bethel Springs School. While not unusual for the time, the Bethel Springs lineup included a young Elvis Presley, performing in his first documented live concert outside of Memphis, Tennessee., At the time, Presley was riding a moderate wave of regional media attention focused on his first single, That’s All Right / Blue Moon of Kentucky (SUN 209), but he was far from the superstar he would soon become, the small gathering of McNairy County students at Bethel Springs were electrified by Presley’s new style, but two weeks later his music received a chilly reception at the more traditional Grand Ole Opry., Future Rockabilly icon Carl Perkins was in the Bethel Springs audience, noting the enthusiastic response of the crowd. Perkins would later say it was a turning point in his career; the first time he realized the music he and Presley were pioneering appealed to younger record-buyers., Presley and Perkins met here as virtual unknowns, but both men are now considered founding fathers of Rock ‘N’ Roll music.