Fans who experienced Elvis Presley perform at SpokaneB次元官网网址檚 Memorial Stadium in August 1957 recall how the King looked and sounded as he gyrated across the stage at the peak of his career.

However, Jackie Allen remembers how Presley felt.

B次元官网网址淗is skin was so softB次元官网网址� Allen recalled. B次元官网网址淚 remember touching his hand when he signed for me.B次元官网网址�

Allen, 80, was photographed by a Spokane Chronicle photographer while she received an autograph from the rock and roll star.

B次元官网网址淚 was crying when I met him,B次元官网网址� Allen said while calling from her Spokane Valley home.

The North Central High School alum, class of 1960, was one of the few people at the Spokane train station when Presley arrived. A neighbor, who was hired to pick up Presley, told Allen about the emerging superstarB次元官网网址檚 arrival.

B次元官网网址淚 was one of the few people there at the station the night before the concert because hardly anyone else knew about it,B次元官网网址� Allen said.

The following evening Allen, who lived across the street from Memorial Stadium, attended the show.

B次元官网网址淚 cried throughout the concert since I was so thrilled,B次元官网网址� Allen said. B次元官网网址淚 still have the ticket stub from the show.B次元官网网址�

Linda Chamberlain also has her ripped ticket from the event.

While cleaning out her motherB次元官网网址檚 basement five years ago, Chamberlain discovered her lone memento from PresleyB次元官网网址檚 Spokane debut, on the night of Aug. 30, 1957, at Spokane Memorial Stadium (later known as Joe Albi Stadium).

B次元官网网址淲hen I saw the ticket, I was like, B次元官网网址極h my God, are you kidding me?B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� Chamberlain said from her South Hill home. B次元官网网址淚t was an experience IB次元官网网址檒l never forget. I was 10 years old and I knew how lucky I was to see Elvis.B次元官网网址�

Chamberlain, 75, and her sister, Rita Joyce, 77, who grew up in Hillyard, experienced history thanks to their mother, Nicky Joyce, who was crazy about Elvis.

B次元官网网址淢y mom was 31 at the time of the concert and she thought Elvis was the greatest,B次元官网网址� Chamberlain said. B次元官网网址淪he loved playing those early Elvis albums in our house. She and her friend decided to take my sister and I to the show since we were her cover. I was 10 and my sister was 12. Most parents at that time didnB次元官网网址檛 like Elvis. I overheard my friendB次元官网网址檚 parents say that he was the devil and he was just awful.B次元官网网址�

Teenage girls, the overwhelming majority at PresleyB次元官网网址檚 Spokane debut, screamed and howled throughout the 16-song performance, Chamberlain said.

B次元官网网址淚 remember my mother got upset with the girls in front of us, who were out of control,B次元官网网址� Chamberlain recalled. B次元官网网址淭hey just screamed. She told them that she didnB次元官网网址檛 pay for our tickets to hear them. She wanted to hear Elvis.B次元官网网址�

Chamberlain and her sister wanted to see Elvis. Chamberlain repeatedly yanked at the binoculars around RitaB次元官网网址檚 neck.

B次元官网网址淢y poor sisterB次元官网网址檚 memory from the show is me pulling on the binoculars,B次元官网网址� Chamberlain said. B次元官网网址淲e werenB次元官网网址檛 far from the stage, but we both just wanted to see Elvis as well as possible.B次元官网网址�

Presley kicked off the show with Little RichardB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淭utti Frutti.B次元官网网址� The King followed with such classics as B次元官网网址淒onB次元官网网址檛 Be Cruel,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淗eartbreak HotelB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址�(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淚 loved every minute of the show, but my favorite was when Elvis played B次元官网网址榃hen My Blue Moon Turns to Gold Again,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� Chamberlain said. B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 an amazing song.B次元官网网址�

Give Chamberlain credit for going with the deep cut penned by Wiley Walker and Gene Sullivan. Presley, who was 22 and in his prime, altered the state of pop music and pop culture. The first rock and roll star was just a year removed from his initial hit when he played Memorial Stadium. His first two albums, B次元官网网址淓lvisB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淓lvis Presley,B次元官网网址� each recorded and released in 1956, were pure, primal blasts of rockabilly.

Many music pundits believe that 1957 was PresleyB次元官网网址檚 peak as a singer and performer.

PresleyB次元官网网址檚 raw sensuality disturbed many adults and thrilled young women. It was a huge deal when Presley opened his four-day, five-city Pacific Northwest tour in Spokane.

B次元官网网址淵ou wonder why Elvis played a show in our city, which didnB次元官网网址檛 have a lot going on at the time,B次元官网网址� Chamberlain said. B次元官网网址淎nd we were so isolated.B次元官网网址�

Nevertheless, Presley, his band, his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, and his entourage embarked on a two-day train trip from Memphis to Spokane.

Presley played on a stage directly in the middle of the Memorial Stadium field. B次元官网网址淗e was right on what would have been the 50-yard line,B次元官网网址� Chamberlain said.

According to Chamberlain, half of the stadiumB次元官网网址檚 concrete bleachers were empty.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檒l never forget that people were seated on one side of the stadium,B次元官网网址� Chamberlain said. B次元官网网址淣obody else was on the other side (of the venue).B次元官网网址�

What is burned into ChamberlainB次元官网网址檚 memory is PresleyB次元官网网址檚 finale, B次元官网网址淗ound Dog.B次元官网网址� During the performance the kid from Tupelo, Mississippi, leapt into the dirt track from the stage that separated him from his fans. Presley belted out B次元官网网址淗ound Dog,B次元官网网址� while in a gold lam茅 jacket, and fell to his knees in the dirt and sawdust.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檒l never get that image out of my head, and as soon as B次元官网网址楬ound DogB次元官网网址� ended, Elvis jumped into a Cadillac and drove right out of the stadium,B次元官网网址� Chamberlain said. B次元官网网址淚t all happened so fast. Girls jumped over the railing from the stands to the track and started putting sawdust and dirt from where Elvis jumped on into their purses. It was absolutely crazy.B次元官网网址�

Not every young girl was as fortunate as Chamberlain and Joyce. Judith Holter, 77, who was a sixth grader growing up in West Central when Presley played Memorial Stadium, wanted to catch the King but didnB次元官网网址檛 have the opportunity.

B次元官网网址淚 couldnB次元官网网址檛 afford to go,B次元官网网址� Holter said while calling from Olympia. B次元官网网址淚 wanted to see Elvis but we were a limited-income family.B次元官网网址�

The tickets, which were $3.50, are the equivalent of $37 today.

B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 the way it went for me,B次元官网网址� Holter said. B次元官网网址淢y father passed away and my mom was raising us. Elvis was such a thing. He was such a great singer. He was so attractive. But I never saw the show or any footage from it.B次元官网网址�

Chamberlain has never witnessed film of the show either.

B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 know if anything was shot,B次元官网网址� Chamberlain said. B次元官网网址淢y regret is that I didnB次元官网网址檛 bring my Brownie Instamatic. No one thought to bring a camera to the show. ItB次元官网网址檚 alright. IB次元官网网址檒l always have my memories of Elvis performing, and I still have my ticket stub after all of these years.B次元官网网址�

Chamberlain and Allen each visited Graceland after Presley died in 1977, but neither saw the aging enigma when he performed at the Coliseum in 1976. B次元官网网址淚 didnB次元官网网址檛 want to spoil my memories of Elvis playing Memorial Stadium, so I didnB次元官网网址檛 go to the Coliseum,B次元官网网址� Allen said. B次元官网网址淚 still think about that show at Memorial Stadium, and I still love Elvis.B次元官网网址�