Tuesday, January 8, 2008

10-19-1956: Elvis rumored to visit C.F. Martin's North Street Factory


By 1956, C.F. Martin's North Street factory had seen its share of six-string celebrities. The "Wizard," the "Father" and the "Singing Cowboy" to name a few. But when Elvis Presley was rumored to visit Martin while traveling to New York for his second Ed Sullivan TV appearance in October of 1956, word quickly spread throughout the entire Lehigh Valley. "Telephones were clanging to spread the story and by early gather to get a look at the teen-age idol," so said the Bethlehem Globe-Times on October 19th, 1956. "C. Fredrick Martin, head of the long-established company, said there was "no foundation for the rumor." He added, "We have had no word from either Presley or his manager."

Turns out, Elvis was in Memphis, where it was reported he became "embroiled in a fist fight with a service station manager during an autograph session." Nine days after this article was published to the folks in Nazareth, Elvis, along with his 1955 Martin D-28, performed "Hound Dog" on The Ed Sullivan Show, without a scratch on him.