February 16th in Elvis History

It's February sixteenth, and on this day in 1955… Elvis Presley performed two back-to-back shows at the Odessa Senior High School Field House in Texas, drawing over four thousand fans. Among the crowd was a young Roy Orbison, who later recalled being blown away by Elvis's raw power onstage, saying, “His energy was incredible, his instinct was just amazing.” It was a night that left a future rock legend starstruck.

And on this day in 1972… Elvis recorded his iconic rendition of “An American Trilogy” live at the Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas. RCA captured the midnight show, and nearly all the masters used for official release came from this performance. The soaring medley became one of Elvis’s most powerful and patriotic showpieces.