An Unpopular Elvis Presley Brought His Teachers to Tears at a School Talent Show

Elvis Presley was not popular in high school. He was the frequent target of bullying, sometimes violent, from classmates. Even faculty members were hard on him. All of this changed rather dramatically after a talent show, though. His voice was so impressive that some of his teachers began to cry. His fellow students also began to treat him with more respect and kindness.

Elvis Presley stunned his classmates and teachers during a talent show at school

During Elvis’ senior year of high school, he participated in a talent show. This was a surprise to everyone who knew him. Red West, who stuck up for Elvis and would later become his bodyguard, said he had no idea that Elvis could sing. 

“To be honest, I never thought he would have the guts to get out there in front of those people,” West said in the book Elvis: What Happened? by Steve Dunleavy. “He just never impressed me as being that brave. I never even knew he sang, but I was to get a surprise.”

The moment Elvis began singing, everyone’s opinion of him shifted. He even brought teachers to tears.

“Hell, do you know while Elvis was singing the love songs, there was one lady teacher crying?” West said. “And there were other teachers who had tears in their eyes. When he finished his show, the kids went crazy; they applauded and applauded. They just went mad. He was an easy winner.”

Elvis Presley had not been popular at school before this

The reaction was particularly surprising because nobody had treated Elvis this way in the past. He had no friends and was often a target for bullies.

“It seems that the way I remember it, someone was always picking on him,” West said. “Don’t know why. He was easygoing enough, quiet, well-mannered, was always respectful of his elders, and he never wised off at anyone. ln many ways he was a very good kid, a lot nicer than some of the others around.”

West, who was a year younger than Elvis, had to begin sticking up for him. They weren’t friends, but West felt terribly for the older boy.

“I really felt sorry for him,” West said. “He seemed very lonely and had no real friends. He just didn’t seem to be able to fit in.”

Red West believed this was when Elvis began to want to be a performer

West believed the talent show was a pivotal moment in Elvis’ life. While he had always liked singing, he caught the performing bug after seeing his classmates’ reaction to him.

“At first Elvis just stood there, surprised as hell,” Wests said. “He seemed to be amazed that for the first time in his life someone, other than his family, really liked him. I’ll never really know when Elvis got bitten by the bug of loving the applause of the audience, but my guess is that it happened right then in Humes High School. At last, it seemed, he had found a way to make outsiders love him.”