|
The Story Behind the Photos
By Jean Cummings, Wife of
Photographer, Roy Cummings
Tupelo,
Mississippi – Sept. 26th, 1956
Roy was
assigned to cover the Tupelo Homecoming event for the English
Associated Newspaper at the time. This was the first time Roy met
Elvis. Roy told me that he was very impressed with his talent and
charisma and most importantly found Elvis to be such a gentleman.
Wedding
May 1st, 1967
The Colonel
was always good about keeping in touch. He would send out Christmas
cards each year. He invited Roy to the secret wedding at the
Aladdin Hotel in
Las Vegas.
Las Vegas
– July 31st, 1969
When we were
invited to the opening in Las Vegas it was absolutely amazing. We
met the Colonel in the lobby and that’s when he gave me a stuffed
hound dog toy. The lobby was like a big circus and the Colonel was
like the ringmaster. It was backstage when I met Elvis for the
first time. I remember there were so many people and everyone was
really excited that Elvis was back performing in front of a live
audience.
While Roy was
busy taking pictures, I was able to catch Elvis’s complete
performance. It was the first time I had ever seen him perform, I
thought he was terrific.
Press
Conference
After the
successful opening night in Las Vegas, Elvis and the Colonel held
the famous press conference where Roy took many photos. I remember
Elvis was absolutely gorgeous with his black hair wearing a black
suit with a pinkish black scarf. I found Elvis to be so very
gracious. He explained how relieved he was that he got such a
wonderful reception on opening night. He was charming and called me
ma’am. I wasn’t too happy about that because at the time I wasn’t
too old.
Jean Cummings
Photojournalist
Publisher’s Note:
To uncover a
rare photo of Elvis is always a treasure, but to uncover two hundred
photos (never before seen) almost fifty years later is absolutely
incredible! When I had my first look at the photographs of Elvis,
taken by Roy Cummings, I was amazed. How could these rare photos
taken by a professional photographer in the ’50s and ‘60s be filed
away, never to be seen? Photos from Tupelo ’56, The Wedding ’67,
Las Vegas International Hotel opening ’69, Press Conference ’69, and
most important, some candid photos…to die for. After researching
further, I found that throughout the years a select number of Roy
Cummings’ photos were seen numerous times in the movie and fan
magazines as well as newspapers around the world. Hundreds more
were filed away never to be seen until NOW!
For sixteen
years I’ve had the pleasure of publishing Elvis International ...
The Magazine, an official publication for Graceland, and I’ve found
that rare photos have always been the highlight for Elvis fans.
Along the way I’ve uncovered some very rare and beautiful photos of
Elvis, but I can honestly say that I have never seen a quality photo
book with so many ‘photos never before seen’ like “ELVIS
INCREDIBLE.”
|
Darwin Lamm
Publisher
Elvis
International
|
Click on Photo to enlarge |
| |
|
