Any clue about how it all started?
This topic has been covered several times before… anyway, it all comes down to one fact: in concert, Elvis never did encores. He had a predetermined set of songs, and as soon as the last song was over, he hopped in the limo and went back to his hotel immediately.
Now, if you’ve been to rock concerts, you know that fans ALWAYS expect an encore, and will wait around forever, stomping, clapping, and waving their Bic lighters, hoping the band will come back on stage and do a few more songs. Since Elvis’ entourage knew there was never going to be an encore, someone always had to grab a mike after the last song, and let the fans know that there was no point in waiting around for an encore.
“Elvis has left the building” was shorthand for “He’s gone. The show’s over. There ain’t no more. Now, go home already!”
Thanks for trying, astorian, but have you noticed that it doesn´t answer the original question? I know wny they used to say “Elvis has left blah blah blah” and all that thing about the no-encores rule. What I wanted to know is when it started. I know it´s pretty hard to pinpoint, but I believe that somewhere in the world, some anal-retentive fan must have a record on that.
I Googled it, and found this. masakim says it was Horace Logan at the Louisiana Hayride on 15/12/56, linking to Elivis.com as a reference.
1,000% Perrr-fect! The mystery was solved to a T! Thanks, dude!
Dude, I wouldn’t trust I site that can’t even spell his name right.
Well, my ghastly friend… at first I thought that “Elivis” was a wordplay with “Elvis Lives”; but my second guest is that they couldn´t use “elvis.com”. The OFFICIAL name of the site is elvisnews.com.
I am always wild when I see this mis-attribution.
It’s actually a (mis)quote from Shakespeare, in A Midsummers Nights Dream Act V scene vii.
Titania: Then I, right jocund, apt and willing,
Shall to mortals’ slumbers send my patient maids.
Pease, Apple Blossom, Wainscot, Moth and Sharp,
Faeries all, return you swiftly home.
The elves have left the building, and the one-half world
To curtain’d sleep and dreaming shall return,
etc
Please correct your sources.
Redboss
Back in 1956, when this happened the crowd was just excited about Elvis and not expecting what today is the normal return for an encore. Back then it was rare for a performer to come back on stage. Fact is it was rare for a performer to get a standing ovation. If an artist gave an usual performance the crowd would stand up and he/she would come out and bow. In very rare cases the performer would perform again. The way it is today, if the crowd doesn’t stand up it is an insult and if the performer doesn’t perform again the place will be torn down. I liked it, the old way, because it was sincere. Today there is no way to know that it is sincere, because it is expected.
Sorry! If the artist gave an unusual performance they would get a standing ovation.
Once when I saw Guster their lead singer said, “Okay, this is going to be our last song, then we’ll go off, and you guys will clap and stuff, and then we’ll come back and play a couple more. You know how it goes.”
Elvis has left the SDMB.
One concert I attended had only a lukewarm crowd response. After coming out for the encore the lead singer said “We were coming back out anyway.”
Actually, that’s my fault.
The site that I linked to is actually called “www.elvisnews.com” and not my “www.elivis.com”.
Still, I like Dragon attributing it to a clever, intentional wordplay .