Offered is a 1956 document archive concerning the legendary and harrowing flight Elvis Presley, Scotty Moore, D.J. Fontana and Bill Black took to from Amarillo, Texas to get to an April 14, 1956, recording session in Nashville, Tennessee. The story is now infamous, how RCA chartered a flight for the band after a show at the Municipal Auditorium in Amarillo on Friday the 13th (you can't make this stuff up) to get them into the studio the next day with producer Steve Sholes, who was desperate to get songs on tape for Elvis' next LP. The plane, rented from "Plains Aero Service" in Amarillo, took off and the boys went on a day and night journey that included the pilot getting lost and having to land in an unknown location in Arkansas, both engines stopping in midair during another leg of the journey, and finally the pilot being unable to get the landing gear down properly while circling the Nashville airport. "Man, I don't know if I'll ever fly again" was Elvis' response after landing in Nashville. While at the one-day session, Elvis was presented with his Gold Record for "Heartbreak Hotel" and the band recorded "I Want You, I Need You, I Love You."
The archive presented here was originally offered in the 1999 Graceland Archives Auction as lot "A92" and is accompanied by its original Graceland Archives certificate of authenticity. The ensemble is housed in the original matting used to display it at the las Vegas auction in 1999, complete with its original lot sticker. The documents include:
- "Plains Aero Service" original sales slip, dated April 13, 1956, with notation "Paid Check no 4";
- Colonel Tom Parker signed check payable to "Plains Aero Service" for $747.50 with the notation "Paid in Full for Elvis Presley RCA Victor Trip recording session";
- Two-Page office copy of an April 24, 1956, letter to Plains Aero Service recounting the nightmarish flight in detail and demanding a refund in the amount of $223.60 for the commercial flight the boys took because they refused to get back on a plane with their pilot for the last leg of the journey!;
- One-page office copy of a June 15, 1956, letter to Plains Aero Service demanding a response to the earlier letter and threatening to report the matter to "authorized licensing agency."
The display measures 22 x 35 inches, and all of the documents remain sealed in their plastic sleeves. Stunning Near Mint condition.