Elvis Ignited : The Rise of an Icon in Florida

It was his most electric and influential time as a live performer. The young and hungry Elvis, the rising star, burst onto stages large and small—sexy, controversial, brimming with talent and ambition. One lightning-hot year in Florida fueled his rise from novelty act to headlining megastar.

Elvis Ignited follows the immensely talented musician through his tour of Florida in 1955–1956, where he played more concerts than in any other state in the country and where he first became the object of worship, scorn, and controversy. Bob Kealing interviews people who saw the King up close in high school gymnasiums, nightclubs, radio stations, and shopping centers, recalling the time-stands-still memories of hearing his hit songs for the first time and the shrieks of young fans at the sight of the young rockabilly god.

Struck by a new kind of music and performances so different from anything they had known before, Floridians saw how special Elvis was before the rest of the world caught on. Kealing continues the story through Elvis’s years in the army and the filming of Follow that Dream in Florida in 1961. Elvis’s rise to fame in the Sunshine State was a turning point in American music history. It was the arrival of rock and roll.