Did Girls Have Sex on Their Minds
🫦Did Girls Have Sex on Their Minds
When Watching Elvis in the '50s?
“Screaming girls”—that was a recurring theme in newspaper reviews of Elvis’ stage shows in 1956 and 1957. At almost every stop, the girls screamed so loud that no one could hear Elvis sing. Even the musicians on stage had trouble hearing each other. Scotty Moore once said, “We were the first band directed by an ass.” He meant that because of all the screaming, he and the other musicians couldn’t hear Elvis sing, so they took their cues from watching Elvis move from behind. Elvis himself explained that at times in 1957 he had to cover his ears with his hands so that he could hear himself sing. These days girls screaming at a concert is not unusual, but back in 1956 and 1957 it was a new phenomenon. It frightened some adults and puzzled nearly all of them. Sinatra’s fans had certainly gotten excited and some swooned, but they hadn’t abandoned all reason and screamed hysterically and continually like Elvis’ fans did. Why did they do it?
Specialists say girls had sex on their minds while watching Elvis
In an article titled “Girls Identify Elvis as Lover” in the September 28, 1956, issue of the New York Daily Mirror, writers Norman Miller and James McGlincy tried to uncover the reasons behind the Presley craze by consulting psychiatrists, psychologists, and social workers. After doing so, they came to the following shocking conclusion.
“When a teenager on the threshold of womanhood watches or listens to Elvis Presley, there is only one thing on her mind—sex. She may deny this. She may not even believe it herself. But that’s what it is, according to specialists.”
“They are fearful of romantic involvement,” explained the doctor. “But they still want to escape the masculinity of the business world. They want to be women. Elvis Presley gives them that. They escape to their natural femaleness, listening to him. And it’s perfectly safe. Next day they go back to work with no ties, no danger, as there might be in a love affair. It’s vicarious. But it is a release.”
Only once did I get a thoughtful response to the question, “Why did you scream when you watched Elvis?” It came from a woman, who was 15 when she saw Elvis perform in Spokane’s Memorial Stadium on August 30, 1957.
“We screamed when he came out. I didn’t know I was going to yell and scream. I’d never done that in my whole life. It was spontaneous. You know, his wiggle and that leg going; all of us started screaming when he did that. There was that feeling there like when I matured; it was almost like that feeling. He could excite you with his music so much. My mom’s gone; I guess she wouldn’t care if I said it now … it was like a sexual experience. It went through your body kind of like that.”
So maybe Miller and McGlincy came to the right conclusion back in 1956, at least for some of the girls. But then, Elvis was also right back then when he said, “We’re all getting something out of our system and no one’s getting hurt.”
Alan Hanson | © September 2008
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