The new Elvis film has been out for a couple of weeks now, and Shreveport plays a prominent role.
When I first heard of an upcoming Elvis film, I was hoping we’d see our hometown featured. Shreveport played a crucial role in Elvis’s career, and a performance in our neck of the woods led to the most recognizable Elvis phrase still uttered world-wide to this day. That would be, of course, “Elvis has left the building.”
In those days, Shreveport was home to the Louisiana Hayride, which was broadcasted nationally on KWKH. The Hayride was comparable to the Grand Ole Opry, in that anyone who was anyone in the world of music had to take that stage here in Shreveport.
Elvis made his name here in Shreveport while performing at the Louisiana Hayride. The Hayride would broadcast from the Shreveport Municipal Auditorium, as well as the historic Hirsch Coliseum (now known as George’s Pond). During one of his earliest performances, Elvis rocked the Hirsch so hard that despite leaving the arena to make way for the night’s headliner, the crowd refused to stop chanting his name and cheering for an encore. This left the headliner and the event itself scrambling for what to do next, as Elvis was long gone and the show had to continue. The quick-thinking announcer quickly grabbed the microphone and informed the crowd to stop with all of the Elvis chants because, you guessed it, Elvis has left the building.
While the Hayride did occasionally broadcast from the Hirsch, it’s regular home was at the Shreveport Municipal Auditorium.
In the initial trailer for the new Elvis film, the Shreveport Municipal Auditorium is featured front and center as Austin Butler’s Elvis attempts to find himself as a performer. In the trailer, we see the crowd in Shreveport initially disinterested in Elvis, including one of y’alls granddads heckling Elvis before he begins. One the song begins, the crowd (aka the women) go completely nuts for Elvis and his pink suit. For a Shreveporter, it’s really cool to see one of our most historic venues featured to predominantly in a feature film. I don’t believe they actually shot that scene at the Municipal, but you would believe they did, that’s how close they nailed it. If you look closely, you can even see the KWKH banners hanging on the stage!
Check out the trailer below!
