Last Time Elvis Walked Around Memphis as an ‘Ordinary Guy’

Anne Fulchino, the head of Public Relations at RCA Victor Records contacted New York based photographer Alfred Wertheimer about taking pictures of Elvis Presley.

“Elvis who?” the photographer asked.

After a ratings-grabbing appearance on ‘The Steve Allen Show’ and a recording session in New York City that produced ‘Hound Dog’ and ‘Don’t Be Cruel’, Elvis returned to Memphis on a 27-hour train ride for a concert at Russwood park.

After a stop in Chattanooga, Elvis became more introspective. A few days before his fame spread across the United States beyond the South after the television appearance. Now he was headed home and had much to think about.

When the train finally got near Memphis, Elvis asked to get off at a stop near the outskirts of town called White Station.

It was closer to his home on Audubon Drive than the main station in Memphis. Alfred Wertheimer did not miss this moment with his camera and as a result, he captured a truly remarkable series of images of Elvis walking as a regular person for what may have been the last time.

Wertheimer describes that moment:

“With only the quick acetate cuts, no luggage or instruments, he hopped off the train and headed down a grassy knoll towards the sidewalk of this little town. Between telephone poles and Cadillacs, Elvis stopped to ask a woman on the street for directions and then turned to wave to us on the train.”

“As the train started moving, I quickly figured that I was better off taking pictures of what was going on in front of me instead of jumping off the train and following Elvis.”

“If I had stopped to collect my bags and all my equipment, I would have missed what was probably one of the last times he could just walk down the street like an ordinary guy.”

Within a few short months, Elvis Presley would be the most talked-about entertainer in the world.