Elvis Presley Owned Keys From Burnt Up Cadillac Texarkana, Texas June 5th 1955
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:12548164 | Original/Reproduction: Original |
Elvis Presley Owned Keys from Burnt up Cadillac Texarkana to Texas June 5th 1955Elvis Presley's first Cadillac burned up on June 5th, 1955. About half way to Texarkana, Texas from a Hope, AR 'Fair Park' concert a wheel bearing caught fire and the pink Cadillac burned up. Elvis Presley had this car for a little more than two months. Scotty and Bill gave him a hard time as the instruments and clothing sat forlornly by the side of the road. but then there was business ...to be taken care of as they had to charter a plane to get to the next show in Dallas, Texas.I purchased these keys from an avid Elvis collector in the late 1980's (1989?) for $100.00I was told that the keys were from Elvis Presley's Cadillac that burned up in 1955 in Texas.He also told me that the "skeleton key" was for a trunk/suitcase that had been strapped to the roof.They are on their original "Nicona Boots Key-chain" which has printed on it " Nocona Boot Company, Nocona Texas "
Sold As-is
I don't have any other backing information, other than what I was told ( hence the low starting price).however...
I will provide a letter from me, stating the above "facts" as they were told to me at the time.
Below are MANY more PHOTOS and research info that I have done on the history of the keys...Please scroll ALL the WAY down !!
1954 Cadillac Fleetwood Series 60 SpecialElvis purchased his first Cadillac sometime between February 17 and March 9, 1955 and had it painted pink and white.According to a 1956 Elvis magazine the car went from 13.000 to 64.000 miles in the few months Elvis had it. The miles might be exaggerated unless Elvis chose to drive back and forth to most shows instead of staying at a hotel while on tour.The Cadillac burned up on the road between Hope and Texarkana on June 7, 1955.When Elvis bought the Cadillac it had 2D 35218 on the license plate.New license plates were sent out to drivers in late March each year to be changed by April 1.Elvis´ new plate for the Cadillac was 2D 23693 The first number (2) on the plate meant that the car was registered in the second most populated county in the state which in 1956 was Shelby County.The letter D meant that the car was a "heavy" car.In early March, 1955 Elvis bought his first Pink Cadillac.It was a pink and white 1954 Cadillac and provided transportation for Elvis and the Blue Moon Boys for about three months. The car went up in smoke when a brake lining caught fire, on the road between Hope and Texarkana, Ark. on June 5, 1955. 'The first car I bought was the most beautiful car I've ever seen. It was second hand but I parked it outside my hotel the day I got it and stayed up all night just looking at it. The next day, it caught fire and burned up on the road...' Elvis PresleyAfter a show at Hope, AR. Coliseum in Fair Park, Elvis set off for Texarkana with a girl from that town, while Scotty Moore and Bill Black traveled with other friends. About halfway to Texarkana, in Fulton, Arkansas, Elvis' pink--and--white Cadillac caught on fire and burnt to a wreck. It is said that Elvis' mother, Gladys, was awakened out of a sound sleep at home by the feeling that something was wrong. Others recall Elvis sitting by the side of the road, looking desolate as he watched his dreams go up in smoke. From Texarkana Scotty returned to Memphis to get the new pink and white Ford Crown Victoria that Elvis has recently purchased for his parents, while Elvis and Bill took a plane to TexasBelow are some posts from the website Jalopy JournalOk, this is a long shot. Over the years I have seen some pretty amazing things happen through the HAMB, maybe something will become of this. Im not an Elvis memorabilia collector or anything like that so this isnt one of those type threads.....
I have a very good friend of mine that is seeking any information about the 1954 Cadillac sedan belonging to Elvis that was burned in a roadside fire. The basic story is that it was his first Cadillac, purchased in 55, burnt on the side of the road due to a brakeline failure. The car was pink and white and only partially burned from what info I have. It caught on fire near Fulton, Ar which is between Hope and Texarkana. I was told that the car was moved off the road and into a field where it sat for several (20+) years and was eventually sold. I was also told that it was moved off the road and put into a barn where it sat until the barn began to collapse. It was then pulled out into the field where it could be seen from the highway and was rumored to have been sold to someone living in or near Atlanta, Tx. Years ago I had a friend that told me he knew where "a Cadillac" was that had been burned. He didnt know the year model, but did know that it was pink. He told me that his mother was doing hospice care for a man that lived in McNab (a very small town near Fulton) and that the car was in his barn, his mother took him to see it. Nothing was ever said about it actually being Elvis' car. I was offered a ride out there to go look but at the time a burned up Caddy didnt interest me much.....I recently asked him about the car and he remembered it, his mother however couldnt recall the mans name that owned the property. I know this is a shot in the dark.....but who knows...Why would a nearly new Cadillac that caught fire be left on the side of the road and moved off into a field ? Wouldn't it have been picked up by a tow truck and brought somewhere that an insurance adjuster could look at it ? Weird story .As the story goes, the man that owned the property offered to move the car and let it sit on his land until arrangements could be made for it to be picked up. That never happened. More than likely the car was purchased in cash, so no note at the bank, which left Elvis holding the bag to get it taken care of. He wasn't "famous" yet at that time, so in a small town like that he was just a kid with a band. I cant recall right off if he was on his way to play in Texarkana or if he was returning home from a show in Texarkana, but it was one or the other. He did play in Hope once and several times in Texarkana in the early days of his career, so maybe he stopped in to check on it from time to time. I guess anythings a possibility.A gentleman by the name of George Wormington picked him up and took him the rest of the way into Texarkana so that he could play at The Opry house in TexarkanaThis is interesting info. One of the linked sites states that he hitched a ride to the next town, then took a plane on into Texas. Doesnt say where in Tx, and makes no mention of him playing in Texarkana at that time. I was told that he did indeed play in Texarkana after the fire, and at one time I knew the young ladies name that was with him when he left Hope headed to Texarkana....My dad brought it in to texarkana to his garage 24 hour service on east 9th st and the girls started climbing the storage fence to steal souvenirs it was definitely Elvis' carElvis Presley had a burning love for his first pink and white Cadillac in 1955. But the love turned to nervous excitement when Elvis thought the Cadillac was going to explode.Ken Palmer was cruising U.S. Highway 67 that day, returning to Texarkana from Hope.Elvis was driving his Cadillac from Hope to Texarkana after he performed his rock ‘n’ roll show Sunday, June 5, 1955, in the Hope Municipal Auditorium.And he wasn’t alone, though no one has officially confirmed the identity of the woman riding with Elvis to Texarkana.Authors reporting on the burned car wrote Elvis looked desolate watching his Cadillac burn.Palmer was at an historic moment in the stories of early rock ‘n’ roll.Patsy Green of New Boston, Texas, mailed Palmer a copy of the Texarkana Gazette section about “U.S. 67 The Highway to Rock ‘n’ Roll.” The section was published Nov. 24 of last year and had a story about the fire which destroyed the Cadillac.Palmer, who now lives in Sandusky, Mi., called the Gazette and confirmed he helped Elvis pull items from the burning car. He also gave Elvis and the young woman a ride to Texarkana.The fire occurred on U.S. Highway 67 near Fulton and a “long bridge, ” Palmer said.“I was just goofing off and was driving back from Hope to Texarkana on the Fulton bottom bridge and saw the car smoking, ” Palmer said.When he stopped, he had no idea the car belonged to Elvis. “He left the emergency brake on and the brake fluid caught on fire. The smoke was coming from the trunk. The other stories said smoke was coming from the engine, but it was the trunk, ” Palmer said.“I was the first guy who got there. Elvis kept yelling it’s going to blow. He got his girlfriend away from the car, ” he said.The fuel tank was full and kept the car from exploding, Palmer speculates.“If the fuel tank had been half empty, it would have exploded, ” said Palmer, who was stationed at the Red River Army Depot.The trunk was full of equipment, he said.“We got his guitar out and the amps. He got the money box out. I pulled out an amp from the back seat in the floorboard, ” Palmer said.“Elvis tried to put the fire out with a fire extinguisher, but he couldn’t get to where the fire was starting to burn, ” said Palmer, who was 21 in 1955.The fire started consuming the car and Elvis told Palmer he had a $500 movie camera in the glove box. “We couldn’t get to the glove box and the camera burned up, ” Palmer said.Elvis and the young woman rode with Palmer to Texarkana and stopped at a cafe next to a motel.Elvis knew the band was supposed to meet him at the cafe.“The band was there and had no idea the car burned. Elvis offered me $5, but I wouldn’t take it. He offered to buy me coffee and I let him buy me coffee, ” Palmer said.“We talked some. It was fun. That was the end of it, ” he said.The Cadillac was used as the primary vehicle to take Elvis and his guitar player Scotty Moore and bass player Bill Black to their scheduled shows. On that night, Moore and Black used another car to get to Texarkana while Elvis drove his Cadillac.The destruction of the Cadillac has become part of the folklore about the connection between Elvis and his mother, Gladys. Gladys always recalled how she was awakened out of a sound sleep at home by the felling something was wrong. She always said she could sense when bad things were about to happen to her sonOn Oct-17-19 at 17:56:34 PDT, seller added the following information:Please read:I will include a letter from me stating what I was told regarding the history of the keys...and some prints of the photos shown in the auction..
Please read:I will include a letter from me stating what I was told regarding the history of the keys...and some prints of the photos shown in the auction..
Sold As-is
I don't have any other backing information, other than what I was told ( hence the low starting price).however...
I will provide a letter from me, stating the above "facts" as they were told to me at the time.
Below are MANY more PHOTOS and research info that I have done on the history of the keys...Please scroll ALL the WAY down !!
1954 Cadillac Fleetwood Series 60 SpecialElvis purchased his first Cadillac sometime between February 17 and March 9, 1955 and had it painted pink and white.According to a 1956 Elvis magazine the car went from 13.000 to 64.000 miles in the few months Elvis had it. The miles might be exaggerated unless Elvis chose to drive back and forth to most shows instead of staying at a hotel while on tour.The Cadillac burned up on the road between Hope and Texarkana on June 7, 1955.When Elvis bought the Cadillac it had 2D 35218 on the license plate.New license plates were sent out to drivers in late March each year to be changed by April 1.Elvis´ new plate for the Cadillac was 2D 23693 The first number (2) on the plate meant that the car was registered in the second most populated county in the state which in 1956 was Shelby County.The letter D meant that the car was a "heavy" car.In early March, 1955 Elvis bought his first Pink Cadillac.It was a pink and white 1954 Cadillac and provided transportation for Elvis and the Blue Moon Boys for about three months. The car went up in smoke when a brake lining caught fire, on the road between Hope and Texarkana, Ark. on June 5, 1955. 'The first car I bought was the most beautiful car I've ever seen. It was second hand but I parked it outside my hotel the day I got it and stayed up all night just looking at it. The next day, it caught fire and burned up on the road...' Elvis PresleyAfter a show at Hope, AR. Coliseum in Fair Park, Elvis set off for Texarkana with a girl from that town, while Scotty Moore and Bill Black traveled with other friends. About halfway to Texarkana, in Fulton, Arkansas, Elvis' pink--and--white Cadillac caught on fire and burnt to a wreck. It is said that Elvis' mother, Gladys, was awakened out of a sound sleep at home by the feeling that something was wrong. Others recall Elvis sitting by the side of the road, looking desolate as he watched his dreams go up in smoke. From Texarkana Scotty returned to Memphis to get the new pink and white Ford Crown Victoria that Elvis has recently purchased for his parents, while Elvis and Bill took a plane to TexasBelow are some posts from the website Jalopy JournalOk, this is a long shot. Over the years I have seen some pretty amazing things happen through the HAMB, maybe something will become of this. Im not an Elvis memorabilia collector or anything like that so this isnt one of those type threads.....
I have a very good friend of mine that is seeking any information about the 1954 Cadillac sedan belonging to Elvis that was burned in a roadside fire. The basic story is that it was his first Cadillac, purchased in 55, burnt on the side of the road due to a brakeline failure. The car was pink and white and only partially burned from what info I have. It caught on fire near Fulton, Ar which is between Hope and Texarkana. I was told that the car was moved off the road and into a field where it sat for several (20+) years and was eventually sold. I was also told that it was moved off the road and put into a barn where it sat until the barn began to collapse. It was then pulled out into the field where it could be seen from the highway and was rumored to have been sold to someone living in or near Atlanta, Tx. Years ago I had a friend that told me he knew where "a Cadillac" was that had been burned. He didnt know the year model, but did know that it was pink. He told me that his mother was doing hospice care for a man that lived in McNab (a very small town near Fulton) and that the car was in his barn, his mother took him to see it. Nothing was ever said about it actually being Elvis' car. I was offered a ride out there to go look but at the time a burned up Caddy didnt interest me much.....I recently asked him about the car and he remembered it, his mother however couldnt recall the mans name that owned the property. I know this is a shot in the dark.....but who knows...Why would a nearly new Cadillac that caught fire be left on the side of the road and moved off into a field ? Wouldn't it have been picked up by a tow truck and brought somewhere that an insurance adjuster could look at it ? Weird story .As the story goes, the man that owned the property offered to move the car and let it sit on his land until arrangements could be made for it to be picked up. That never happened. More than likely the car was purchased in cash, so no note at the bank, which left Elvis holding the bag to get it taken care of. He wasn't "famous" yet at that time, so in a small town like that he was just a kid with a band. I cant recall right off if he was on his way to play in Texarkana or if he was returning home from a show in Texarkana, but it was one or the other. He did play in Hope once and several times in Texarkana in the early days of his career, so maybe he stopped in to check on it from time to time. I guess anythings a possibility.A gentleman by the name of George Wormington picked him up and took him the rest of the way into Texarkana so that he could play at The Opry house in TexarkanaThis is interesting info. One of the linked sites states that he hitched a ride to the next town, then took a plane on into Texas. Doesnt say where in Tx, and makes no mention of him playing in Texarkana at that time. I was told that he did indeed play in Texarkana after the fire, and at one time I knew the young ladies name that was with him when he left Hope headed to Texarkana....My dad brought it in to texarkana to his garage 24 hour service on east 9th st and the girls started climbing the storage fence to steal souvenirs it was definitely Elvis' carElvis Presley had a burning love for his first pink and white Cadillac in 1955. But the love turned to nervous excitement when Elvis thought the Cadillac was going to explode.Ken Palmer was cruising U.S. Highway 67 that day, returning to Texarkana from Hope.Elvis was driving his Cadillac from Hope to Texarkana after he performed his rock ‘n’ roll show Sunday, June 5, 1955, in the Hope Municipal Auditorium.And he wasn’t alone, though no one has officially confirmed the identity of the woman riding with Elvis to Texarkana.Authors reporting on the burned car wrote Elvis looked desolate watching his Cadillac burn.Palmer was at an historic moment in the stories of early rock ‘n’ roll.Patsy Green of New Boston, Texas, mailed Palmer a copy of the Texarkana Gazette section about “U.S. 67 The Highway to Rock ‘n’ Roll.” The section was published Nov. 24 of last year and had a story about the fire which destroyed the Cadillac.Palmer, who now lives in Sandusky, Mi., called the Gazette and confirmed he helped Elvis pull items from the burning car. He also gave Elvis and the young woman a ride to Texarkana.The fire occurred on U.S. Highway 67 near Fulton and a “long bridge, ” Palmer said.“I was just goofing off and was driving back from Hope to Texarkana on the Fulton bottom bridge and saw the car smoking, ” Palmer said.When he stopped, he had no idea the car belonged to Elvis. “He left the emergency brake on and the brake fluid caught on fire. The smoke was coming from the trunk. The other stories said smoke was coming from the engine, but it was the trunk, ” Palmer said.“I was the first guy who got there. Elvis kept yelling it’s going to blow. He got his girlfriend away from the car, ” he said.The fuel tank was full and kept the car from exploding, Palmer speculates.“If the fuel tank had been half empty, it would have exploded, ” said Palmer, who was stationed at the Red River Army Depot.The trunk was full of equipment, he said.“We got his guitar out and the amps. He got the money box out. I pulled out an amp from the back seat in the floorboard, ” Palmer said.“Elvis tried to put the fire out with a fire extinguisher, but he couldn’t get to where the fire was starting to burn, ” said Palmer, who was 21 in 1955.The fire started consuming the car and Elvis told Palmer he had a $500 movie camera in the glove box. “We couldn’t get to the glove box and the camera burned up, ” Palmer said.Elvis and the young woman rode with Palmer to Texarkana and stopped at a cafe next to a motel.Elvis knew the band was supposed to meet him at the cafe.“The band was there and had no idea the car burned. Elvis offered me $5, but I wouldn’t take it. He offered to buy me coffee and I let him buy me coffee, ” Palmer said.“We talked some. It was fun. That was the end of it, ” he said.The Cadillac was used as the primary vehicle to take Elvis and his guitar player Scotty Moore and bass player Bill Black to their scheduled shows. On that night, Moore and Black used another car to get to Texarkana while Elvis drove his Cadillac.The destruction of the Cadillac has become part of the folklore about the connection between Elvis and his mother, Gladys. Gladys always recalled how she was awakened out of a sound sleep at home by the felling something was wrong. She always said she could sense when bad things were about to happen to her sonOn Oct-17-19 at 17:56:34 PDT, seller added the following information:Please read:I will include a letter from me stating what I was told regarding the history of the keys...and some prints of the photos shown in the auction..
Please read:I will include a letter from me stating what I was told regarding the history of the keys...and some prints of the photos shown in the auction..
