It takes only five simple words to convey to an audience the idea that the good times are over and the excitement has subsided: “Elvis has left the building.” Even though it’s intended as the ultimate pop-cultural buzzkill, a hipper variation on “Show’s over, nothing to see here, folks,” the saying has taken on a life of its own and can be used in situations that do not involve Elvis Aron Presley at all. But where did this ubiquitous pop-culture cliché originate? Simon Whistler investigates in a new episode of the web series Today I Found Out. The surprisingly convoluted story spans decades.
The famous quote, Whistler reveals, goes back to December 1956, when Presley was performing for the very last time on radio’s Louisiana Hayride. His fame was already skyrocketing by then, so the show was sold out. Once the hip wiggler’s performance was done, Hayride producer and emcee Horace “Hoss” Logan attempted to calm the crowd with what turned out to be a fortuitous ad lib: “All right, all right, Elvis has left the building.” Announcer Al Dvorin then took that saying and ran with it, incorporating it into the King’s live performances on a regular basis. It served as a practical way of letting the audience know there would be no encores. In 1972, the expression was captured on a live album recorded at Madison Square Garden, and from that point onward, it has belonged to the world. Whistler points out that the expression even turned up in 1996’s Independence Day, as uttered by Will Smith. Frank Zappa also had some fun with the quote on his 1988 album Broadway The Hard Way.
[via Laughing Squid]