FROM ELVIS TO BOB HOPE, NAME PERFORMERS GRACED CAPE STAGES

BAND CREATES `REVOLUTION': Paul Revere and the Raiders created a minor "revolution" when they performed at the Arena Building on Valentine's Day in 1968. About 3,500 teenagers attended, although the capacity in the Arena Building was only 3,000. At least one concert-goer was hurt when glass from three doors was pushed out as teens pushed to enter the Arena. (BILL HAMPTON JR./SOUTHEAST MISSOURIAN)

LET'S GO TO THE MOVIES: Movie theaters were an inexpensive weekly source of entertainment for residents. The New Broadway Theatre, above, opened in 1909 and closed in March of 1984. The opening shows were "Mr. Soaker at the Seaside," "Winter Sports at St. Moritz," and "The Basket Party." Kerasotes recently reopened the Broadway for dollar shows. Talkies were introduced in Cape Girardeau at the Orpheum Theatre in 1929. The Orpheum was recently torned down. (JUDITH ANN CROW COLLECTION)

The King was here. But hardly anybody knew it.

Elvis Presley, then only 20 years old, played a Cerebral Palsy Association benefit July 20, 1955, at the Arena Building in Cape Girardeau. The event was attended by 300 people, who also had the opportunity to do some square dancing before Elvis took the stage.

On the bill with Elvis was a local band called Johnny Daume and the Oak Ridge Runners, along with performers Bob Neal, Bud Deckelman and "Little Willie" Bryan.

An article in advance of the event described Elvis as "the fireball from the Louisiana Hayride who combines country music with modern-day bop."

Among his listed hits were "Blue Moon of Kentucky," "That's Allright, Mama," and "Good Rockin' Tonight."

A story after the dance said his "program was well received by the audience."

Admission was $1 for adults and 50 cents for children under 12.

A year later, Elvis recorded his first huge hit, "Heartbreak Hotel" and gave an incendiary performance on "The Ed Sullivan Show" that instantly made him a national star.

Many well-known entertainers have appeared in Cape Girardeau over the years, especially since the opening of the Show Me Center in 1987. Bob Hope inaugurated the center, and a mix of talent has followed including Garth Brooks, Guns 'N' Roses, Tina Turner, George Jones, Barry Manilow, Red Skelton, Wayne Newton, Amy Grant, Randy Travis, Travis Tritt, the Judds, Johnny Cash, Conway Twitty, Alabama, Alice Cooper, Motley Crue and Def Leppard.

Before the Show Me Center opened, the big-name acts that came to town generally played the Arena Building. In the 1960s and 1970s, rock 'n' roll was presented there with mixed results.

On Valentine's Day in 1968, Paul Revere and the Raiders drew a screaming crowd of 3,500 teen-agers to the building, which has a seating capacity of only 3,000.

Though the doors didn't open until 7 p.m., a line began forming around 3:30 in the afternoon. At some point, pressure from the rear pushed the glass out of three of the doors, injuring at least one concert-goer.

He attended the concert all the same.

A scheduled concert in 1974 by the Blue Oyster Cult was canceled because the building did not have sufficient electrical power to run the group's sound and lighting equipment.

Such groups as Styx and the Chambers Brothers did play the building, but city officials concerned about reports of drug use banned rock concerts from the building in the early 1970s.

Until this past year, the Foggy River Boys have been a popular attraction at the Arena Building.

Southeast Missouri State University and the Community Concert Association have provided other quality entertainers to the community through the years. The Smothers Brothers, Jose Feliciano, the Mamas and the Papas, and John Denver, Harry Chapin, the Christy Minstrels and Peter, Paul and Mary are among the performers who played university concerts.

The Community Concert Association has brought in Yhudi Menuhin, the Joffrey Ballet II, the Count Basie Orchestra and others.

Jazz artists include Maynard Ferguson, Stan Kenton, Buddy Rich, the Woody Herman Orchestra, George Shearing, Ted Lewis, and "Tonight Show" drummer Ed Shaughnessy, many of them brought to town by the Central High School Band and its jazz festival.

Reaching further back in the city's history, the Broadway Theatre and the recently demolished Orpheum Theatre built in 1913 were the sites for concerts featuring local and traveling entertainers. The Broadway, built in 1921, hosted many vaudeville acts during the era.

Reaching far back into Cape Girardeau's history, the most luminous entertainment visitors were "March King" John Philip Sousa and opera diva Madame Ernestine Schumann-Heink.

Sousa and his 85-member band arrived on a special train on Sept. 14, 1929, under the sponsorship of the Southeast Missourian. They were greeted by a parade led by Mayor James A. Barks, American Legion Louis K. Juden Post Commander Harvey I. McCoy and Teachers College President Joseph A. Serena.

Virtually every community in the district sent their school children to the free afternoon concert at the college. Between 7,500 and 10,000 person attended.

That night's concert was held in Academic Auditorium and drew 1,500 people. Tickets were $1.

Schumann-Heink sang here in 1920, a celebration of the installation of the Southeast Missourian's new press. Her original concert in May was postponed due to illness. A month later, she drew the largest audience ever assembled at Academic Auditorium.

The Opera House located on the northwest corner of Broadway and Lorimier Street was the primary host for traveling performers during the early part of the city's history.

The hall had a removable wall behind the stage that allowed the audience to view the show from the terrace beer garden on hot summer nights.