Tommy Sands Elvis and The Colonel
Before he discovered Elvis, Col Parker managed Tommy Sands – the prototype Elvis – Tommy Sands, Elvis and The Colonel.
Derek Shelmerdine author of Rock’n’Roll Unravelled
is a guest on The Frank Carlyle Show.
Hear the show live on Facebook – 19 June 2023
Derek Shelmerdine’s look at Tommy Sands – Elvis prototype
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Tommy Sands Elvis and The Colonel
Before Colonel Tom Parker managed Elvis Presley, he managed another teen idol, Tommy Sands. The similarities between the early careers of Tommy Sands and Elvis are astounding. Elvis followed in Tommy Sands footprints. Tommy Sands really was the prototype Elvis!
IMAGE
Elvis was born on 8 January 1935, Tommy Sands on 27 August 1937.
Both were very good looking with very similar hairstyles. They played guitar from an early age, in both cases a present from their respective mothers.
LOUISIANA HAYRIDE
The Louisiana Hayride was the first real step to musical stardom.
Tommy Sands first appeared on the Hayride when he was ten years old. By the time he was twelve he was a featured performer.
On the 2 October 1945 Elvis made his only personal appearance at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry. The audience didn’t take to Elvis and his reception was lukewarm at best. However, when Elvis appeared on the Opry’s rival country music show a couple of weeks later, he was a resounding success. This led to Elvis having a regular spot on the show.
FIRST SINGLE
Tommy Sands released his first single on the Freedom label in 1951, Syrup Soppin’ Blues c/w Love Pains. The label credited him as “Little Tommy Sands (The West’s Wonder Boy)”.
Elvis’s first single, That’s All Right c/w Blue Moon of Kentucky, came out in 1954 on the Sun Records label.
Both records were released on independent record labels and neither troubled the hit parade.
ENTER COLONEL TOM PARKER
Col Parker started to manage Tommy Sands in 1953, after he parted company with country star Eddie Arnold. The Colonel signed his protege to RCA Records.
It’s a little more complicated with Elvis. Bob Neal was Elvis’s official manager when the Colonel came into Elvis’s life in early 1955. The Colonel progressively became more and more involved in Elvis’s Management. Until he took full control in late 1955.
This marked the end of The Colonel’s involvement because Elvis became his only client. This is not to say that The Colonel forgot all about Tommy Sands. Despite not being his manager, in 1956 he helped Tommy Sands to secure a role in a TV play which would catapult him into national fame.
THE SINGIN’ IDOL
On 30 January The Singin’ Idol, an episode of Kraft Television Theatle, aired on American TV and Tommy Sands was a star. The play told the story of an Elvis-type pop star’s meteoric rise to fame.
The show gave his first hit record, Teen-age Crush, made #2 on the Billboard Hot-100.
A year later the TV show was turned into a big-screen move, Sing Boy Sing, starring Tommy Sands.
CONTINUED SUCCESS
He scored three more Billboard Top-40 hits in 1957 and 1958. His only UK Chart success was in 1960 with, The Old Oaken Bucket.
In 1957 he was one of the youngest people to appear on the TV show, This Is Your Life.
in 1960 he recorded the live album, Sands at the Sands, at the Sands Hotel.
NANCY SINATRA
On 11 September he married Frank Sinatra’s daughter, Nancy.
In 1963 Frank Sinatra invited Tommy Sands to appear in his upcoming movie. Come Blow Your Horn but Tommy Sands declined the offer.
In the first half of the 1960s Tommy Sands appeared in popular TV shows including, Laramie, Wagon Train and Bonanza. In 1961 he starred in Walt Disney’s Babes in Toyland. He also appeared in The Longest Day (1962) and Non But the Brave (1965).
In 1965 Tommy Sands and Nancy Sinatra went their separate ways and they were divorced.
Following this Tommy Sands’ singing and acting careers imploded!
CLAIMS HE WAS BLACKLISTED
After the divorce from Nancy, there are claims that Tommy Sands was blacklisted in the industry. Both Tommy Sands and Frank Sinatra deny these claims. What-ever the reason, Tommy Sands’ career never recovered.
He continued to record and perform in clubs and hotels but the glory days were over.
1967 AND BEYOND
In 1967 he moved to live in Honolulu, Hawaii. He continued to perform in local clubs. He also married again.
In 1981 he returned to live on the US mainland, in Fort Wayne Indianna.
He has a star on the Hollywood Hall of Fame and is a member of the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.
Rock’n’Roll Unravelled – the book
With its unique three-part structure, Rock’n’Roll Unravelled tells the story of Rock’n’roll from its roots to mid-1970s punk. Not just the music but also the influencing factors, such as the Vietnam War and Civil Rights struggle
