A pair of shoes, but not just any shoes. Blue suede shoes worn by Elvis Presley at the start of his career were sold at auction for £120,000, or the equivalent of €141,600, on Friday 28 June, reports The Guardian.
The King wore these blue suede shoes early in his career in the 1950s, both on and off stage. The British outlet reports that he wore them during an appearance on Steve Allen’s TV show in the United States in 1956, when he performed his hit “Hound Dog.”
Acquired as a symbol after performing the title “Blue Suede Shoes”, by Carl Perkins, in his first album in 1956, this size 40 pair was given to a friend by the King of Rock’n’roll after being called to join the United States Army as part of his military service.
“They almost go beyond popular culture”
“When Elvis joined the U.S. Army, he held a meeting at Graceland (Editor’s note: “Elvis called some people upstairs and donated some of the clothes he no longer thought he would need or want when he returned from the Army,” auction house Henry Aldrige & Son Ltd. said.
“These shoes are very iconic. The Blue Suede Shoes and Hound Dog “These are things that immediately come to mind when you think of Elvis Presley. They go beyond popular culture. They are simply exceptional pieces of show business, music and popular culture,” the auction house added.
Already exhibited in several museums, the pair was authenticated by Jimmy Velvet, a close friend of Elvis for more than twenty years, who opened a museum with a large collection of objects belonging to the “King” following the latter’s death.
