It’s June thirtieth, and on this day in 1954… tragedy struck the gospel world when R.W. Blackwood and Bill Lyles of The Blackwood Brothers were killed in a plane crash in Clanton, Alabama—just two weeks after winning first place on the *Arthur Godfrey Talent Scouts Show*. Cecil Blackwood stepped in to lead the group, leaving an opening in their affiliated younger act, The Songfellows. The group offered the spot to Elvis Presley, but he had just begun recording with Sun Records and turned it down. The Blackwood Brothers were Gladys Presley’s favorite gospel group, and in 1958, Elvis flew them to Memphis to perform at her funeral.

It’s June twenty-ninth, and on this day in 1956… Elvis Presley arrived in New York City to begin rehearsals for his upcoming appearance on *The Steve Allen Show*. At the rehearsal hall in midtown Manhattan, Elvis was greeted by Colonel Tom Parker and representatives from the William Morris Agency, along with Steve Allen and co-stars Andy Griffith and Imogene Coca. Elvis and Griffith, already acquainted from earlier shows in Florida, caught up before the run-through. This appearance would become one of the most talked-about moments of Elvis’s early career—featuring him in a tuxedo, singing “Hound Dog” to a basset hound in a top hat, and joining the cast in a comedy skit titled “Range Round Up.”

It’s June twenty-eighth, and on this day in 1962… while home in Memphis for the summer, Elvis Presley acquired his most notorious pet—Scatter the chimpanzee. Originally a TV performer in Memphis, Scatter quickly became a fixture in Elvis’s Hollywood home, known for his wild antics and party tricks, including his fondness for peeking under women’s dresses. Alan Fortas often chauffeured Scatter around town, letting the chimp wear a driver’s cap and pose behind the wheel at stop signs. But Scatter’s charm faded as he developed a taste for alcohol and became increasingly unruly, eventually landing him in a pen at Graceland.