A minor gas station fight between two average Joes might not seem like a headline-worthy story, but when one of the men duking it out is Elvis Presley, that automatically turns the scuffle into national breaking news. The King of Rock and Roll learned this lesson the hard way in October 1956, nearly ten months to the day that his hit single “Heartbreak Hotel” came out.
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For some, the incident bolstered their admiration for the singer’s rebellious nature. For others, it served as evidence that Presley was a negative influence on youth. But for the judge presiding over Presley’s court appearance, it was more of a workplace annoyance than an actual criminal problem.
How Elvis Presley Ended Up In A Gas Station Fight
On October 18, 1956, Memphis police arrested Elvis Presley after the musician got into a verbal and physical altercation with a gas station attendant. The singer stopped at the service station to check his exhaust lines after smelling gas in his iconic white Continental Mark II. Unsurprisingly, the flashy car and Presley’s distinct physical appearance quickly garnered attention.
A crowd soon formed around Presley and his car, and the rock star happily obliged the many requests for autographs and conversation. The only problem, of course, was that the rapidly expanding scene was starting to obstruct traffic trying to come and go from the gas station. According to Edd Hopper, the gas station owner, he asked Presley to move several times, but to no avail. After the third request, things started to get dicey.
Accounts of the events immediately following Hopper’s final request varied depending on who was telling the story. Presley claimed Hopper threw the first blow, and Hopper claimed the opposite. Regardless of who threw the first punch, both men continued to swing at one another until a couple of nearby Memphis police officers intervened. Presley, Hopper, and Aubrey Brown, a gas station employee, were all arrested.
The King Makes A Comeback
Memphis police charged Elvis Presley, Edd Hopper, and Aubrey Brown with assault and disorderly conduct. However, the judge presiding over their court appearances only fined Hopper and Brown. Whether due to his star power or his strong ties to the Memphis police (or both), Presley got off with a warning.
“In the future,” Judge Samuel Friedman told the rock star during his hearing, “you should take into consideration that you have a large following and should cooperate fully with business people in order to avoid disruptions.” The courtroom, full of devoted female fans—some of whom offered to pay whatever fines Presley might have incurred—erupted into applause when Presley was released without punishment.
For some fans, Presley’s gas station fight reaffirmed his cool, rebellious image. But for others, the scuffle was proof that the hip-gyrating musician was a negative influence on young people. Indeed, the fleeting confrontation seemed to rile people up about Elvis on either extreme. Those who loved him seemed to love him more, and the same was true for those who hated him.
Presley released an apologetic statement to the New York Post the following day, saying, “I’ll regret this day as long as I live. I guess lots of people were waiting for this kind of thing to happen. It’s getting where I can’t even leave the house without something happening to me.” Of course, Presley was right. And with this incident occurring in 1956, the public’s watchful scrutiny of him would only strengthen in the years that followed.
Photo by THA/Shutterstock
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