Memphis celebrates Elvis' first single

MEMPHIS, July 6 (UPI) -- Elvis Presley got a gold album and guitarist Scotty Moore got a parking ticket at Memphis' 50th anniversary party for the King's first record.

More than 1,500 people showed up Monday at the historic Sun Studio for "Global Moment In Time," recognizing the five decades since Presley recorded the landmark rock single "That's All Right," the Memphis Commercial Appeal reported Tuesday.

BMG, parent of Presley's label RCA, presented gold records to the family of Sun Studio founder Sam Phillips and to Jack Soden, chief executive of Elvis Presley Enterprises.

The gold record for "That's All Right" is coming five decades later, because while few disputed the single sold more than 500,000 copies to attain gold certification, record keeping was poor in the 1950s, the BMG executive said.

Moore, Presley's guitarist on the early hits, was honored at the event by the mayor. While accepting his award, Moore was getting another citation.

"Scotty was out back getting this trophy, and a policeman was out front putting a ticket on Scotty's car (for illegal parking)," said Gail Pollock, Moore's longtime companion.