APPRAISER: So you brought 
in this 1950s "Louisiana 
Hayride" program, but 
the reason I was really
excited when you came to the 
table was the fact that we 
have this on the back of it.
And what can you tell me 
about this and how you got it?
GUEST: Well, when I was in 
high school, in the '50s, we 
loved to go to Shreveport, to
the "Louisiana Hayride," on 
the weekends. My sister and 
I and some more girls would
go often, and I was about 16 
years old then-- a long time 
ago. And Elvis was there, and
Johnny Cash, and they weren't 
popular like they are now. 
So, anyway, Elvis was standing
on the steps there by himself, 
and so I just had this book, 
and I went up to him and asked
him if he'd mind giving 
me his autograph.
APPRAISER: Wow, and what 
did you think of Elvis?
GUEST: (chuckling): Oh.
APPRAISER: (laughs)
GUEST: Really handsome.
APPRAISER: Yeah?
GUEST: Really good-looking. 
He was young, then, too. You 
know, it was before he married.
And I heard he made $18 a 
performance at that time. So he 
was making big money, wasn't he?
APPRAISER: Oh, my goodness. 
Even with inflation, that's 
still not a lot of money.
GUEST: No, it wasn't.
APPRAISER: And then you also 
have, I see, another one over 
here. How did you get the
other signature?
GUEST: Johnny Cash, it was at 
the same time. He was there, 
too, and he was just standing
in the doorway during 
intermission, waiting 
to go back on.
APPRAISER: What did 
you think of him?
GUEST: And went up to him and 
got his autograph. (chuckling): 
Another handsome one.
APPRAISER: We see a lot of 
autographs here at the Roadshow.
GUEST: Yeah.
APPRAISER: One, you've 
procured these firsthand.
GUEST: Right.
APPRAISER: And I believe you 
100% that you got them. If you 
had been someone who purchased
this at an auction and brought 
it to the table, I would have 
looked at these signatures and
said, "They're fake."
GUEST: Really?
APPRAISER: Because they looked 
really weird. They're not the 
Elvis signature we're used
to seeing, and it's not 
the Johnny Cash signature 
that we're used to 
seeing. But we think that
this is-- we've tried to nail 
it down. With more time, we 
could probably get very specific
about the date, but we believe 
it's 1955. And at that time, 
these guys weren't really
that popular yet.
GUEST: No, no, they 
weren't. (chuckling)
APPRAISER: And I think 
that really what we have 
is such early signatures, 
that they actually
hadn't signed enough to develop 
the signature that we're 
all used to seeing by now.
GUEST: Right.
APPRAISER: So that is pretty 
extraordinary, and it really 
affects the value. And to have
these two together...
GUEST: Yeah.
APPRAISER: Because if 
we set this, the period 
here, Elvis started doing 
the "Louisiana Hayride"
shows mid-1954.
GUEST: Yeah.
APPRAISER: He'd taped "That's 
All Right" at Sun Studios, 
and that was kind of the song
that he led with. Colonel Parker 
got him a one-year contract. 
And so he ended up staying
until about 1956.
GUEST: Yeah.
APPRAISER: And that's 
that famous show where 
Horace Logan says, "Elvis 
has left the building."
GUEST: Right.
APPRAISER: That's all happening 
at the "Louisiana Hayride."
GUEST: Yeah.
APPRAISER: So it's a very 
historic venue. But to also 
have Johnny Cash there.
GUEST: Yeah, the two of them.
APPRAISER: And all of this 
happens a year before the 
"Million Dollar Quartet," where
you have Johnny Cash, and 
Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis, and 
Carl Perkins recording at Sun
Studios together. The "Louisiana 
Hayride" is such a historic 
venue because it launched
the career of so many country 
artists. I mean, the list 
really goes on for days.
GUEST: Yeah.
APPRAISER: And it was 
just the place to be seen. 
The program itself...
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: They sell for about 
$50, $75 when they come up. 
And the other interesting thing
about this program is, again, 
because it's, it's pre-fame 
for Elvis and Johnny Cash...
GUEST: Yeah.
APPRAISER: They're not 
even in this program.
GUEST: No, no, they're not.
APPRAISER: They were not 
famous enough yet to even be 
listed among the performers at
the "Louisiana Hayride."
GUEST: No.
APPRAISER: So, it's, it's 
fascinating. Together, having 
these two guys at that time...
GUEST: Yeah.
APPRAISER: At auction for 
the program, I would put 
between $5,000 and $7,000.
GUEST (gasps): Oh! Really? I 
had no idea. Really? That's 
fantastic. I'm glad I kept
it all these years. Oh, I was 
about to run out of my bucket 
list of getting on the ANTIQUES
ROADSHOW. I was hoping 
I could come some time, 
so this is wonderful. 
And at the time, I was
wishing I had a piece of paper 
that I could have had them 
autograph, but it's probably
better that it's on the 
"Hayride" book. That helps.
APPRAISER: Way better.
