ELVIS PRESLEY SHOOK HIS HAND TWICE — AND THAT MOMENT CHANGED EVERYTHING FOR KEITH ALVERSON
What if the greatest Elvis Presley memory in your entire life had nothing to do with owning a rare photograph, getting the best camera, or even standing in the perfect place at a concert?
What if it was simply one handshake?
For Keith Alverson, that unbelievable moment happened not once, but twice — during two unforgettable Elvis Presley performances in Huntsville, Alabama, in 1975.
And the story behind those handshakes is even more extraordinary because Keith never set out to become an Elvis photographer.
It all began when he was just a little boy.
One Saturday afternoon, Keith was watching American Bandstand with his mother when a song came on that immediately caught his attention.
It was “Hound Dog.”
Keith heard Elvis for the first time and instantly knew he wanted that record. His mother drove him roughly ten miles to the nearest Sears Roebuck, where she bought the young Elvis fan the single.
And what happened next became a hilarious family memory.
Keith played “Hound Dog” over and over and over again.
His father finally had enough.
He suggested Keith turn the record over and listen to the other side.
That song was “Don’t Be Cruel.”
Keith listened.
His father liked it.
Keith didn’t.
So the record went straight back to “Hound Dog.”
For Keith, Elvis wasn’t simply a singer. He became part of his childhood, his family memories, his movies, his records — and eventually, his life’s work.
Years later, Keith began attending Elvis concerts.
But his first attempts to photograph Elvis were anything but spectacular.
In 1971, Keith saw Elvis in person for the first time, but he didn’t even have a proper camera. His father owned a tiny Brownie camera, and Keith had to rely on it.
Worse, his seats were so far away that Elvis looked like a tiny black ant on the stage.
The following year, Keith attended two Elvis shows in Macon, Georgia.
Again, the photographs weren’t very good.
But Keith didn’t give up.
Then came 1973.
He finally bought a much better camera — a Minolta 101 with a 135mm lens.
Suddenly, everything changed.
Keith began capturing photographs that fans actually wanted.
Among them were the now-famous 1973 Cape photographs.
At first, Keith was simply taking pictures for himself. But members of an Elvis fan club began asking him whether he had taken any good photographs.
He brought them in.
People saw the images.
And suddenly they wanted copies.
“Everybody wants them,” they told him.
Keith was stunned.
He hadn’t planned a business.
But the demand kept growing.
A friend introduced him to Strictly Elvis, a small Elvis publication, and advertisements for Keith’s photographs began reaching fans far beyond his hometown.
Soon, his mailbox started filling with letters, checks and even cash from Elvis fans around the world.
What had started as a childhood obsession had unexpectedly become a worldwide photography business.
But the most incredible part of Keith’s Elvis story wasn’t the money.
It wasn’t the photographs.
It wasn’t even eventually having thousands of images.
It was Huntsville.
In 1975, Keith had front-row seats for Elvis.
And this time, he wasn’t going to let the opportunity pass.
As Elvis approached the edge of the stage, Keith had already made up his mind.
He stood up.
He extended his hand.
Elvis walked directly toward him.
Then Elvis reached down and shook Keith’s hand.
And he smiled.
That alone would have been enough to make the memory unforgettable.
But something unexpected happened next.
After Keith stood up, roughly ten other fans followed his example.
One handshake created a domino effect.
Keith believed Elvis enjoyed the spontaneous greeting from the audience.
And then came the evening show.
Keith did it again.
Elvis wore the red eagle outfit that night.
Keith stood up.
He reached out.
And Elvis shook his hand for the second time.
Two shows.
Two handshakes.
One extraordinary memory.
Decades later, Keith would still identify those Huntsville performances as his favorite Elvis shows of all.
And perhaps that’s the most fascinating part of this story.
Keith eventually accumulated approximately 2,800 photographs of Elvis and his world. Those images became the foundation of two published volumes.
Thousands of photographs.
Decades of memories.
A lifetime documenting Elvis Presley.
Yet when Keith looks back, the moments that seem to matter most aren’t necessarily the photographs.
They are those few seconds when Elvis looked directly at him, walked toward him, smiled, and reached down to shake his hand.
Think about that.
A young boy who first discovered Elvis through “Hound Dog” eventually found himself standing in front of the very man who had captivated him since childhood.
He started with a record.
Then came a cheap camera.
Then bad seats.
Then blurry photographs.
Then a better camera.
Then fan-club requests.
Then international orders.
Then thousands of photographs.
And finally, two unforgettable handshakes with Elvis Presley himself.
That is the kind of Elvis story that history books often overlook.
Because Elvis history isn’t only about sold-out concerts, famous jumpsuits, record-breaking performances, or celebrities.
Sometimes, the most powerful stories belong to the ordinary fans who were lucky enough to be there.
Keith Alverson wasn’t trying to make history.
He was simply a fan with a camera.
But by continuing to photograph what he loved, he preserved thousands of moments that otherwise might have disappeared forever.
And somewhere inside those 2,800 photographs is a lifetime of Elvis history — captured not by a major newspaper photographer or Hollywood professional, but by a fan who simply refused to stop taking pictures.
And perhaps the biggest question remains:
If you had been sitting in Keith’s front-row seat in Huntsville in 1975, would you have stood up and reached for Elvis’s hand?
Or would you have stayed seated, afraid that the moment might disappear?
For Keith, he took the chance.
And Elvis reached back.
Twice.
That may be worth more than any photograph ever taken.
What do you think?
Would one handshake with Elvis Presley mean more to you than owning the rarest Elvis photograph in the world?
Tell us in the comments.
Because sometimes, the greatest Elvis memories aren’t the ones hanging on a wall.
They’re the ones that happened for only a few seconds — and stayed with you for the rest of your life.