She Was Only 13 When Elvis Put His Hand on Her Neck — 68 Years Later, She Still Remembered the Feeling
She was only 13 years old when she walked into Hobart Arena in Troy, Ohio, expecting to see Elvis Presley perform. She could never have imagined that decades later, one tiny moment from that day would still remain vivid in her memory.
November 24, 1956, was not an ordinary day in Troy, Ohio.
Elvis Presley was only 21 years old, already becoming one of the most talked-about young entertainers in America. Thousands of fans gathered at Hobart Arena to see the rising star perform two shows that day. For a teenage girl named Priscilla Myers, it was an opportunity that felt almost impossible to believe.
She had only been an Elvis fan for about a year.
At 12, she had first seen Elvis on television. That single appearance was enough to make her a fan. Then, at 13, she suddenly found herself going to see him in person.
But Priscilla Myers’s experience became even more extraordinary before Elvis ever stepped onto the stage.
A friend invited her to attend the show because her father, who worked as a magazine writer, had been assigned to interview Elvis. Priscilla Myers and several other girls were taken backstage by security before the performance.
What happened next became the part of the day she remembered most clearly.
Priscilla Myers recalled that Elvis was extremely kind and welcoming. She remembered his dark hair, his appearance, and the overwhelming excitement of finally standing in the same room with the young man she had been watching on television.
Then came a moment she would never forget.
At one point during their backstage encounter, Elvis placed his hand on the back of Priscilla Myers’s neck.
She remembered closing her eyes and simply taking in the moment.
More than six decades later, she could still describe the feeling.
It is striking because Priscilla Myers did not remember every detail of the concert itself. The screaming was simply too loud. She remembered Elvis wearing black and looking incredible onstage, but the atmosphere was so intense that the performance became almost a blur.
The crowd noise was overwhelming.
Thousands of young fans were screaming, shouting and reacting to Elvis’s every move. Priscilla Myers said she was not someone who screamed. Instead, she simply watched and tried to absorb everything happening in front of her.
And then there was Elvis himself.
Despite being just 21, Priscilla Myers remembered him as remarkably warm and gentlemanly. She rejected the negative image that some people had already begun associating with Elvis and insisted that the young man she met was nothing like those descriptions.
Instead, she remembered someone who made the girls feel comfortable.
Someone who welcomed them.
Someone who was kind.
That memory became even more meaningful when she returned to Troy decades later.
In 2022, Priscilla Myers met members of the Elvis Back on Tour community during Elvis Week in Memphis. Years later, while they were traveling through Troy, they contacted her and asked if she would return to Hobart Arena with them.
She agreed.
Standing inside the arena again was emotional.
The room where Priscilla Myers had met Elvis was apparently no longer there, making it impossible to recreate the moment exactly as she remembered it. That was disappointing. Yet simply being back in the building brought the memories rushing back.
She could almost picture Elvis on that stage.
She could almost hear the screaming fans.
And perhaps most importantly, she could remember being that 13-year-old girl again — standing close to Elvis Presley, overwhelmed by the experience, and unknowingly creating a memory that would stay with her for the rest of her life.
Priscilla Myers admitted that she wished she could remember the entire concert more clearly.
But perhaps she remembered something even more valuable.
She remembered how Elvis made her feel.
The concert may have faded with time. The exact details of the performance may have disappeared beneath decades of memories.
But that brief encounter backstage remained.
A hand on the back of her neck.
A young Elvis Presley.
A frightened, excited 13-year-old fan.
And a moment that, nearly seven decades later, she could still feel when she closed her eyes.
Sometimes, the smallest moments become the memories that last the longest.