Bob Neal (promoter)

Bob Neal (born Robert Neal Hobgood; October 6, 1917 – May 9, 1983) was a country music promoter who managed Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Sonny James, and Tom T. Hall, among others.

Biography

Neal was born in the Belgian Congo to American missionary parents.

In 1942, he joined WMPS, a Memphis radio station. Although he did not originally play country music, he achieved greater success once he specialized in that style in the early 1950s. In 1954, Sam Phillips gave Bob Neal an acetate of Elvis Presley's first record and Bob Neal promoted it on WMPS along with Dewey Phillips' promotion of Elvis's first record on WHBQ. Bob Neal organized live music events and was also an emcee, and set up Elvis Presley for his first live performance at Overton Park in Memphis, Tennessee on July 30, 1954. Bob Neal officially became Elvis Presley's second manager on January 1, 1955, preceded by Scotty Moore.

Neal died May 9, 1983 at the Park View Hospital in Nashville.