Legends Before the Spotlight: A Tale of Elvis and Márquez
Look, I didn’t discover Marc Márquez, but I was there.
by DFA
Monday, September 9, 2024
Just as Freddie Spencer's parents watched a young Elvis Presley electrify the Louisiana Hayride before he became a global icon, I had my own 'Hayride moment' in 2013, when I saw a rising star named Marc Márquez ride a MotoGP bike for the first time—before the world knew what he would become.
Freddie Spencer's parents grew up in Louisiana after WWII. Live entertainment was everywhere in 1950s America, and Spencer's parents regularly attended the Louisiana Hayride. The Hayride featured multiple musical acts each week and grew in popularity to the point where it was simulcast on local radio and then later on television. The Louisiana Hayride was, in some ways, the antithesis of Nashville's Grand Ole Opry—the Hayride featured "hill music" and "race music," which the Opry didn’t include until much later. "Hill music" later became what we know today as rock and roll.
Spencer's parents saw many musical acts at the Hayride that later became national recording artists, including a very young Elvis Presley; he was just a new regional radio star when he took to the microphone at the Hayride. Spencer says his parents actually saw Elvis several times before he became ELVIS PRESLEY, at local clubs where he would arrive by car with guitars tied to the top of the drummer's car.
Of course, Elvis exploded in popularity and became one of the most influential figures of the 20th century. I always wanted to ask Freddie's dad what it was like to see Elvis when he was just a local kid with a guitar, before the global popularity and the Jungle Room. I'm sure it was like a lightning strike.
I share this story because, in my own small way, I witnessed the rise of a legend. Not Elvis, but roadracing’s equivalent of an Elvis phenomenon. In 2013, Keith Patti and I were among the lucky few in the media to attend the MotoGP test at CotA, where we saw Marc Márquez unleash his raw talent on a MotoGP bike—before he’d even raced one in competition.
Each year, Marc Márquez reminds us of his extraordinary talent as a MotoGP rider, and this time, it happened yesterday at Misano, just ten miles from Valentino Rossi's home.
Look, I didn’t discover Marc Márquez, but I was there. And it was impossible not to notice—just from the way he carried himself—that he was something special, destined for greatness. For Keith and me, that day felt like our own ‘Elvis at the Hayride’ moment.
Here are some stories from that day:
Marc Makes His Mark Photos of Marc's last run that day, when he set the lap record, then returned to the pit lane, ripped the destroyed knee sliders from his leathers next to the clip board with his lap times on it and walked away. Recognizing history, an HRC mechanic took a picture of it.
Marc Gets A Dean Speech
Freddie Spencer's parents grew up in Louisiana after WWII. Live entertainment was everywhere in 1950s America, and Spencer's parents regularly attended the Louisiana Hayride. The Hayride featured multiple musical acts each week and grew in popularity to the point where it was simulcast on local radio and then later on television. The Louisiana Hayride was, in some ways, the antithesis of Nashville's Grand Ole Opry—the Hayride featured "hill music" and "race music," which the Opry didn’t include until much later. "Hill music" later became what we know today as rock and roll.
Look, I didn’t discover Marc Márquez, but I was there. And it was impossible not to notice—just from the way he carried himself—that he was something special, destined for greatness. For Keith and me, that day felt like our own ‘Elvis at the Hayride’ moment.
Of course, Elvis exploded in popularity and became one of the most influential figures of the 20th century. I always wanted to ask Freddie's dad what it was like to see Elvis when he was just a local kid with a guitar, before the global popularity and the Jungle Room. I'm sure it was like a lightning strike.
I share this story because, in my own small way, I witnessed the rise of a legend. Not Elvis, but roadracing’s equivalent of an Elvis phenomenon. In 2013, Keith Patti and I were among the lucky few in the media to attend the MotoGP test at CotA, where we saw Marc Márquez unleash his raw talent on a MotoGP bike—before he’d even raced one in competition.
Each year, Marc Márquez reminds us of his extraordinary talent as a MotoGP rider, and this time, it happened yesterday at Misano, just ten miles from Valentino Rossi's home.
Look, I didn’t discover Marc Márquez, but I was there. And it was impossible not to notice—just from the way he carried himself—that he was something special, destined for greatness. For Keith and me, that day felt like our own ‘Elvis at the Hayride’ moment.
Here are some stories from that day:
Marc Makes His Mark Photos of Marc's last run that day, when he set the lap record, then returned to the pit lane, ripped the destroyed knee sliders from his leathers next to the clip board with his lap times on it and walked away. Recognizing history, an HRC mechanic took a picture of it.
Marc Gets A Dean Speech
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