contract with Phillips, Moore and Black were excluded. Phillips told them to make a separate deal with Elvis. According to Moore, Presley agreed to take 50 percent, with Moore and Black splitting the other 50 percent. A one-year management contract with Presley provided Moore with a 10-percent commission, which Moore said he never took. The contract, dated July 12, 1954, eight days after their first recording session, was signed by Presley and his parents. When the contract expired, the Memphis radio personality Bob Neal stepped in and made a deal with Phillips to become Presley's manager. At that point, Moore and Black had no contractual ties to either Phillips or Presley. Neal was struggling at the time to accommodate his new client's success, and in February 1955, following a meeting with Parker, Presley agreed to let Parker take some control of future bookings and promotions. Parker and Neal worked together to promote Presley, using their own Hank Snow Tour to book him and tour him. Although Neal remained Presley's official manager, Parker was becoming increasingly involved in the running of his career, and by the summer of 1955 he had become Presley's "special advisor". As Presley was still a minor, his parents had to sign the contract with Parker on his behalf. Part of Parker's role was to secure a new recording contract with a bigger label. Presley had been at Sun Records since the beginning of his career, but Sam Phillips, the owner of Presley's current label, was aware that to have any kind of a successful future Presley would need the backing of a much larger label. Despite this, Phillips was not keen to let him go easily, advising Parker that he would require $40,000 (US$ in dollars) to secure the release of Presley's contract, a completely unheard-of sum at the time. Parker immediately went to work to find a new label for Presley. Both Mercury Records and Columbia Records showed interest, although their initial offers were nowhere near the $40,000 requirement. RCA Victor, Hank Snow's current label, also showed an interest, but they were put off by the cost of the contract. However, RCA Victor producer Steve Sholes was convinced that Presley's style of music would be a huge hit with the right label, and he began talks with Parker. RCA made it clear it were unwilling to go above $25,000 for a practically unknown singer, but