Elvis Presley plays Deke Rivers, a delivery man who is discovered by publicist Glenda Markle (Lizabeth Scott) and country-western musician Tex Warner (Wendell Corey). Deke is a handsome young man with a fast car and even faster fists, but what really sets him apart is his voice and charisma. One day he's seen singing, and word quickly spreads of his talent throughout the small town in which he works.
Markle and Warner, believing in his potential, want to promote the talented newcomer to fame and fortune, giving him every break they feel he deserves. At first, Warner, a washed-up country music entertainer, sees Deke's addition to the act as merely a side act, and that Warner will return to the limelight. He learns the painful truth after Glenda tearfully tells him that the promoters she works with don't want Warner anymore...and that Deke is their only shot left at the big-time.