For the soundtrack album from this special, see Elvis in Concert (album)
.
Elvis In Concert
is a 1977 TV special starring Elvis Presley. It was Elvis' third TV special, following Elvis
(aka The '68 Comeback Special
) and Aloha From Hawaii
. It was filmed during Presley's final tour in the cities of Omaha, Nebraska, on June 19, 1977, and Rapid City, South Dakota, on June 21, 1977. It was shown on CBS in October 1977. It is one of the few videos of Elvis which remain unlikely to ever be released for home viewing and is only available in bootleg form. [1] [2]
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ELVIS IN CONCERT TICKETS
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Production
In early 1977, Elvis Presley signed a deal with
CBS for a new television special. It was agreed that CBS would videotape concerts during the summer of 1977. The final special was culled from footage from two performances on June 19, 1977, in Omaha, and June 21, 1977, in Rapid City, although much of the footage from Omaha was considered unusable due to sound and performance problems.
[3] This concert has been heavily edited and bootlegs (possible stolen tapes) have appeared on auction web sites over the years. The show was shot on NTSC videotape although many film conversions have appeared over the years.
During the special, Presley performs a number of songs spanning his career. A notable moment is his performance of "Are You Lonesome Tonight" in which he appears to forget the words during the song's long monologue portion; this footage was included in the later documentary
This is Elvis
to illustrate his poor condition at the time. (Darrin Memmer's book "Elvis Presley - The 1977 CBS Television Special," published in 2001 by Morris Publishing, makes a strong case that Elvis regularly played around with the words during the spoken portion of the song on stage, rather than it being a case of poor memory.) Presley also sings his much-performed "My Way" although he has to use a lyric sheet; this performance is notable for the song's prophetic lyric, "And now the end is near and so I face the final curtain."
According to Roy Carr and Mick Farren in
Elvis: The Illustrated Record
, CBS officials considered postponing broadcast of the special in hopes of obtaining better performance footage of Presley, but his death in August 1977 rendered this moot.
[4] Its broadcast received mixed reaction; Carr and Farren condemned it as a "travesty", adding, "Had it been shown during his lifetime, it would have caused more irrevocable damage to what was left of his career than almost a decade of starring in third-rate movies."
[
]
A misconception regarding Elvis in Concert
stems from a statement broadcast by Presley's father, Vernon Presley at the program's conclusion in which he said viewers had just witnessed Elvis' final performance. In fact, Presley made five more concert appearances before giving what would be his final show in Indianapolis, Indiana, on June 26. [5] However the CBS special was Elvis' last professionally recorded concert.
Reviews
Blogcritics Magazine
has called Elvis in Concert
"both terrible and embarrassing." [6] The fan-site Elvis Information Network deemed the program "a challenging special to watch... The pudginess of his face and his substantial girth is a long way from the panther like sleekness exhibited in Elvis: That's the Way It Is
", a documentary about Presley released in 1970.[
]
Official release
This special has never been released on VHS or DVD, and Presley's estate has issued a statement saying that they have "no plans" to release the special, due to the fact that Elvis was visibly "far from his best in the way he looked and the way he performed."[
]
List of songs / scenes
- Elvis Fans' Comments/Opening Riff
- Introduction/Also Sprach Zarathustra
- "See See Rider"
- "That's All Right"
- "Are You Lonesome Tonight?"
- "Teddy Bear/Don't Be Cruel"
- Elvis Fans' Comments
- "You Gave Me a Mountain"
- "Jailhouse Rock"
- Elvis Fans' Comments
- "How Great Thou Art"
- Elvis Fans' Comments
- "I Really Don't Want To Know"
- Elvis Introduces His Father
- "Hurt"
- "Hound Dog"
- "My Way"
- "Can't Help Falling in Love"
- Closing Riff
- Message From Vernon Presley
Soundtrack
Main article: Elvis in Concert (album)
RCA released a soundtrack album in conjunction with the television special's broadcast. The album augments the televised performances with a second album of additional recordings made during the Omaha and Rapid City concerts. The concert soundtrack album was released in October 1977 and peaked on the chart in November 1977.
The album reached #5 on the Billboard album charts.
References
- For Elvis Fans Only: Press Release From Presley Estate.
- Elvis Information Network: Elvis in Concert VCD Review.
- Focus on Elvis: Elvis on Tour 1977
- Carr and Farren (1982), p. 166.
- Carr and Farren (1982), p. 140.
- Blogcritics Magazine Music Review: Elvis Presley - Elvis In Concert.