Blue Christmas June 18th 1977

Elvis was hardly broke with $1m+ in the bank but surely it was time for him to reduce the entourage. He didn't really need half a dozen guys to follow him down a corridor to enter a concert for EIC. He was hardly being mobbed by thousands of fans outside venues.

Throughout the years there were several security issues to justify a bunch of bodyguards.
Real problem was his bizarre spending behaviour (2 planes? + a plane for the Colonel, countless car give aways, jewelley, poor investments and the list goes on)

Elvis was hardly broke indeed but with these kinds of expenses he needed to carry on for ever.

I don't disagree and realise he did need security, but maybe not to such an extent. I just watched 200 Cadillacs and agree that his generosity may have been to his own financial detriment, even trhough he obviously enjoyed giving.
The colonel's big percentage of the take was another factor.

You have to also account for his taxes. Elvis was in the top tax bracket and he took no deductions. He had his Dad handling his books so he was paying huge taxes on his income.

How about that awesome version of Blue Christmas!

You mean this one?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ODrPL9-kEs

How about that awesome version of Blue Christmas!

You mean this one?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ODrPL9-kEs

YES!

Okay, getting back on topic - How about that awesome version of Blue Christmas!

You know, performance wise, it wouldn't have been too bad had they all just kept together.. Elvis wanted to finish early, but it sounded like the band were moving on to the break, and that's when it fell down.

Couple of observations:

1) I'm not a big fan of the mid-late 70s live performances so haven't seen as many as most here, but every time I watch them, I wonder why the hell Charlie needed to hold the mike up to Elvis' guitar.. Were there no spare mic stands, or had no-one heard of pickups?

2) The two(?) girls who can be clearly heard screaming on the recording, is an indication as to how rose tinted people's glasses were. And Elvis' opinion may well have been 'Listen to the crowd, I'm doing great!'..

Okay, getting back on topic - How about that awesome version of Blue Christmas!

You know, performance wise, it wouldn't have been too bad had they all just kept together.. Elvis wanted to finish early, but it sounded like the band were moving on to the break, and that's when it fell down.

Couple of observations:

1) I'm not a big fan of the mid-late 70s live performances so haven't seen as many as most here, but every time I watch them, I wonder why the hell Charlie needed to hold the mike up to Elvis' guitar.. Were there no spare mic stands, or had no-one heard of pickups?

It was an act.. Charlie the sidekick and it works better than the performance itself.. I admire Charlie for the role he played on stage.. not for his singing;)
In Rapid City another micstand was used by the way..

The breakdown refers to the song being messed up and everyone stopping.

Yes, he's joking through the unprofessionalism, but he did blow off a rehearsal. That was the reality of Elvis in 1977. He couldn't be bothered.

I don't know if you are guessing or know for sure about he rehearsal.

I always assumed the line about the rehearsal was just a funny excuse.

And rehearsals seemed to be a thing of the past as he just walked thru the shows towards the end.

Was there really a rehearsal that he just blew off?

I never for one moment believed there was a rehearsal.

And did he really have to rehearse a song that he had been doing since 1957?
Anyone?

It's oddly consistent how you miss so much, yet still lash out at others in a rude, offhand manner when confused.

You must be unaware of the fact that everyone in the group -- most especially Elvis -- was aware that CBS-TV was going to be videotaping several shows on the upcoming tour for a national broadcast in the fall. And so a rehearsal was scheduled beforehand. One Elvis did not bother to attend.

P.S. "Blue Christmas" is not known in a live performance until June 1968.

By "others" do you mean you, because you're such a di*k most of the time?

Once again, you miscontrue every thing I wrote. Most of the members on this board where English is their second language seem
to comprehend better than you.
Stop being so condesending. You have a very bad reputation of that on this board.
Do you ever get the spirit of what is written? The gist?
I know very well when Elvis started doing "Blue Christmas" live.
So.... don't go there doctor di*k.
Most would get what I said, meaning that he learned the song in around 1957, and it is ironic he would bring up a rehearsal regarding
a song he has known his whole career, and not after a song that he just added to his repetiore.

Furthermore, I have never been able to verify a date or place for said rehearsal.
Notice in your half ass response, you didn't verify the date either. Which is typical.
Your practice when someone questions you, you lash out with condesension.

Why would he need to rehearse anyway?
He didn't do anything different than what he had been doing on tour.
His "rehearsal" was the tour itself.

That concert in Kansas city and further more, sadly the one in Omaha, was the rehearsal.
He figured he got as good as it was going to get in Rapid city.

Do me a favor, don't twist what I say ever again. Don't come at me with attitude unless you come armed with facts.
I am not one of your sheeple that takes everything you say as the gospel.
Oh contrare, I ask questions because I want the truth.
If you don't like to be questioned, then supply sources.
Til then, happy holidays.

Stop knocking the Doc. I didn't see anywhere in his post that he was rude towards you. YOU are the one that's rude because you prove it here in your reply and your so-called demands for him to stop twisting what you say. The Doc ALWAYS posts FACTS!

Rehearsals had completely been abandoned by this time in his touring career. Anyone with any knowledge of Elvis's mid to late 1970s touring career would know that.

For the record: THERE WASN'T ANY REHEARSALS!!!! HE WAS JOKING!

The Doc ALWAYS posts FACTS!

You must be joking, right?

Okay, getting back on topic - How about that awesome version of Blue Christmas!

You know, performance wise, it wouldn't have been too bad had they all just kept together.. Elvis wanted to finish early, but it sounded like the band were moving on to the break, and that's when it fell down.

Couple of observations:

1) I'm not a big fan of the mid-late 70s live performances so haven't seen as many as most here, but every time I watch them, I wonder why the hell Charlie needed to hold the mike up to Elvis' guitar.. Were there no spare mic stands, or had no-one heard of pickups?

It was an act.. Charlie the sidekick and it works better than the performance itself.. I admire Charlie for the role he played on stage.. not for his singing;)
In Rapid City another micstand was used by the way..

They used a mic stand in Rapid City because they didn't do the "gay" routine during "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" on television. They could have done it but either the producers nixed it or Elvis and or the Colonel rightly thought it was a little too tacky for TV. Same with Charlie holding the mic routine in general. I've always thought that was the stupidest bit. It looked so sycophantic.

The breakdown refers to the song being messed up and everyone stopping.

Yes, he's joking through the unprofessionalism, but he did blow off a rehearsal. That was the reality of Elvis in 1977. He couldn't be bothered.

I don't know if you are guessing or know for sure about he rehearsal.

I always assumed the line about the rehearsal was just a funny excuse.

And rehearsals seemed to be a thing of the past as he just walked thru the shows towards the end.

Was there really a rehearsal that he just blew off?

I never for one moment believed there was a rehearsal.

And did he really have to rehearse a song that he had been doing since 1957?
Anyone?

It's oddly consistent how you miss so much, yet still lash out at others in a rude, offhand manner when confused.

You must be unaware of the fact that everyone in the group -- most especially Elvis -- was aware that CBS-TV was going to be videotaping several shows on the upcoming tour for a national broadcast in the fall. And so a rehearsal was scheduled beforehand. One Elvis did not bother to attend.

P.S. "Blue Christmas" is not known in a live performance until June 1968.

By "others" do you mean you, because you're such a di*k most of the time?

Once again, you miscontrue every thing I wrote. Most of the members on this board where English is their second language seem
to comprehend better than you.
Stop being so condesending. You have a very bad reputation of that on this board.
Do you ever get the spirit of what is written? The gist?
I know very well when Elvis started doing "Blue Christmas" live.
So.... don't go there doctor di*k.
Most would get what I said, meaning that he learned the song in around 1957, and it is ironic he would bring up a rehearsal regarding
a song he has known his whole career, and not after a song that he just added to his repetiore.

Furthermore, I have never been able to verify a date or place for said rehearsal.
Notice in your half ass response, you didn't verify the date either. Which is typical.
Your practice when someone questions you, you lash out with condesension.

Why would he need to rehearse anyway?
He didn't do anything different than what he had been doing on tour.
His "rehearsal" was the tour itself.

That concert in Kansas city and further more, sadly the one in Omaha, was the rehearsal.
He figured he got as good as it was going to get in Rapid city.

Do me a favor, don't twist what I say ever again. Don't come at me with attitude unless you come armed with facts.
I am not one of your sheeple that takes everything you say as the gospel.
Oh contrare, I ask questions because I want the truth.
If you don't like to be questioned, then supply sources.
Til then, happy holidays.

Stop knocking the Doc. I didn't see anywhere in his post that he was rude towards you. YOU are the one that's rude because you prove it here in your reply and your so-called demands for him to stop twisting what you say. The Doc ALWAYS posts FACTS!

Rehearsals had completely been abandoned by this time in his touring career. Anyone with any knowledge of Elvis's mid to late 1970s touring career would know that.

For the record: THERE WASN'T ANY REHEARSALS!!!! HE WAS JOKING!

You didn't even read the posts because you just contradicted yourself.
You said the doc always post facts and then you go on to say that there wasn't any rehearsals.
Well, he said there was, so which is it.
Was the doc wrong or are you wrong?
I think you are wrong, because there was a rehearsal according to one book, and he was rude to me, and you just didn't read the post.

For the record, there was indeed a rehearsal scheduled before the start of the June tour.

I didn't show up, either.

A nice later version of "Blue Christmas" for the time of the year that it is.
Live in Kansas City June 18th 1977.
I have altered the URl to start at the song.

He appears to be wearing a girdle of some sort at the show. Probably trying it out to see if it would work for the TV show. He must have decided not to use it because he could hardly breath in it.

A nice later version of "Blue Christmas" for the time of the year that it is.
Live in Kansas City June 18th 1977.
I have altered the URl to start at the song.

He appears to be wearing a girdle of some sort at the show. Probably trying it out to see if it would work for the TV show. He must have decided not to use it because he could hardly breath in it.

He appears to be wearing a girdle of some sort at the show. Probably trying it out to see if it would work for the TV show. He must have decided not to use it because he could hardly breath in it.

If he's wearing a corset, it's not doing much. He already knew of their pitfalls during the October '76 tour.

Here's a story for ya ...

I had to stop for gas on my way home from work last nite, so I decided to stop at a different location than where I usually go for my gas.

There was an older gentleman in there, extremely polite, but you could tell he'd been around the block once or twice. We struck up a conversation and it led to the ongoing constant and annoying christmas crowds and lousy music.

I then proceeded to tell him that the only christmas music I could really stomach in good amounts was Elvis'. His face lit up !

He then told me he had seen Elvis "live" when he was a kid back in, yeh, get this, "1957", right around the time that original "Elvis' Christmas Album" came out and "Jailhouse Rock" was released. I was floored, "tell me more ..." kinda thing.

He kept on like a little kid how much he loved Elvis, bought ALL his records, saw "Jailhouse Rock" in the movie theatre, (against his parents wishes), thought The Beatles were "overrated", (LOL), raved about the '68 Comeback and how "great" he was in that time frame and proceeded to school me in how he believed management and the Col. drove Elvis to an early grave.

He told me he last saw Elvis in the summer of 1977, ("what a shame ..." the man said sadly), by that time, the line started to build up and we decided we would continue this conversation next time I went in.

Pretty Kool ...

Elvis was broke in november 1975 after a year with an all time high spending. He borowed 350.000 dollars from the bank using Graceland as collateral. But in 1976 and 1977 he made a lot of money and reduced the money spending. In fact, only in 1977 June tour Elvis made about 1 million dollars (including the CBS TV special). So he had enough cash to slow down the tours, and the royalties were 500.000-600.000 dollars per year, even after the 1973 buyout catalogue. Fact: in 1973 he had 5 month off between September 1973 and January 1974, in 1974 another 5 month break between august 1974 and march 1975, in 1975 3 month and a half between august and december. So Elvis could rest and recover at least 6 month after June 1977. Regarding the topic, I Like Blue Christmas from June 1977, although Elvis was in a phisical bad shape.

Here's a story for ya ...

I had to stop for gas on my way home from work last nite, so I decided to stop at a different location than where I usually go for my gas.

There was an older gentleman in there, extremely polite, but you could tell he'd been around the block once or twice. We struck up a conversation and it led to the ongoing constant and annoying christmas crowds and lousy music.

I then proceeded to tell him that the only christmas music I could really stomach in good amounts was Elvis'. His face lit up !

He then told me he had seen Elvis "live" when he was a kid back in, yeh, get this, "1957", right around the time that original "Elvis' Christmas Album" came out and "Jailhouse Rock" was released. I was floored, "tell me more ..." kinda thing.

He kept on like a little kid how much he loved Elvis, bought ALL his records, saw "Jailhouse Rock" in the movie theatre, (against his parents wishes), thought The Beatles were "overrated", (LOL), raved about the '68 Comeback and how "great" he was in that time frame and proceeded to school me in how he believed management and the Col. drove Elvis to an early grave.

He told me he last saw Elvis in the summer of 1977, ("what a shame ..." the man said sadly), by that time, the line started to build up and we decided we would continue this conversation next time I went in.

Pretty Kool ...

Tell him to join FECC we would love to hear his stories.

Looking at the footage, hearing at the complete show... i's clear that this tour never should have happened.

EVERY show on this tour, even he pretty good ones at Rapid City and Indianapolis, where pretty slow in the build up.
Between songs there where often long silences, it's obvious our guy was running out of gas, there was something wrong.
It was in more ways then one his final curtain.

He was bloated in Kansas City much as he was in Hollywood, FL, earlier in the year. He just didn't appear as sweaty and disheveled in Kansas City.

Dr. John, please clarify your statement about the corset from the fall tour. What were the pitfalls? While he may have been wearing his "brace," as he called it, he also had dropped quite a bit of weight. It showed in his face, in a very bad way. He started to look like a meth addict.

Elvis was broke in november 1975 after a year with an all time high spending. He borowed 350.000 dollars from the bank using Graceland as collateral. But in 1976 and 1977 he made a lot of money and reduced the money spending. In fact, only in 1977 June tour Elvis made about 1 million dollars (including the CBS TV special). So he had enough cash to slow down the tours, and the royalties were 500.000-600.000 dollars per year, even after the 1973 buyout catalogue. Fact: in 1973 he had 5 month off between September 1973 and January 1974, in 1974 another 5 month break between august 1974 and march 1975, in 1975 3 month and a half between august and december. So Elvis could rest and recover at least 6 month after June 1977. Regarding the topic, I Like Blue Christmas from June 1977, although Elvis was in a phisical bad shape.

You're right. He had plenty of time to rest and recover. Trouble is, he didn't use those breaks constructively. He obviously didn't work out or get in shape. He just kept getting increasingly out of shape with less and less stamina for the shows. He usually seemed to be worse after his long break. Of course he should have been using that time off to be in rehab first and for-most.

Stop knocking the Doc. I didn't see anywhere in his post that he was rude towards you. YOU are the one that's rude because you prove it here in your reply and your so-called demands for him to stop twisting what you say.

Thank you, Tony.

Looking at the footage, hearing at the complete show... i's clear that this tour never should have happened.

EVERY show on this tour, even he pretty good ones at Rapid City and Indianapolis, where pretty slow in the build up.
Between songs there where often long silences, it's obvious our guy was running out of gas, there was something wrong.
It was in more ways then one his final curtain.

Nah. Tuesday, August 16 was just a mishap. The next day he would have been on stage in Portland, as scheduled.

He was bloated in Kansas City much as he was in Hollywood, FL, earlier in the year. He just didn't appear as sweaty and disheveled in Kansas City.

Dr. John, please clarify your statement about the corset from the fall tour. What were the pitfalls? While he may have been wearing his "brace," as he called it, he also had dropped quite a bit of weight. It showed in his face, in a very bad way. He started to look like a meth addict.

The photos certainly look far worse on February 12, but that doesn't make June 18 seem any better. This June tour may've been the one where bodyguards Dick Grob and Sam Thompson made contingency plans if Elvis died while on tour. That's how bad it was.

The main reason Elvis dropped the use of the corset in October 1976 was it constricted his breathing, and he felt he couldn't sing comfortably.

[quote="rickeap"]For goodness sake Doc, in this topic it is blatantly clear you were rude and agressive and caused yet another row.
quote]

Thanks, Rickeap.

He was bloated in Kansas City much as he was in Hollywood, FL, earlier in the year. He just didn't appear as sweaty and disheveled in Kansas City.

Dr. John, please clarify your statement about the corset from the fall tour. What were the pitfalls? While he may have been wearing his "brace," as he called it, he also had dropped quite a bit of weight. It showed in his face, in a very bad way. He started to look like a meth addict.

The photos certainly look far worse on February 12, but that doesn't make June 18 seem any better. This June tour may've been the one where bodyguards Dick Grob and Sam Thompson made contingency plans if Elvis died while on tour. That's how bad it was.

The main reason Elvis dropped the use of the corset in October 1976 was it constricted his breathing, and he felt he couldn't sing comfortably.

Which seems to be the case here. You can tell from his first notes of C.C. Rider and also from his constrained movement. He also keeps his scarf tucked in to possible conceal the corset.

... And it's hard to image what he was thinking that night in Kansas City, with just 24 hours to go before the CBS cameras would be there to capture every little detail...

Considering his medicated condition, I'm not sure he was even aware that he was about to be filmed..............

One can even wonder: was he aware it was June 18th and not December 18th? Pictures, footage and audio from 76-77 makes me sad, really sad.