28 YEARS AGO TODAY

[elvisjnr]

Elvis performed his last concert ever, today 28 years ago, the King farewelled his fans, and they farewelled the greatest entertainer ever, no matter how ill he was, he did his best right to the end, he did it his way. we'll never forget you Elvis!

[minkahed]

Amen to that elvisjnr!!!

It' s still hard to believe all this time has passed...

[Net]

they farewelled the greatest entertainer ever

28 years (ouch!) later, and still no one has taken that honor from him. It will still stand another 28 years from now, after even more Eminems and Mariahs have passed through.

[Thomas]

I don't know, I could play this today, but I can't. "Adios" was one of my very first CDs. I listened to it like it was nothing special one or two years ago. But now, after I became a much bigger fan and my collection grew bigger and bigger, I must wait until I am ready to listen to this concert again.

[iamhekev]

I find this show to be very good,and IF? a soundboard came to light,it would be good for the FTD treatmeant.

He may be gone...but he still rock"s in our hearts and souls.

[Steve_M]

and also....

306 years ago today Col Parker was born.

51 years ago today that first Sun demo session.

48 years ago today Elvis spent the first night at Graceland after the renovations were complete.

39 years ago today I was born

26 years ago today Vernon passed away.

[Thomas]

Well happy birthday then. Almost twice my age. But soon I'll have a shocking 3 before the 0, too

[Renan]

28 years ago!!!!!! Well I wasn´t even born but....the first thing that came on mind when I woke up today, was the Indianapolis concert....
But Elvis still rocks! and will rock forever!!!!!!!!!

Best Regards
Renan.

[Tallhair AKA Ger Rijff]

I feel lucky having been at his final concert 28 years ago today.Anybody else out there who got to see him that night? seeing Elvis climbing the stairs up onto the stage while thousands of flashbulbs exploded was one hell of an experience! Nothing but good memories from that night.

[rockinrebel]

I feel lucky having been at his final concert 28 years ago today.Anybody else out there who got to see him that night? seeing Elvis climbing the stairs up onto the stage while thousands of flashbulbs exploded was one hell of an experience! Nothing but good memories from that night.

It’s always nice to read some input from people that were actually there.

Some of us (myself included) can get far to analytical at times, now that we are able to listen to recordings and watch film footage over and over again, and the negative aspects of Elvis’ later shows have been discussed here many times in the past.

However, despite all these discussions, I am sure that everyone that attended the final show was blown away by the experience and regardless of what has been said in the past, those of us that never got to see Elvis perform would love to have been there too.

[minni1]

I feel lucky having been at his final concert 28 years ago today.Anybody else out there who got to see him that night? seeing Elvis climbing the stairs up onto the stage while thousands of flashbulbs exploded was one hell of an experience! Nothing but good memories from that night.

No, I saw him 28 years ago last night, in Cincinnati, Ohio!
It seems like it was yesterday, but also seems so surreal, as if it happened in a dream!

[Dave the Rave]

I was there also what an experience great memories!

[LonnieBeale]

So it was 28 years and a day since I saw him at Cincinatti for the last time. Man is that depressing or what!

[Steve_M]

My short poem of the day:

It was a long time ago, but to some so was yesterday,
He lived, he ruled, he still spreads influence today,
and so he will tomorrow and that's a long way away.

[Renan]

What a deep poem!!!!
Do you guys know why Elvis sang "I Can´t Stop Loving You" in Indianapolis? I think he didn´t sing it since 1974.. right??
And I liked the version! It´s like he guesses it was the last one and decided to do once more!!

[elvisjock]

There are a number of unique aspects to the Indianapolis show.

So many of the '76-'77 concerts were cookie-cutter by comparison.

Elvis looked relatively well that night - so much better than he did while filming the CBS special.

The improvised performances of I Can't Stop Loving You and Release Me were well out of the norm.

The emotion he invests in Bridge and Hurt make the versions heard on Spring Tours and in Omaha sound painful in comparison.

How lucky are we that a fan with a stereo tape recorder captured this performance? The warmth and ambience that is heard on Adios makes us feel like we're there (even if it sounds like we're 100 yards away, standing in line for a hot dog.)

His monologue at the end of the show seems to be so full of foreshadowing - almost as if it is a farewell speech, of sorts. Or, as Jerry Hopkins wrote, it seemed as if he didn't want to leave.

I didn't see the Indy show in person, but I saw exactly one year earlier, twice in one day, in Providence.

All he had to do was look in one direction, and that section of the audience went bananas. A blessing and a curse, as we would all come to realize.

"If you want us back, just let us know and we'll come back..."

[minkahed]

Thanks for the lil review and great comments elvisjock!

I played my cd of this concert today, as well as my Elvis In Concert
japanese 24 bit remaster, and man, what a difference!

and I'm not talkin' about sound quality...

It's still hard to fathom that Elvis last took the stage 28 summers ago tonite...

I wish he were still here...

[elvisjnr]

Elvis sang i can't stop lovin you as a request for a fan, its refreshing to hear it in the '69' key

i'm 14 years old, and so this concert is twice as old as me, but what a concert it is, and like i said, there will never be another performer who gave the love, power, charisma, and voice like he did in to a performance.

[drjohncarpenter]

It's a pleasure to read the comments on this topic -- the MB at its best.

Query for Ger -- was 26 June 1977 the best gig you saw that year?

DJC

[Joe Car]

There are a number of unique aspects to the Indianapolis show.

So many of the '76-'77 concerts were cookie-cutter by comparison.

Elvis looked relatively well that night - so much better than he did while filming the CBS special.

The improvised performances of I Can't Stop Loving You and Release Me were well out of the norm.

The emotion he invests in Bridge and Hurt make the versions heard on Spring Tours and in Omaha sound painful in comparison.

How lucky are we that a fan with a stereo tape recorder captured this performance? The warmth and ambience that is heard on Adios makes us feel like we're there (even if it sounds like we're 100 yards away, standing in line for a hot dog.)

His monologue at the end of the show seems to be so full of foreshadowing - almost as if it is a farewell speech, of sorts. Or, as Jerry Hopkins wrote, it seemed as if he didn't want to leave.

I didn't see the Indy show in person, but I saw exactly one year earlier, twice in one day, in Providence.

All he had to do was look in one direction, and that section of the audience went bananas. A blessing and a curse, as we would all come to realize.

"If you want us back, just let us know and we'll come back..."

Excellent post Elvisjock!

[Tallhair AKA Ger Rijff]

Hi doc ! I was at 2 shows during 77. Indy and Cincinnatti. Indy being the better one . Although seeing him perform Unchained Melody on the 25th was really something ! During most of the time that night Elvis was like only 20 feet away from our seats [ 6th row from the front of the stage ! ] he'd be so close at times you could spot his eye-makeup ! I remember vividly my girlfriend saying : " He has put on weight since last time [ dec 76 ] but still looks very handsome ! " Bless her! It still hurts like hell when you think he had only seven more weeks to live after he had finished his concert in Indy....

[Scott Hayward]

How do you feel about this comment I found, which (like several others like it) suggest that a lot of Elvis-fans look at the last concert through rose-colored glasses. That is, we're so happy that there is an improvement as compared to other efforts from 1976-77 that we tend to overpraise?

A distant relative of mine went to see the very last Elvis Presley concert, which was held in June 1977 at Market Square Arena. From all accounts, it was a travesty of a show. Elvis was fat, half-dead, bloated and sweating, tossing soaked scarves into the audience, walking through cruel parodies of his songs.

Nevertheless, the distant relative said it was like being in the presence of a great man, an almost holy man. Other people just saw an overweight drug addict in his last, most pathetic performance.
A few months later, Elvis died a junkie's death, all alone, like junkies before and since.

And me personally? I happen to like the show and feel that on several songs Elvis is vocally stronger than ever. Then again, there are several shameful throwaways...

[Joe Car]

How do you feel about this comment I found, which (like several others like it) suggest that a lot of Elvis-fans look at the last concert through rose-colored glasses. That is, we're so happy that there is an improvement as compared to other efforts from 1976-77 that we tend to overpraise?

A distant relative of mine went to see the very last Elvis Presley concert, which was held in June 1977 at Market Square Arena. From all accounts, it was a travesty of a show. Elvis was fat, half-dead, bloated and sweating, tossing soaked scarves into the audience, walking through cruel parodies of his songs.

Nevertheless, the distant relative said it was like being in the presence of a great man, an almost holy man. Other people just saw an overweight drug addict in his last, most pathetic performance.
A few months later, Elvis died a junkie's death, all alone, like junkies before and since.

And me personally? I happen to like the show and feel that on several songs Elvis is vocally stronger than ever. Then again, there are several shameful throwaways...

First of all I think the quote is really insensitive and not true. By all accounts his final show was solid as told by most people who have commented on it and who were there. Also one thing I learned about this site, (which you learn to appreciate over time) is the fact that people for the most part will be fair and honest in their critique of an Elvis' concert, whether it be great or sometimes below par.

[Tallhair AKA Ger Rijff]

Howard, you must be in one (deleted - see guideline #2) mood having mailed that ugly quote?! Do I want to respond to this cowshit piece at all? NO! NEIN! NJET!

[Tallhair AKA Ger Rijff]

My message is to Scott....Howard? Who is he?