July 19 1975

[stayawayjoe001]

Same moment

[drjohncarpenter]

How did your experience on July 19, 1975 compare to seeing him at MSG in June 1972? Or Pittsburgh on December 31, 1976?

Doc- these shows were exciting. I walked away fully satisfied in what we witnessed-especially the "extra added" and spontaneous songs he did at these events. Very cool to be present for.

Due to the fact that the internet did not exist Elvis' decline unfolded much slower to those who only got to see him once or twice a year. or even every other year. These were my first events since the Long Island 1973 shows so I was happy with the concerts. The change really became apparent to me in 1976 at Buffalo and then Philadelphia. There was a much more obvious weight gain and energy was way off in these shows. The performances were very lackluster in comparison to what I had seen.

As I have said Pittsburgh NYE made me feel things were back on track to an extent. Then news trickled in from friends who saw other shows. By the time I saw him in Philly in 1977 I can recall looking through my movie camera lens while he was ending "Can't Help Falling In Love" and thinking that I couldn't bear to see him like he was. I doubted I would effort to see another show. Unfortunately fate made that decision for me as I would never again have such an opportunity.

Thank you for your detailed and informative reply. It is so true that information did indeed travel more slowly in the pre-internet age. It's interesting to see that two bad shows bookended one good show (Buffalo-Pittsburgh-Philadelphia). I have the latter two, and the energy level is very different indeed.

Given what I've read, are these the Elvis shows you saw?

6-11-1972 New York
6-23-1973 AS Uniondale
6-23-1973 ES Uniondale
7-19-1975 AS Uniondale
6-26-1976 Buffalo
12-31-1976 Pittsburgh
5-28-1977 Philadelphia

[Gunter]

converted to jpg
Im sorry for the wrong file format

Thanks for reposting! Appreciate it. Those are completely new me! Except one I think. And in perfect quality!

[Greybeard]

John-
Nearly complete list there my friend- I was also at the 7-19-75 evening show as well as Philadelphia on May 28, 1976 also.

[matilda]

i dont like the suit...but indeed elvis looks here younger and somewhat different than before....
his eyes do look different.....did the eye job really made the difference?

[Matt Ashton]

I have always found this Jumpsuit to be unflattering on Elvis, although it has some nice design elements. You can clearly see similar style links with the two piece suits worn in August 75. Elvis looked heavy both in August 75 and December 75 although he looked better in the face in August.

Elvis could look very different from day to day from late 1975 until 1977.

[FVH]

Anyone know how EP hurt his right middle finger just before or during this tour?
If you look closely, you'll see in pictures that his fingernail is black - indicating that it had been exposed to trauma of some sort.

[drjohncarpenter]

John-
Nearly complete list there my friend- I was also at the 7-19-75 evening show as well as Philadelphia on May 28, 1976 also.

Ah, thank you! Someday, we will have to get you to make a separate topic for each of these concert experiences. Several are among the most highly-regarded later-period shows. And I'm sure you have some VERY interesting stories to tell.

The Greybeard Nine!
6-11-1972 New York
6-23-1973 AS Uniondale
6-23-1973 ES Uniondale
7-19-1975 AS Uniondale
7-19-1975 ES Uniondale
6-26-1976 Buffalo
6-28-1976 Philadelphia
12-31-1976 Pittsburgh
5-28-1977 Philadelphia

[elmonstro]

Hi guys, frequent visitor, infrequent poster. Love that first picture. I cleaned it up a bit cos, well, why not? Hope you like the results.

[Robert]

Hi guys, frequent visitor, infrequent poster. Love that first picture. I cleaned it up a bit cos, well, why not? Hope you like the results.

Great quality!

[SteamrollerBlues]

Wow, there are some good pics in this thread.

[Joe Car]

Wow, there are some good pics in this thread.

I agree. Well done everybody!!

[eligain]

How did your experience on July 19, 1975 compare to seeing him at MSG in June 1972? Or Pittsburgh on December 31, 1976?

Doc- these shows were exciting. I walked away fully satisfied in what we witnessed-especially the "extra added" and spontaneous songs he did at these events. Very cool to be present for.

Due to the fact that the internet did not exist Elvis' decline unfolded much slower to those who only got to see him once or twice a year. or even every other year. These were my first events since the Long Island 1973 shows so I was happy with the concerts. The change really became apparent to me in 1976 at Buffalo and then Philadelphia. There was a much more obvious weight gain and energy was way off in these shows. The performances were very lackluster in comparison to what I had seen.

As I have said Pittsburgh NYE made me feel things were back on track to an extent. Then news trickled in from friends who saw other shows. By the time I saw him in Philly in 1977 I can recall looking through my movie camera lens while he was ending "Can't Help Falling In Love" and thinking that I couldn't bear to see him like he was. I doubted I would effort to see another show. Unfortunately fate made that decision for me as I would never again have such an opportunity.

While it's true that Elvis' decline may have unfolded slower for those who only saw him in person with long stretches in between but for those of us who saw the tabloids and movie mags of the time; we were well aware of Elvis' physical decline in real time. Also many of the fan clubs were very candid and frank in much of their reviews of Elvis' shows. I belonged to the Denver fan club and every month all the shows were reviewed without rose colored glasses for the most part. By the time Elvis was slated to perform in Denver in April of 76, we all wondered if he was going to put on a good show or a poor show. He wound up putting on an uncharacteristic good show for Denver.

In late 76, Denver's #1 radio station held a contest to send several people to see Elvis in Vegas in Dec. 76. The 2 DJ's; Hal and Charlie (who were big Elvis fans), wondered if Elvis would put on a good show or one of the poor shows that kept being reported. When they came back from the Vegas trip a day later, they sadly reported that Elvis put on a very poor show.

[AmericanKenpoRichard]

That's one of his ugliest suits in my opinion......

[rlj4ep]

John-
Nearly complete list there my friend- I was also at the 7-19-75 evening show as well as Philadelphia on May 28, 1976 also.

Ah, thank you! Someday, we will have to get you to make a separate topic for each of these concert experiences. Several are among the most highly-regarded later-period shows. And I'm sure you have some VERY interesting stories to tell.

The Greybeard Nine!
6-11-1972 New York
6-23-1973 AS Uniondale
6-23-1973 ES Uniondale
7-19-1975 AS Uniondale
7-19-1975 ES Uniondale
6-26-1976 Buffalo
6-28-1976 Philadelphia
12-31-1976 Pittsburgh
5-28-1977 Philadelphia

Greybeard, Doc,
I was at all of the Philly shows during the 70's. To be sure nothing comes even close to the energy and voice on Monday night November 8, 1971, which remains the best concert I have ever attended!

There were changes in Elvis' physical state and energy level with each performance I saw. However, to my eyes, the greatest change was from 76 to 77. To be sure on that hot and humid Monday evening on June 28, 1976, Elvis was dramatically overweight from the 1974 shows, his energy was different as you've stated, but I was still happy with his performance that evening. His performances of America, Hurt (twice), and And I Love You So were stand-outs for me. When he hit the stage on Saturday, May 28, 1977 and throughout the show, there were some big changes. I recall being concerned about his appearance. His comment right before Cant Help Falling in Love about "being in good health" made me happy for the moment but also concerned as to why he was saying such a thing. Riding home from the Spectrum that evening I remember thinking "I hope he is really OK." Yet having been there I still "enjoyed" the show, and I am glad I was there. It was Elvis. It was not 1971, but I like to believe he gave the best performance he could. At the same time, his appearance and energy level were dramatically different in 1977.

From my eye witness accounts, you are so correct about the dramatic decline from 76 to 77.

Anyway, just thought I would add my comment to this. Hope you don't mind.

rlj

[Robert]

John-
Nearly complete list there my friend- I was also at the 7-19-75 evening show as well as Philadelphia on May 28, 1976 also.

Ah, thank you! Someday, we will have to get you to make a separate topic for each of these concert experiences. Several are among the most highly-regarded later-period shows. And I'm sure you have some VERY interesting stories to tell.

The Greybeard Nine!
6-11-1972 New York
6-23-1973 AS Uniondale
6-23-1973 ES Uniondale
7-19-1975 AS Uniondale
7-19-1975 ES Uniondale
6-26-1976 Buffalo
6-28-1976 Philadelphia
12-31-1976 Pittsburgh
5-28-1977 Philadelphia

Greybeard, Doc,
I was at all of the Philly shows during the 70's. To be sure nothing comes even close to the energy and voice on Monday night November 8, 1971, which remains the best concert I have ever attended!

There were changes in Elvis' physical state and energy level with each performance I saw. However, to my eyes, the greatest change was from 76 to 77. To be sure on that hot and humid Monday evening on June 28, 1976, Elvis was dramatically overweight from the 1974 shows, his energy was different as you've stated, but I was still happy with his performance that evening. His performances of America, Hurt (twice), and And I Love You So were stand-outs for me. When he hit the stage on Saturday, May 28, 1977 and throughout the show, there were some big changes. I recall being concerned about his appearance. His comment right before Cant Help Falling in Love about "being in good health" made me happy for the moment but also concerned as to why he was saying such a thing. Riding home from the Spectrum that evening I remember thinking "I hope he is really OK." Yet having been there I still "enjoyed" the show, and I am glad I was there. It was Elvis. It was not 1971, but I like to believe he gave the best performance he could. At the same time, his appearance and energy level were dramatically different in 1977.

From my eye witness accounts, you are so correct about the dramatic decline from 76 to 77.

Anyway, just thought I would add my comment to this. Hope you don't mind.

rlj

Thanks for your memories.
Philly was worrying indeed, but he really tried and was very alert, unlike some other sleepwalking concerts.
But the close up footage revealed a sick man.

What are your memories from '74?

[Stvimpe]

Thx for wonderful pictures and really nice memories. Djee, wish i'd seen Elvis live.
Thanks all. Best wishes!