Elvis 1975 On Stage

[rlj4ep]

A really great pic, Greystoke! A nice find..., thanks for posting it.

I wonder if it is from May 30, 1975, Huntsville, Alabama? There's something about his hair which makes me think it was the May 30 date. It looks similar to some of the pics Franscec has on his elvisconcerts.com site.
rlj

[egilj]

Nice pic. Definitly 5-30-75, Huntsville.

[lovin' EP]

HERE'S A NICE ASHEVILLE JULY 22, 1975 PICTURE I MADE.

ELVISLY,

LINDA

Asheville-Elvis picking up my gift.jpg

[SteamrollerBlues]

I believe it's Huntsville as well. Here's an article that I believe was posted before here with what appears to be more photographs from the same set.

http://www.al.com/news/huntsville/index.ssf/2015/05/looking_back_at_elvis_presley.html





Looking back, Elvis Presley's five Huntsville concerts 40 years ago really were amazing. I was there as a young reporter, and even I had forgotten.

Historically speaking, they shouldn't have been amazing. This was Vegas-era Elvis, past-his-prime, pudgy Elvis. And some of the clichés of that era were on display: the "2001: A Space Odyssey" theme entrance, the scarves, the screams, the roses, the glittery jumpsuits and, finally, the Voice-of-God announcement that "Elvis has left the building."

But look a little closer and you can see the power that week had for the city and its brand new Von Braun Civic Center. Remember that:

- Forty-four thousand tickets were sold.

- Five local teenagers were hurt throwing themselves off a 20-foot balcony trying to land on the stage.

- Sixty rooms in the Hilton Hotel were taken by Elvis and his entourage. Sixty rooms. That's a star tour.

- A stage security guard had his finger bitten to the bone by one of eight women trying to rush the stage.

- Three hundred teddy bears were thrown and recovered.

- Three 55-gallon barrels of flash bulbs were swept from the arena floor after each performance

It's hard to imagine any of that happening at a concert today, except maybe the flash bulbs. We'd have to put down our phones.

Elvis returned to the concert stage to escape the painfully bad Hollywood movies that almost ruined his career and his legacy. And even though those last concerts were more famous for his interactions with fans than the music, look at what he sang here.

- He opened with "C.C. Rider" playing an old guitar reminiscent of the best movies like "Blue Hawaii" and "Roustabout."

- He sang "I Got A Woman," "Love Me Tender," "All Shook Up" and "Don't Be Cruel."

- He sang "Dixie" and "The Battle Hymn of the Republic."

Elvis died two years and three months after the Huntsville shows. He was 40 when he came and 42 when he died on Aug. 16, 1977. It's such a waste.

In Huntsville, 44,000 people can tell you exactly where we were when we heard the news. And every one of those 44,000 people who survive can remember that we heard the King of rock and roll sing live on stage "Love Me Tender," "All Shook Up" and "Don't Be Cruel."

That's pretty amazing.

(Facts and figures about Elvis' week in Huntsville from a story by Huntsville Times reporter Peter Cobun)

[rlj4ep]

Thanks very much SteamrollerBlues.

rlj

[jessewade]

The Huntsville 75 pictures are my favorites pics from the 70's

[Johnny 99]

He looked great then - sadly he'd never look as good again.

[ICanHelp]

The King still doing it right and kicking butt in 1975. Thank you.