 Audience tickets for the January 14
concert and its January 12 pre-broadcast rehearsal show carry no
price. Each audience member is asked to pay whatever he or she
can. The performances and concert merchandise sales are a
benefit raising $75,000 for the Kui Lee Cancer Fund in Hawaii.
(Kui Lee was a Hawaiian composer who had died of cancer while
still in his thirties.)
Concert Musicians
On stage with Elvis is an orchestra and
his current show cast: Joe Guercio (conductor), J.D. Sumner &
the Stamps (vocals), The Sweet Inspirations (vocals), Kathy
Westmoreland (soprano vocals), Charlie Hodge
(guitar/vocals/on-stage assistance), James Burton (lead guitar),
John Wilkinson (rhythm guitar), Jerry Scheff (bass guitar), Glen
D. Hardin (piano), and Ronnie Tutt (drums).
The soundtrack album is soon released and goes to number one on
the Billboard pop album chart, and stays on the chart at various
positions for 52 weeks. The show will later have continued life
on television and eventually home video.
In the special, Elvis' recording of the theme song from his 1965
movie
Paradise, Hawaiian Style plays over the opening credits
and scenes of Elvis' helicopter arrival at the airport and his
walking among the fans who are there to greet him. The concert
opens with Elvis' band playing his traditional introduction for
his seventies concerts, Theme from 2001. He sings See, See
Rider, Burning Love, Something, You Gave Me a Mountain,
Steamroller Blues, My Way, Love Me, Johnny B. Goode, It’s Over,
Blue Suede Shoes, I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry, I Can’t Stop
Loving You, Hound Dog, What Now, My Love, Fever, Welcome to My
World, Suspicious Minds, I’ll Remember You (A Kui Lee
composition Elvis sings after announcing the sum raised for the
Kui Lee Cancer Fund.), Long Tall Sally/Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’
On, An American Trilogy (Elvis tosses his belt into the
audience), A Big Hunk o’ Love, and Can’t Help Falling in Love
(Elvis tosses his cape into the audience). The show is one hour,
including commercials. After the show, Elvis and his bandmates
come back out on stage in the empty arena and videotape
performances of the songs Blue Hawaii, Ku-u-i-po, and Hawaiian
Wedding Song which he had first done for his 1961 hit movie,
Blue Hawaii, plus Early Morning Rain and No More. All but the
song No More will be inserted into the American broadcast with
Elvis seen on a montage screen with footage of Hawaiian scenery.
 A Little History on Elvis' Costume: Elvis told Bill
Belew he wanted the
Jumpsuits for this special to say
“America” to the worldwide viewing audience. Bill told Elvis
that, except for the American flag, he could think of nothing
other than the American Eagle. Elvis said “I like it.” And
that’s how one of Elvis' most famous costumes came to be. Elvis
had been wearing jumpsuits on stage since 1970, and they had
become quite elaborate by the time of this show. For the past
year or two he had been wearing studded, hip-length capes and
heavy studded leather belts with his jumpsuits. For the American
Eagle jumpsuit, Bill first designed a huge calf-length cape.
During preparations for the show, Elvis tried working with this
cape, but it was just too cumbersome to use. So, out went the
emergency order for another cape in the usual size.
January 26 - February 23, 1973
Elvis plays an engagement at the Las Vegas Hilton.
March 1973
Elvis Presley and the Colonel sell RCA the singer’s royalty
rights on Elvis’ entire recording catalog up to that point.
April 4, 1973
The Aloha special is seen on American television for the first
time.
Late April 1973
Elvis goes on an eight-city concert tour.
May 4-16, 1973
Elvis plays an engagement at the Sahara Hotel in Lake Tahoe,
Nevada.
May 1973
The Aloha from Hawaii concert album hits number one on the
Billboard pop album chart. It is his first number one album
since Roustabout soundtrack album in 1965. It will also be his
last number one album on the pop chart.
June 20 - July 3, 1973
Elvis goes out on concert tour.
July, 1973
Elvis records a few songs at the Stax Recording Studio in
Memphis - his first time to record in Memphis since 1969.
August 6 - September 3, 1973
Back to the Vegas Hilton for another engagement.
October 9, 1973
Elvis and Priscilla make a court appearance together and their
divorce is granted. They will continue to be close friends.
Though Priscilla has custody of Lisa Marie, there will be no
formal schedule of visitation for Elvis, and he and his daughter
will spend time together regularly.
October 15 - November 1, 1973
Elvis is hospitalized in Memphis for recurring pneumonia and
pleurisy, an enlarged colon, and hepatitis. Elvis has been
battling health problems for some time, including an increasing
dependency upon prescription drugs. It will get worse. He also
battles his weight.
December 1973
Elvis returns to the Stax Recording Studio in Memphis for a week
of sessions.
January 26-February 9, 1974
Elvis plays the Vegas Hilton again.
March - July 1974
Elvis is on tour through much of March. In March he returns to
the Houston Astrodome and sets a one-day attendance record with
his two shows. Also in March he plays Memphis for the first time
since 1961 and does four shows in two days to meet the demand
for tickets. Another live album results from the excitement in
Memphis, Elvis Recorded Live On Stage in Memphis, recorded at
one of the shows. Included is a live performance of How Great
Thou Art that will go on to win Elvis his third Grammy award. He
resumes touring in May and plays the Sahara in Lake Tahoe May 16
-26. He’s back on tour in mid-June and takes a few weeks off,
starting in early July.
August 19 - September 2, 1974
Back to the Hilton in Vegas for an engagement. During this
engagement Barbra Streisand and Elvis discuss his playing the
male lead opposite her in her remake of the film A Star is Born.
Elvis is excited by the prospect of returning to the screen in a
serious film. He still has aspirations to become a serious
actor. He is growing weary of the road, his health is worsening,
his performances are suffering, and he needs a new challenge.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t work out for various reasons.
September 27 - October 14, 1974
Elvis is on tour again. Plays the Sahara-Tahoe October 11-14.
Record releases have continued through this period with varying
degrees of success.
January 29 - February 14, 1975
Elvis is hospitalized with health and prescription problems
again.
March 1975
Elvis’ live recording of How Great Thou Art from the album
recorded at one of his Memphis concerts in 1974 wins the Grammy
for Best Inspirational Performance. This is Elvis’ third and
final Grammy win out of fourteen nominations (one nomination
posthumously). All three Grammy wins have been for his gospel
music.
March 18 - April 1, 1975
Engagement at the Hilton.
April - July, 1975
Elvis tours in concert.
August 18 - September 5, 1975
Elvis opens in Vegas but ends his engagement on the 20th and is
hospitalized in Memphis until September 5.
November 1975
The renovation of a
Convair 880 jet
Elvis bought earlier in the year is complete, and he takes his
first flight on
the Lisa
Marie jet.
December 2-15, 1975
Elvis returns to the Hilton in Vegas to make up for the shows
that were canceled during his previous engagement.
December 31, 1975
Elvis performs a special New Year’s Eve concert in Pontiac,
Michigan and sets a single performance attendance record of
62,500.
February 1976
Elvis has a week of recording sessions in the den at Graceland,
with RCA bringing in mobile recording equipment. Songs from this
will comprise the forthcoming album From Elvis Presley
Boulevard, Memphis, Tennessee (which will hit number one on the
country album chart in May) and over half of the forthcoming
Moody Blue album.
March 17-22, 1976
Elvis tours in concert.
April 21-27, 1976
Elvis tours in concert.
April 30 - May 9, 1976
An engagement at the Sahara Tahoe in Nevada.
May 27- June 6, 1976
Elvis tours in concert.
June 25 - July 5, 1976
Elvis tours in concert.
July 23 - August 5, 1976
Elvis tours in concert.
August 27-September 8, 1976
Elvis tours in concert.
October 14-27, 1976
Elvis tours in concert.
October 29-30, 1976
Continuation of recording in the den at Graceland.
Early November, 1976
Elvis and Linda Thompson, his steady girlfriend since 1972,
split up.
Late November, 1976
Elvis meets Ginger Alden
who will be his steady girlfriend until his death.
November 24-30, 1976
Elvis tours in concert.
December 2-12, 1976
Elvis plays the Hilton in Vegas for what will turn out to be the
last time.
December 27-31, 1976
Elvis tours in concert, ending with a special New Year’s Eve
concert in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
February 12-21, 1977
Elvis tours in concert.
March 23-30, 1977
Elvis tours in concert.
April 1-5, 1977
Elvis is hospitalized in Memphis and tour shows scheduled for
March 31-April 3 are canceled.
April 21- May 31/June 1-2, 1977
Elvis tours in concert.
June 17-26, 1977
Elvis tours in concert. Shows on June 19, 20, and 21 are
recorded by RCA for an upcoming live album and are videotaped
for an upcoming CBS-TV television special. (Footage from the
show on the 20th is not used in the special.) The special will
be called Elvis in Concert. It will first air on October 3 after
Elvis’ death in August. The camera gives a shocking picture of
Elvis’ poor health in his final days, but his voice is strong.
June 26, 1977
A concert at Indianapolis, Indiana’s Market Square Arena. This
will turn out to be his very
last concert
performance.
June 27- August 15, 1977
Elvis relaxes in Memphis and prepares for the next leg of
touring for 1977.
August 16, 1977
Shortly after midnight Elvis returns to Graceland from a
late-night visit to the dentist. Through the early morning of
the 16th he takes care of last minute tour details and relaxes
with family and staff. He is to fly to Portland, Maine that
night and do a show there on the 17th, then continue the
scheduled tour. He retires to his master suite at Graceland
around 7:00 AM to rest for his evening flight. By late morning,
Elvis Presley is dead
of heart failure. It is announced by mid-afternoon. In a matter
of hours the shock registers around the world.
Was Elvis A Racist?
The media and certain modern music stars have stated that
Elvis Presley was a racist.
But, renowned civil rights photographer, Ernest Withers
disagrees with these unfounded comments.
He wasn't read this story Elvis was not a racist
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