jueves, 17 de diciembre de 2009

ON THIS DAY IN ELVIS HISTORY November 30

November 30, 1955
Accompanied by the Colonel Elvis flew to New York. They checked in at the Victoria Hotel on 51st street.
November 30, 1956
Elvis went to the Crump Memorial Football Game in Memphis. This was a charity event to benefit blind people.
November 30, 1967
There was an architect hired to make plans for a nursery at Graceland and some other renovations.
November 30, 1975
For the following 3 days Elvis had rehearsals at noon in the showroom of the Las Vegas Hilton. Ordered by Dr. Nick, Elvis did only one show a night, except for Saturdays.
November 30, 1976
Elvis performed at the Convention Center, Anaheim, California. Now Linda had left, Ginger attended the show and according to many Elvis ' performance improved. Later Elvis told Larry Geller he was inspired by the presence of Ginger.
 
CONCERT DETAILS:
Tour Ref: On Tour number 26 - November 24th - November 30th 1976
Date: November 30 1976
Venue: Anaheim Convention Center
Location: Anaheim CA
Showtime: (8:30 pm)
Crowd: 8500
REVIEWS:
Article *:
VIDEO INFORMATION:
Release: The Complete 1976 Films disc 3/Collectors Gold
Length: aprox 30 mins
ELVIS ATTIRE:
Suit: Indian Feather suit
Belt: Second belt
Cape:
GROUP ATTIRE:
Sherrill Nielsen: Light Blue Sleeveless Jumpsuit
SONGS - TRACKLISTINGS:
2001 Theme
See See Rider
I Got A Woman
- segued medley with -
Amen
Love Me
If You Love Me
You Gave Me A Mountain
Jailhouse Rock
Its Now Or Never
All Shook Up
Teddy Bear
- segued medley with -
Dont Be Cruel
And I Love You So
Fever
Bridge Over Troubled Water
Polk Salad Annie
Band Introductions
Early Morning Rain
( featuring John Wilkinson )
Whatd I Say
( featuring James Burton )
Johnny B Goode
( featuring James Burton )
Drum Solo
( featuring Ronnie Tutt )
Bass Solo
( featuring Jerry Scheff )
Piano Solo
( featuring Tony Brown )
Electric Piano Solo
( featuring David Briggs )
Love Letters
Hail! Hail! Rock N Roll
Hurt
Hound Dog
Hawaiian Wedding Song
Blue Christmas
Thats All Right
Cant Help Falling In Love
Closing Vamp
CDRS FROM CONCERT:

Musicians:Light Blue Suit
TICKET STUBS:

PICTURES FROM CONCERT:

© Tom McAllister

© Tom McAllister

© Tom McAllister


© Len Leech

© Len Leech
PICTURES FROM CONCERT:

© Sean Shaver

© Sean Shaver

© Sean Shaver

ON THIS DAY IN ELVIS HISTORY November 29

November 29, 1955
Elvis performed at the Mosque Theater, Richmond, Virginia, Philip Morris Employees Night.
November 29, 1962
Back in Memphis Elvis had more than a month off, due to a change of personal appearance plans.
November 29, 1965
Elvis bought a Greyhound bus. This was a retired D'Elegance coach and Elvis planned to refurbish it to use it to drive to and from California.
November 29, 1966
Just outside of Little Rock Elvis heard Georg Klein play Tom Jones' Green Green Grass Of Home on his radio show. Elvis kept calling George over and over again to hear the song again. This much to annoyance of Red West, because he brought the song to Elvis attention the year before and was told it was too country for Elvis.
At home, at Graceland, Elvis' bedroom was redecorated, mostly into red and black. This would stay almost the same until Elvis' death.
November 29, 1973
Elvis attended a show at the Memphian.
November 29, 1976
Elvis performed at the Cow Palace, San Francisco, California. Ginger Alden arrived with the JetStar, which Elvis had sent for her, but she was confined to her room. Elvis had not yet persuaded Linda to leave. When she finally did leave, it would be the last time the two of them saw each other.
CONCERT DETAILS:
Tour Ref: On Tour number 26 - November 24th - November 30th 1976
Date: November 29 1976
Venue: Cow Palace
Location: San Francisco CA
Showtime: (8:30 pm)
Crowd: 14300
REVIEWS:
Article *:
ELVIS ATTIRE:
Suit: Blue Rainbow suit
Belt: White Two-Piece suit belt
Cape:
GROUP ATTIRE:
Sherrill Nielsen: Dark Blue Suit
Kathy Westmoreland: Light Blue Suit
Musicians:Red Suit
TICKET STUBS:
SONGS - TRACKLISTINGS:
2001 Theme
See See Rider
I Got A Woman
- segued medley with -
Amen
Love Me
If You Love Me
You Gave Me A Mountain
Blue Suede Shoes
Its Now Or Never
All Shook Up
( above song includes 1 false start )
Teddy Bear
- segued medley with -
Dont Be Cruel
And I Love You So
Fever
Bridge Over Troubled Water
Band Introductions
Early Morning Rain
( featuring John Wilkinson )
Whatd I Say
( featuring James Burton )
Johnny B Goode
( featuring James Burton )
Drum Solo
( featuring Ronnie Tutt )
Bass Solo
( featuring Jerry Scheff )
Piano Solo
( featuring Tony Brown )
Electric Piano Solo
( featuring David Briggs )
Love Letters
Hail! Hail! Rock N Roll
Hurt
Hound Dog
Funny How Time Slips Away
Blue Christmas
( above song is just an excerpt )
Mystery Train
- segued medley with -
Tiger Man
Hawaiian Wedding Song
Cant Help Falling In Love
Closing Vamp
CDS FROM CONCERT:

Import CD
 

ON THIS DAY IN ELVIS HISTORY November 28

November 28, 1954
Elvis was booked for 2 shows in Memphis, but was unable to get back from Houston in time.
November 28, 1955
Elvis went shopping in Memphis at the Wells Clothing Store.
November 28, 1956
Elvis went to the Loew's State Theater for the matinee performance of Love Me Tender.
November 28, 1957
Elvis went to see April Love at the Loew's Palace: the latest Pat Boone movie.
November 28, 1967
Elvis was released from Stay Away Joe.
November 28, 1969
Elvis flew to Palm Springs for the weekend.
November 28, 1972
Elvis went to Las Vegas.
November 28, 1976
Elvis performed at the Cow Palace, San Francisco, California. Elvis called Ginger Alden to invite her to come over to the tour and he even sent the JetStar to bring her to him. At the same time Elvis suggested to Linda that she looked a little tired and maybe it would be a good idea to go to Memphis to have some time for herself.
 

CONCERT DETAILS:
Tour Ref: On Tour number 26 - November 24th - November 30th 1976
Date: November 28 1976
Venue: Cow Palace
Location: San Francisco CA
Showtime: (8:30 pm)
Crowd: 14300
REVIEWS:
Article *:
ELVIS ATTIRE:
Suit: Ace Of Spades Suit
Belt: V-Neck suit belt
Cape:
GROUP ATTIRE:

J. D. Sumner: Red Suit
Musicians:Black Suit
TICKET STUBS:
 
 

Newspaper Articles



CONCERT DATE: November 28, 1976 (8:30 pm) San Francisco, CA.

Elvis' return: Triumphant, as always
by James Kelton
San Francisco Examiner
November 29, 1976

Elvis Presley returned to the Bay Area last night for his first concert in four years - the first of two sold-out shows at the Cow Palace.

It was, like all Elvis appearances, a triumph.

The Stamps Quartet, joined for one number by ultra-bass soloist J.D. Sumner, opened the show 10 minutes late at 8:40 after an unseen announcer had intoned:

"As you know, the Elvis show always starts on time. However, tonight we are having difficulty getting people into the arena so the show will be delayed a few minutes."

The Stamps and Sumner, backed by a rhythm section and the Hot Hilton Horns, a seven-man brass ensemble from Las Vegas, crisply belted put five songs before yielding to Canadian comic Jack Kahane.

The Sweet Inspirations, a trio of women soul stylists, added three precision numbers and it was time for a 30-minute intermission.

When the big moment came - with Elvis' band dressed all in black, the Stamps quartet and Sumner, the Sweet Inspirations, two specialty singers and the Hilton Horns all poised for the occasion - Presley sauntered onstage looking disinterested while the band pounded out the thunderous theme from the movie "2001" and the auditorium lit up with flashbulbs.

True to form, Elvis strapped on his guitar and opened with "C.C. Rider" and "I Got A Woman," just as he had at The Oakland Coliseum in 1972.

Dressed all in white and carrying a few extra pounds, the heaviest of rock and roll heavies seems to have little new to show his frantically loyal audience these days.

He began tossing scarves to his stage-front admirers during his third number ("Treat Me Like a Fool") and kept it up throughout the 70-minute performance as wailing fans raced forward periodically - almost on cue.

One woman presented him with a dozen roses, another with a plaque and another with a teddy bear while he was singing "Teddy Bear."

He accepted them all graciously, peeling scarves from around his neck and dropping them into the throng as quickly as his assistant could drape them over him. Three times he knelt to bestow kisses on a chosen few.

He sang a selection of his hits: "Jailhouse Rock," "It's Now Or Never," "All Shook Up," "Hawaiian Wedding Song" and "That's All Right, Mama" which was his first recording.

He did most of his singing, though, on "Lord, You Gave Me A Mountain" and "Hurst," which is his latest recording. He tossed off perhaps his best-known song, "Hound Dog," and breezed through several others with characteristic stirring of the lyrics.

But he was always in command. Elvis, even a distracted Elvis is still the man who founded rock and roll twenty years ago and a (by rock standards) flimsy sound system and methodical delivery don't count.

The crowd last night ranged from very young to elderly, but mostly they were middle-aged family folk who had brought their children and the show was for them.

Presley strutted around the stage incessantly but his showstopping gymnastics were mostly missing. He joked with the bad and occasionally quipped to the audience about its behavior, but always off-handedly

"Some people don't believe I can play the guitar," he said strumming into "That's All Right, Mama," "But I can. I know three chords."

He told the audience goodbye before the finale, "Fools Rush In" and the offstage announcer said as Presley stepped down onto the runaway to leave:

"Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has left the building."

The vendors started their yowls again as the fans rushed past and many stopped to buy.

Presley is a money-making marvel, of course, but he can still drown out his momentous accompaniment when he feels like it. He's a first-rate singer.

His show now blends touches of the current fad - disco music - with the rockabilly style that carried him and rock and roll to fame. Everything about his show is polished and professional.

All that's missing is the ragged energy that helped inspire a generation of rebelliousness.

When he left the stage there were cries for more , but most of the costumers headed for their cars. They didn't seem to care�one way or the other.


Courtesy of Debbie

 

ON THIS DAY IN ELVIS HISTORY November 27

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November 27, 1954
Again Elvis performed at the Paladium Club, Houston.
November 27, 1958
Elvis was promoted to private first class and he dropped in for dinner with Elisabeth Stefaniak and her family on Thanksgiving.
November 27, 1959
Elvis began weekly herbal skin treatments with a South African self-described doctor named Laurenz Johannes Griessel Landau. After reading a magazine advertisement Elvis contacted him. He seemed to have a method for reducing enlarged pores and acne scars.
November 27, 1967
Since this was the last day filming on the set of Stay Away Joe, Elvis arranged for a lunch for the whole crew and cast.
November 27, 1975
Elvis took his first real flight in the Lisa Marie with his new pilot, Milo High. He traveled with Linda to Las Vegas for a 2 week engagement. This was mend to make up for their abbreviated stay in August.
November 27, 1976
Elvis performed at the University of Oregon McArthur Court, Eugene, Oregon.
 
CONCERT DETAILS:
Tour Ref: On Tour number 26 - November 24th - November 30th 1976
Date: November 27 1976
Venue: MacArthur Court
Location: Eugene OR
Showtime: (8:30 pm)
Crowd: 7000
REVIEWS:
Article *:
ELVIS ATTIRE:
Suit: Indian Feather (white) suit
Belt: Second belt
Cape:
photos

TICKET STUBS:

SONGS - TRACKLISTINGS:
2001 Theme
See See Rider
I Got A Woman
- segued medley with -
Amen
Love Me
If You Love Me
Love Me Tender
All Shook Up
Teddy Bear
- segued medley with -
Dont Be Cruel
You Gave Me A Mountain
Blue Suede Shoes
How Great Thou Art
Fever
Steamroller Blues
Its Now Or Never
America The Beautiful
Band Introductions
Early Morning Rain
( featuring John Wilkinson )
Whatd I Say
( featuring James Burton )
Johnny B Goode
( featuring James Burton )
Drum Solo
( featuring Ronnie Tutt )
Bass Solo
( featuring Jerry Scheff )
Piano Solo
( featuring Tony Brown )
Electric Piano Solo
( featuring David Briggs )
Love Letters
Hail! Hail! Rock N Roll
Hurt
Hound Dog
Hawaiian Wedding Song
Cant Help Falling In Love
Closing Vamp
CDS FROM CONCERT:

Import CD

CDRS FROM CONCERT:

 

jueves, 10 de diciembre de 2009

33 Things You Should Know About Elvis Presley

 

 

 

 

 
 
 

Elvis Montage by Surly Bratt. 

33 Things You Should Know About Elvis Presley

1. Even in the South, Elvis was a pretty strange name.
"The first time I heard it, I said, 'Weird name,'" recalls Scotty Moore, who played guitar at Presley's first recording session at Sam Phillips's Sun Records.  "Sam's secretary wrote it down for me."

2. Elvis had an amazing memory.
He'd hear songs on the radio and then sing them immediately.  "It seemed like he knew every song in the world," Moore says.  "Country, pop, R&B.  Elvis had a sponge for a brain when it came to lyrics."

3. He was very polite ...
"He was always taught manners," Sam Phillips says.  "His mother thought there was no reason to treat people except with great respect.  If you didn't say 'yessir' and 'nosir,' that was a cardinal sin."

4. ... But you wouldn't like him when he was angry.
"He was real slow to anger," Phillips says.  "But once he was angered, pound for pound I don't know of a person who was stronger.  I remember one time at the gas station out the back of The Peabody Hotel.  This one person who didn't like his long sideburns wouldn't leave him alone.  Elvis had him down on the concrete in no time flat."

5. Colonel Tom Parker really was a colonel.  Kind of.
Presley's legendary manager was given an honorary colonel's commission in October 1948 by Louisiana governor Jimmie Davis.  Parker did serve in the U.S. Army in 1930 and 1931, but he didn't attain the rank of colonel. 
(Parker wasn't his real name, either.)

6. Elvis's gold suit was the genuine article.
The colonel had it designed for him for the opening date of a 10-city tour in 1957.  It was made by famous Hollywood tailor Nudie Cohen and cost $2,500.  During the show, Elvis fell to his knees and left a pile of gold leaf on the stage.  Afterward, a distraught Parker begged him never to do such a move again.

7. Elvis had "it."
"He had a very, very contagious personality," Phillips says.  "He was just like flypaper.  Get close to it, and watch out—you'll get stuck!"

8. He really loved his mother, Gladys.
At her funeral in 1958, he tried to jump into her grave.  For days afterward, he carried her nightgown around with him.

9. Uncle Sam first got him into drugs.
Private Presley was given amphetamine pills by a sergeant in 1958, and he became an epic pill enthusiast.  He bought them in quart bottles from the dispensary.

10. But he never got drunk.
Ernst Jorgensen, RCA Records's official Presley archivist and historian: "It wasn't like Elvis never drank alcohol as a principle. 
He just drank very little."


11. He was a very spiritual man.

Larry Geller, who became Presley's hairdresser and guru in 1964, introduced him to spirituality.  Geller gave him books he would cherish for the rest of his life: Autobiography of a Yogi, The Impersonal Life and Beyond the Himalayas.  "I've always known there had to be a purpose for my life," Presley once said.  "There's got to be a reason why I was chosen to be Elvis Presley."

12. Elvis "dropped" acid.
He'd read Aldous Huxley's The Doors of Perception and Timothy Leary, and encouraged members of his Memphis Mafia entourage to try LSD.  On Christmas 1965, he took it with his wife, Priscilla, and two friends at Graceland.  "Like everything else Elvis did, he tripped Elvis-style," Geller says.  "No beaded curtains or incense.  Several hours after we started, we watched a science-fiction movie and sent out for pizza."

13. He nearly became a monk.
In March 1965, Presley, driving his RV outside of Flagstaff, Arizona, saw the face of Joseph Stalin in a cloud.  "And then it happened!" he said.  "The face of Stalin turned into the face of Jesus, and every fiber of my being felt it."  He decided to enter a monastery.  Then he changed his mind and began work on the film Harum Scarum instead.

14. For a time, he believed he could control the sprinkler system at the country club golf course behind his Los Angeles home …
… using only mind power.

15. He made 31 movies over 13 years.
"Elvis hated most of those later films," says friend and bodyguard Red West.  "I mean, in Stay Away, Joe, they had him singing to a bull!"

16. Elvis could pick hits. But he never wrote his own songs.
"There are exceptions, when he changed arrangements so drastically that he got a writer's credit," Ernst Jorgensen says.  "That's what happened on 'Don't Be Cruel' and 'All Shook Up.'  But Elvis never saw himself as a writer."

17. He once slept with the entire chorus line of a French nightclub show.
On leave in Paris in 1959, Presley and several of his army friends took the dancers from the Lido nightclub back to their hotel suite.  The next afternoon, the Lido's manager called the hotel.  He needed the girls back, he insisted, so he could reopen for business that night.

18. He never sold more records in a year than in 1956.
That's when the single "Hound Dog" and its B-side, "Don't Be Cruel," sold 4.6 million copies in the United States.

19. And never fewer than he sold in 1967.
That year was the nadir of his Hollywood period.  "The Easy Come, Easy Go EP never charted," Jorgensen says.  "That's when Presley's management realized something had to change.  The movie was horrible.  The songs were poor and poorly recorded, with bad arrangements.  And Elvis didn't sing them particularly well.  I'm told the Cokes and burgers during the sessions were OK."

20. He didn't think the Las Vegas comeback was going to work.
Sam Phillips went to Presley's opening night in Vegas in July 1968.  "He combed his damn hair about 50 times before he went out, and that was a pretty good indication that he was real nervous," Phillips recalls.  "He hadn't been on the stage for about nine years.  But before he got through his opening medley, there was a standing ovation.  And then everything was over, baby!"

21. He once played the International in Las Vegas with a pistol in each boot.
In 1970, he received a death threat before a show.  "If some son of a bitch tries to kill me," he said to bodyguards Red and Sonny West, "I want you guys to get him.  I want you to rip his goddamned eyes out.  I don't want him sitting around afterward like Charlie Manson with a grin on his face saying, 'I killed Elvis Presley.'"

22. Nobody planning to go to bed early ever invited the King to come by.
"When he came to the house," Phillips says, "he didn't want to impose, but he'd stay all night."

23. Pinball wizard?  Nope.
"He loved pinball," Phillips says, "but he liked to cheat a little bit.  That's the only thing I ever saw him cheat on."

24. Elvis was an officer of the Memphis Police Force.
Shelby County sheriff Roy Nixon made the King a chief deputy in 1970.  He had legal authority, and could have made arrests.

25. "Fat Elvis" wasn't as fat as commonly believed.
"He was a lot less overweight than people think," Jorgensen says.  "In the Fat Elvis period, the last three years of his career, he was bloated. 
He had a lot of water in his body."

26. He never called the TV repairman.
"There were a number of times I was around when he had been unhappy with the TV — the vertical hold wasn't holding or something," says his tour physician, Dr. George Nichopoulous, known as Dr. Nick.  "He would get tired of adjusting it, and he'd shoot the set.  They'd just go out and get another one."

27. Elvis remixes are very uncommon.
"I know that not only have [requests to remix] been denied in the past, but the use of Elvis's music in movies and documentaries has always been very, very restricted," says JXL, who mixed the surprise 2002 summer smash "A Little Less Conversation."

28. Maybe they're uncommon because he has been remixed before.
In 1983.  Very badly.  "It was called 'The Elvis Medley,'" Jorgensen says.  "It included 'Jailhouse Rock,' 'Hound Dog,' 'Teddy Bear,' 'Don't Be Cruel,' 'Burning Love' and 'Suspicious Minds.'  It was in the tradition of Stars on 45.  It was a terrible idea."

29. Nobody exactly knows who first said "Elvis has left the building."
"It would have been a stagehand in Shreveport, Louisiana, in 1956," Jorgensen says.  "It was basically to stop people from tearing down the building trying to get in the stage doors.  Al Dvorin, who was Elvis's announcer on tours in the late '50s and the '70s, picked up the phrase.  I think he even claims he invented it."

30. His martial arts skills helped his dancing.
"The last time I saw Elvis was in 1969," says his former girlfriend June Juanico.  "He had incorporated karate moves into his act, which was a lot better, because his dance rhythm left something to be desired.  He had rhythm in his hands and his feet, but as far as putting 'em together with his body—he couldn't."

31. Elvis had at least 11 different drugs in his system when died on August 16, 1977.
Among them were Butabarbital, codeine, Demerol, Placidyl, morphine, Pentobarbital, Quaaludes and Valium.

32. Sometimes it's like he never went away.
James Burton, the lead guitarist of Presley's band from 1969 until his death, continued touring with synchronized footage of Presley playing behind him on a huge screen.  "We play the music live, but Elvis introduces us from the screen.  You hear Elvis's voice — he'll say, 'Play it, James!'  You could be there five minutes, you could be there an hour, and all of a sudden you feel his presence.  You forget he's really not there."

33. But he's definitely dead.
"He is very much in spirit, but bodily, no, he's not alive," Sam Phillips says.  "How can I be sure?  I touched his face and kissed him in the casket.  In the music room of Graceland.  I don't think I'm gonna lie about that!"  Says Scotty Moore: "I would like to believe that he is still alive.  But I don't believe he'd be hiding if he was."

 


.

__,_._,___

lunes, 7 de diciembre de 2009

ON THIS DAY IN ELVIS HISTORY November 26

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Las imágenes en línea están disponibles durante 30 días
 
November 26, 1954
By popular demand Elvis performed again at the Paladium Club, Houston. He even sent a telegram to his parents: " Hi Babies, Here's the money to pay the bills, Don't tell no one how much I sent I will send more next week. There is a card in the mail. Love Elvis. "
November 26, 1955
Elvis performed at the Louisiana Hayride, Municipal Auditorium, Shreveport.
November 26, 1956
Elvis drove back to Memphis. On the way he visited the Colonel.
November 26, 1960
Elvis flew to Las Vegas for the weekend with Charlie Hodge, Joe Esposito, Red West and Alan Fortas.
November 26, 1971
Elvis returned to Palm Springs, after his week in Los Angeles, and stayed there until December 3.
November 26, 1976
Elvis performed at the Memorial Coliseum, Portland, Oregon.
CONCERT DETAILS:
Tour Ref: On Tour number 26 - November 24th - November 30th 1976
Date: November 26 1976
Venue: Memorial Coliseum
Location: Portland OR
Showtime: (8:30 pm)
Crowd:
11000
 
 
tracks list                               
 

Also Sprach Zarathustra
See See Rider
I Got A Woman/Amen
Love Me
If You Love Me
You Gave Me A Mountain
Jailhouse Rock
All Shook Up
Teddy Bear/Don't Be Cruel
It's Now Or Never
And I Love You So
Fever
America
[band introductions]
Early Morning Rain
What'd I Say
Johnny B. Goode
Love Letters
School Days
Hurt
Hound Dog
Funny How Time Slips Away
Hawaiian Wedding Song
Blue Christmas
That's All Right
Can't Help Falling In Love

 
 
 
ELVIS ATTIRE:
Suit: Inca Gold Leaf suit
Belt: Indian Head belt
Cape:
GROUP ATTIRE:

Musicians:Red Suit
 
 
Recordings:
Last Time In Portland
 
 

 

 

Newspaper Articles


CONCERT DATE: November 26, 1976 (8:30 pm) Portland, OR.
The Oregonian
November 27, 1976
Elvis Still Rock King To His Fans
By John Wenderborn

Count the "kings" of entertainment: There's Benny Goodman, the King of Swing, and Frank Sinatra, just the "king" a singer with a style non pareil.

But the king of rock and roll is still Elvis Presley; his throne has yet to be threatened and he's been at it longer than most, something like 22 years now.

Elvis returned to Portland's Memorial Coliseum Friday night for the first time in about two (maybe three) years and staged a typical Las Vegas show. Except that 11,000 enthusiastic, camera-toting fans were on hand Friday a supposed to the hundreds who view his Nevada shows

Presley was in his usual good humor throughout, tossing silken scarves to those ladies who could break past the super-tight security barrier and making small jokes with the members of his two-dozen person entourage onstage.

He was attired in a swashbuckling white suit with plenty of embroidered glitter around the jacket. And for those who've been reading reports of Presley's battle with the calories, he looked trim enough to look healthy.

If anything, his face has lost that patented sneer. When he smiled it was a gentle smile. And Elvis is either 40 or 41

The show opened with short segments by the Hilton horns, JD Sumner and the Stamps, the Sweet Inspirations and Jackie Kahane, a comic.

The Sumner group was excellent gospel, it a bit Las Vegas. The Inspirations presented a rhythm and blues and soul portion that also was good. But Kahane was excellent if a bit conservative in his comic approach. He was very funny without being blue.

But the show was Elvis, and while it seemed a bit softer than a past performances in Portland it was nevertheless a good Elvis concert. He split the music between old and new stuff and, of course, received the biggest accolades for tunes like "Jailhouse Rock," which dates back to his mid-1950s roots.

There was enough his swiveling to keep the swooners swooning while he passed out like 60 pastel scarves.

It would be a tossup to predict whether the fans were there to listen to music, see Elvis the idol or relive high school rock and roll days.

Presley certainly appealed to catch of those reasons, but his music was stable enough to make that the major reason. His voice is a tender baritone, especially on the beautifully done "Hawaiian Wedding Song?". He played guitar, but did little more than a chord along with the band behind him.

He was ably helped by 10 backup singers, a seven-piece rock and roll band - with James Burton playing lead guitar, one of the real greats in this music - and the six horns.

He generously gave room to other solo performers in the backing group, including Sumner, whose bass voice has got to be the deepest one in music. When he got to the bottom of his voice, it actually rattled the huge bass-powered speakers and amplifiers in the building.

Presley was on about 90 minutes, spreading his music between slow, gospel and short versions of his old rock and roll hits. There's no question that the man is still in the legend category. He holds a position in entertainment only few others can claim, including Frank Sinatra and the Beatles.

He's active enough to keep all hands happy, and the feeling is always that elvis will still be filling the Coliseum 20 years from now.


Courtesy of Francesc Lopez