After slimming down for his 1973 Aloha From Hawaii particular, Elvis Presley’s final couple of years noticed him actually let himself go.
The King ballooned in weight and was hooked on the uppers and downers he felt he wanted to take care of his busy touring schedule.
From 1974-1976 the star carried out virtually 400 concert events and by his last months appeared a shadow of the hunk he as soon as was, as he suffered from liver harm, glaucoma, an enlarged colon and hypertension.
Around Christmas of 1976, his girlfriend of 4 years, Linda Thompson, amicably broke up with him, wanting a traditional life away from his hectic celeb life-style.
During his last 1977 tour, supervisor Colonel Tom Parker had organised for what could be a 3rd and last TV particular. Filmed weeks earlier than his demise on August 16, footage was taken from concert events in Nebraska and South Dakota on June 19 and 21. The programme titled Elvis in Concert was later broadcast two months after he died on CBS on October 3.
It has by no means been commercially launched, with the star’s property saying later in an announcement: “We have no plans for releasing a home video of the Elvis in Concert material at this time. Because of the severity of Elvis’ health problems at the time the special was shot, Elvis was far from his best in the way he looked and the way he performed, though there are some truly brilliant moments in the footage.” Nevertheless, it is on YouTube and could be seen under.
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Appearing in 2017 documentary movie The King, Memphis Mafia member Jerry Schilling mentioned: “I saw the CBS special and I called The Colonel and I said, ‘How could you let him be filmed looking like that?’” Linda shared: “I simply bear in mind standing and looking out on the tv set and pondering, ‘Oh my god, this is not even the same man that I said goodbye to eight months ago. It was horrifying to me to watch.” However, just as Elvis Presley Enterprises said in their statement, there were incredible scenes of The King performing well despite his increasing ailments which would soon lead to his death at just 42-years-old. His ex-girlfriend added: “But the power that he had on Unchained Melody that night was just gut-wrenching.”
Elvis’ pianist Tony Brown mentioned: “That song brings him pain for some reason, I don’t know why it does but, it was like the greatest performance he’d ever done.” In the documentary movie Elvis: The Searcher, The King’s ex-wife, Priscilla Presley, mentioned: “Those last shows were not the most memorable as far as performance. Sometimes he didn’t get through a song. I think the last year, he was pretty much over it. I don’t even know why he went on stage. They’re just hard to watch. Sometimes I think it was maybe better if they just cancelled the show.”
In the identical documentary, Rock and roll author Nik Cohn mentioned: “Night by night it became harder for him to carry on being Elvis. Drugs and self-destructiveness were all punishments.” Despite this, Elvis discovered nice satisfaction within the reactions he’d get from his big and devoted fan base. Cohn added: “He was in great pain and yet he would give so much pleasure. He would go off stage and collapse and the audience would go out…joyous; spiritually blessed.” Elvis died at simply 42-years-old, after a coronary heart assault on the bathroom upstairs at Graceland, on August 16, 1977.
https://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/music/2176546/elvis-1977-final-concerts