30 years ago... The King Died

[westofyou]

30 years... THIRTY years.

Jeez... where were you?

I heard about it when I got home from soccer two a days, Pedro was at a friends house and his friend mother broke down into tears.

I had a friend whose father had a black velvet painting of Elvis and a bust of Charles Bronson, they were the centerpieces of the shag carpeted and wood paneled basement that smelled like Forest Hill Master Blend.

[WMR]

Wasn't he set to play a concert in Lexington when he died? I want to say my mom had tickets.

[cumberlandreds]

Originally Posted by WilyMoROCKS

Wasn't he set to play a concert in Lexington when he died? I want to say my mom had tickets.

Yes he was. IIRC he was going to be the first concert at Rupp Arena.
I was a just a few days away from starting my freshman in high school.

[KittyDuran]

Originally Posted by WilyMoROCKS

Wasn't he set to play a concert in Lexington when he died? I want to say my mom had tickets.

My neighbor at the time had tickets - she was beside herself for a few days...

[WMR]

Originally Posted by KittyDuran

My neighbor at the time had tickets - she was beside herself for a few days...

I bet.

My mom LOVED Elvis.

(one of those 'wilting teenagers', I am sure )

[RedFanAlways1966]

Strange, but I can distinctly remember when the news came across that Elvis was found dead. This of course was before the internet or cable TV existed in all households.

I was getting ready to go to my 6th-grade football practice (around 5:30 pm on a weekday). The TV was on and they ran a line at the bottom of the screen saying that Elvis was found dead in his home. I was the only one in the room. My Dad was changing out of his work clothes to take me to practice and my Mom was cleaning up in the kitchen after supper. I yelled out to both of them that Elvis was dead. They gave me the old "what is the punchline" look and act. I told them that I was serious and to come in to see it at the bottom of the TV screen (it kept running over and over). We were not big Elvis fans or anything, but we were all shocked.

[IslandRed]

I was in junior high then. We'd made a weekend trip to Nashville and heard about it in the car right after a day at the old Opryland theme park. If we'd hung around Opryland a little longer I'm sure we'd have seen all heck break loose. Nashville was, and is, second only to Memphis in Elvis reverence. I think my mother shed a few tears that day. Of course, I didn't understand; the Elvis I knew was the cartoon character in the sequined jumpsuits. In the hotel room that night, watching film clips and eulogies on TV and having my parents tell me about the Elvis of 1956, I started to get it.

[RedsFan75]

My Aunt had tickets to see him in Lex. I recall when she heard she broke down in tears.

[15fan]

I was 4 at the time.

Was probably throwing a ball around the backyard, or digging in the sandbox.

Wearing, of course, my Sears Roebuck Toughskins.

[Roy Tucker]

IIRC, one of his last shows was in Cincinnati.

I saw Elvis at UD Arena in 1976 and was disappointed. He was running on fumes by then. He joked around songs a lot, gave abbreviated versions of his songs, let his backup singers carry him, was hoarse and off-key, etc etc.

Not the vital classic black leather Elvis. The King is gone, but he's not forgotten.

[RFS62]

That was the very day I started my first job in my current career.

All the women in the office were bawling.

[westofyou]

Originally Posted by Roy Tucker

IIRC, one of his last shows was in Cincinnati.

I saw Elvis at UD Arena in 1976 and was disappointed. He was running on fumes by then. He joked around songs a lot, gave abbreviated versions of his songs, let his backup singers carry him, was hoarse and off-key, etc etc.

Not the vital classic black leather Elvis. The King is gone, but he's not forgotten.

Elvis's last show was at the Omni in Atlanta, where a plaque was erected in the hallway, I always paid a visit to it when I was at the Omni. At the Star Bar in Atlanta they have an Elvis shrine enclosed in an old bank vault (the building was bank) you may view the shrine through a plexiglass window.

[Matt700wlw]

I was -3 at the time.

[redsfanmia]

Originally Posted by westofyou

Elvis's last show was at the Omni in Atlanta, where a plaque was erected in the hallway, I always paid a visit to it when I was at the Omni. At the Star Bar in Atlanta they have an Elvis shrine enclosed in an old bank vault (the building was bank) you may view the shrine through a plexiglass window.

Actually Elvis's last show was at Market Sqaure Arena in Indianapolis. The venue has been torn down but there is still a plaque there stating this.

[westofyou]

Originally Posted by redsfanmia

Actually Elvis's last show was at Market Sqaure Arena in Indianapolis. The venue has been torn down but there is still a plaque there stating this.

You're right... hmm the Omni Plaque must have just been his last Atlanta appearance.


Last show

Also Spake Zarathustra (opening)
See See Rider
I Got A Woman/Amen
Love Me
Fairytale
You Gave Me A Mountain
Jailhouse Rock
O Sole Mio/It's Now Or Never
Little Sister
Teddy Bear/Don't Be Cruel
Release Me
I Can't Stop Loving You
Bridge Over Troubled Water
(band introductions)
Early Morning Rain
What'd I Say
Johnny B. Goode
(solos by band members Larrie Londin: drums, Jerry Scheff: bass, Tony Brown: piano)
I Really Don't Want To Know
(solo by the backing Joe Guercio Orchestra)
Hurt
Hound Dog
(Elvis introduces various people from the stage)
Can't Help Falling In Love
(closing vamp)