Elvis Presley performed his final concert on June 26, 1977, just a few weeks before his death. The King’s last show took place at Indianapolis’ Market Square Arena to an audience of 18,000. There the 42-year-old ended his last public performance with Can’t Help Falling In Love, but did you know his final private singing session took place on the day he died and was witnessed by his cousin?
Elvis died on August 16, 1977 around lunchtime at his home of Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee.
But being a night owl who slept all day, the star spent his last evening – in the early hours of that morning – with his cousin. A member of the Memphis Mafia, Billy Smith had received a phone call at his home around 3:30am.
It was The King asking if he and his wife Jo wanted to come over and play racquetball with him and his girlfriend Ginger Alden.
So they all headed over to Elvis’ racquetball court behind the Graceland mansion where the two men started playing a game.
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Elvis performing in 1977 (Image: GETTY)
Elvis with Ginger Alden (Image: GETTY)
Both covers, Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain features on Elvis’ 1976 album From Elvis Presley Boulevard, Memphis, Tennessee.
While Unchained Melody is the opening track on The King’s final record, 1977’s Moody Blue.
After singing his final songs and they’d had enough of racquetball, the two couples headed back to the Graceland mansion around 6:15am.
But little did Billy and Jo know that this would be their last goodbyes to Elvis, who had been really excited for his next tour, set to start on August 17 in Portland, Maine’s Cumberland County Civic Center.
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Billy and Jo said how Elvis was so looking forward to the tour and was feeling positive about the future.
Jo remembers The King saying just before they left: “Good night and I love you. We’ve got big things to do, we’re going to do big things.”
The couple then headed home around 7am not knowing that they’d seen their dear friend for the final time.
Around 1:30pm, Ginger woke up and released that Elvis wasn’t in bed. He’d gone to the bathroom a few hours earlier with a copy for Frank Adams’ The Scientific Search for the Face of Jesus to read.
Ginger had warned Elvis not to fall asleep in there and he gave her his final words which were, “I won’t”.
Now she was awake hours later and wondering where he was, so eventually investigated the bathroom and found him on the floor.
Elvis had suffered a heart attack while on the toilet. The King was then rushed to hospital where he was pronounced dead at 3:30pm.
His funeral took place just two days later and the star was buried next to his mother in Forest Hill Cemetery before both were moved to Graceland’s Meditation Garden.
It was 43 years ago tonight (June 26th, 1977) that Elvis Presley performed his last concert. "The King's" final show in Indianapolis at the Market Square Arena was his 55th show of the year. Despite Presley's failing health, and at times sickly appearance, his presence alone was still enough of a draw to sell out shows nationwide. Bootleg copies of Presley's Indianapolis shows have been available on the collector's circuit for years, and prove that Presley's voice was in good shape for the entire show, which was nearly identical to most of his 1977 performances. Although the following October's CBS-TV special Elvis In Concert has been billed over the years as being Presley's final show, it was actually compiled from shows from June 19th, 1977 in Omaha, Nebraska and on June 21st in Rapid City, South Dakota. The setlist to Elvis Presley's final show was: "C.C. Rider," "I Got A Woman/Amen," "Love Me," "Fairytale," "You Gave Me A Mountain," "Jailhouse Rock," "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," "Early Mornin' Rain," "Johnny B. Goode," "I Really Don't Want To Know," "Hurt," "Hound Dog," and "Can't Help Falling In Love." James Burton, Elvis' longtime lead guitarist and bandleader, said that "The King" was never not in full control of his voice — even on his final tours when his health was sometimes in question: ["Oh yeah, he knew his range. Oh yeah, absolutely. He had perfect pitch. I mean the guy could be clear across the stage and go into a song he probably hadn't sung in years — it was there. It was such a natural talent, y'know? It was a blessing from God."] SOUNDCUE (:15 OC: . . . blessing from God) Fleetwood Mac's Lindsey Buckingham credits hearing Elvis in 1956 as the motivating factor that lead him to becoming a musician: ["Like many people my age, y'know, I was quite young, I was always interested in music, and I was listening to what we all would refer to as our 'parents' music.' So, when my older brother brought home (the single of) 'Heartbreak Hotel' — it's not a unique story, but it was just a mind-blowing revelation in terms of this kind of explosive spirit that just kind of washed over that whole generation."] SOUNDCUE (:26 OC: . . . that whole generation) While out on the road in 1972, Elvis Presley talked about how he and his live band leave everything on the stage during every show: ["I think it's 'cause we enjoy it — and we constantly enjoy it. Y'know, we do two shows a night for five weeks, but we never let it get old. Every song is like we do it for the first time and that's one of the secrets. We can change 'em around, but even if we do the same songs, they're new and the sound is. . . the feeling is there every time."] SOUNDCUE (:19 OC: . . . there every time)
Pete Townshend told us that he believes that the enormity of pressures surrounding the Elvis "machine" are what ultimately lead to his death at such a young age: ["That's a terrible tragedy when you think what a decent kind of guy he seemed to be when you read the stuff. Y'know he came to pieces at the end. And it's easy to blame Vegas, but it wasn't about Vegas, it was just about the load."] SOUNDCUE (:12 OC: . . . about the load)
Elvis Presley died of heart failure on August 16th, 1977 at his Graceland mansion in Memphis, Tennessee. He was 42-years-old.
Aug 23, 2018
[youtube //www.youtube.com/watch?v=AG9ph9xkOrw&w=800&h=450%5D
In one of his final performances before his tragic death, Elvis Presley delivered an incredible rendition of ‘Unchained Melody’ during a concert in Rapid City, South Dakota on June 21, 1977.
The performance, described as “the last great moment of his career”, was recorded for his last television special two months before his death in August 1977. An article in Rolling Stone adds:
He had an enlarged heart, an enlarged intestine, hypertension and incredibly painful bowel problems. He was barely sleeping and should have probably been in the hospital, but he was still a huge draw on the concert circuit and the money was too good to turn down.
As guitarist Charlie Hodge held a microphone, Elvis dug deep and poured his heart into the song. His body was falling apart, but his voice remained almost as powerful as ever. Without any doubt, it’s the last great moment of his career.
For reasons unknown, the audio and video are not always perfectly synced which is why some parts seem off with his singing/piano playing and the accompanying audio. If anyone has more info, let us know in the comments.
Elvis Presley recorded more than 600 songs throughout his career. When he died on Aug. 16, 1977, his death was mourned around the world. Just before Presley died, he’d released a single. It had been performing well, but after the King’s death, its popularity soared. That song was “Way Down.”
Elvis Presley’s final performance
Presley’s last concert took place on June 26, 1977 at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis. There was a crowd of 18,000 people present.
According to Smooth Radio, the only unusual thing about the performance was that Presley brought several people from his life on stage with him and introduced them to the audience.
The site goes on to write that some fans say the King somehow knew it would be his final performance, while others think he brought his friends and family on stage that night in anticipation of the upcoming tell-all biography titled Elvis: What Happened? by his former bodyguards, Sonny and Red West. Whatever his reason was at the time, the Market Square Arena performance was marked a special one thanks to all of Presley’s personal guests.
Elvis Presley’s last song
One day before the concert in Indianapolis, Presley had a new song come out, “Way Down,” which debuted on the Billboard’s Country Singles Chart.
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The song peaked at No. 31 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart on Aug. 6, 1977, and fell to No. 53 the week of Aug. 27. But four days after Presley died, “Way Down” became No. 1 on the Billboard Country Singles Chart. It also topped the United Kingdom’s singles chart, which was the only other Presley record to do so besides “The Wonder of You,” which came out in 1970.
Everyone wanted to listen to the King
After Presley died, record stores couldn’t keep the King’s music on their shelves. He sold out everywhere. According to Country Daily, “RCA kept its Indianapolis plant open 24 hours a day, pressing only material by The King to meet the demand.”
Additionally, producer Felton Jarvis got to work enhancing recordings of Presley’s final concert tour to release as a two-record set called “Elvis In Concert.”
The month following Presley’s death, the King was in the top spot on Billboard’s country album chart for 15 weeks in a row. “Moody Blue” was at the top of the charts for the first 10 weeks with the live L.P. following behind.
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Presley is still wildly popular today. He’s a household name. Millions of people still buy and listen to his music, and thousands visit Graceland every year.
“He’s probably the most important star of all time,” journalist and author Alanna Nash told Forbes of Presley in 2019. “And I’m not the first person to say that. You can’t argue with the fact that he not only changed, but directed the course of both popular music and popular culture of the ‘50s.”