I was 22 when I wrote this review back in 1997 for The Elvis Beat #16, which turned out to be the final issue of my official Elvis Presley Fan Club newsletter. Though I did not formally dissolve the club until 2000, it went on hiatus after I released this issue. A couple of months later, on August 21, 1997, I started my first website – Star Trek: The Film Frontier, devoted to the first six Trek movies. I added a blog element to The Film Frontier in 2006 and, before I knew it, I was writing about Elvis again. In many ways, I have gone full circle for this path eventually led to The Mystery Train Blog.

“We’re here to entertain you and to make you happy. So, just enjoy yourself, and leave the driving to us,” said Elvis to an adoring crowd in Rapid City, South Dakota on June 21, 1977. Elvis had been doing just that for over 20 years – entertaining his fans and making them happy.

What was to be Elvis’ last concert tour began on June 17, 1977, in Springfield, Missouri. The tour was a short one compared to many of his others, with concerts in ten cities in ten days.

The following day, the tour moved to Kansas City. The June 19 appearance in Omaha, Nebraska was taped for a CBS television special set to air that fall. Only three songs were used from the Omaha performance in the Elvis In Concert special, which was broadcast posthumously.

“If you think I’m nervous,” Elvis said quietly on stage, “you’re right.”

Many fans were interviewed on camera for Elvis In Concert, which is not officially available on video. Perhaps the most genuine in his responses was a young black man who said:

I give Elvis a lot of credit for bringing blues into rock and country. He’s the first guy to ever do that, and I admire him for it. He has a lot of courage. He’s my number one singer of all time. I hope to name my kid after him someday. . . .

I just love the guy. I know that sounds kinda weird, but I just love the guy, and I wish him many years of success. . . .

I have about four of his gospel albums, and my favorite is How Great Thou Art. It makes you feel good when he sings it. It brings tears to your eyes.

The next day, Elvis performed in Lincoln, Nebraska. CBS also taped his concert in Rapid City on June 21. It was from this performance that most of the songs in the Elvis In Concert special were drawn.

“If you haven’t guessed by now, you’re on television,” Elvis said with a characteristic grin to the audience. “Don’t let the lights and cameras throw you, and try not to throw the lights and cameras if you can help it.”

Elvis In Concert was Elvis’ first television special in four years after the blockbuster Elvis: Aloha From Hawaii. The contrast in his appearance between the two shows is striking.

“He was obviously way overweight,” said Elvis’ friend Joe Esposito a few years after the singer’s death. “Despite his age, only 42, we knew he was in bad health. It was rough for him, but Elvis accepted his appearance, and so did his fans.”

Although he did look ill, that special Elvis smile was still there. The love and magic was still there. He was Elvis. Through all the ups and downs, the fans always loved him and still do.

With CBS’s taping complete for the special, the concert tour continued through Sioux Falls, Des Moines, Madison, and Cincinnati over the next several days.

The Market Square Arena in Indianapolis hosted Elvis on June 26 for the last stop of the tour. The concert would prove to be his last before dying six weeks later at his home, Graceland.

For the last performance of his life, Elvis sang:

• See See 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 Morning Rain
• What’d I Say
• Johnny B. Goode
• I Really Don’t Want To Know
• Hurt
• Hound Dog
• Can’t Help Falling In Love

Joe Esposito said it best, “Just six weeks before his death, he still poured his heart out. To the end, Elvis’ greatest gift – his incredible voice – never failed him.”

When all is said and done, after all the books have been written, and when all the tales have been spun, the only question that will be important is, “What did Elvis do?”

He made people happy.

That was his life.

Note: Years later, portions of the above circulated in bootleg promotional material without permission. It is reproduced here in its original context.