I'd always been an Elvis fan - not rabid, but a big fan.
I'd not been long back in this country when an opportunity presented itself to attend a Neil Diamond concert. It was a great concert - most concerts are great when you're first row center. It was during this concert that we learned the great Elvis Presley would be performing in Cincinnati in June (1977). Tickets would go on sale the next day.
We got in line right after the Diamond concert, waited all night and were about 10th line to purchase tix.
We got great seats. Not front row center, but close enough to get good photos with my newly acquired Pentax K-1000 SLR with telephoto lens. There weren't any photo restrictions, which I now find odd - you can't take a picture of anyone at a concert these days.
June 25, 1977 -- the day had arrived and my mother, my auntie and I got all dolled up for the occasion. I don't remember what Mom and Thel wore, but I had on blue jeans, a yellow shirt and navy blue suspenders with frogs woven in - and that big camera around my neck.
My auntie was a BIIIGGGGGG Elvis fan and Mom and I thought she was going to faint as we neared the venue. We had to sort of support her as we made our way to our seats. The Coliseum was electric; every person there had butterflies in their stomach - including me.
The crowd was buzzing, a dull roar actually, as people waited for the appearance of "The King." I'd been to a lot of concerts, but the atmosphere at this one was different. Indescribably different. My Aunt Thel clutched my right hand and my Mother was talking to the man sitting next to her. All of a sudden.....
kleig lights passed over the audience and barely detectable, the opening bars of
"Also sprach Zarathustra." Instantly, the human noise stopped as if the Coliseum was empty.
The stage lights came on, and this would be the last time we saw Elvis.
I think Elvis was 42 at the time. He had gained weight, but he wasn't sluggish or tired looking. He wore the famous "Aztec" jumpsuit. His voice was pure. Despite the weight, he was still Elvis, and we loved him, no matter what he looked like.
He sang "It's Now or Never," "I Got A Woman," "Trying To Get To You," "Little Sister," and "And I Love You So," "American Trilogy," "Suspicious Minds," "My Way" and many others. The show lasted about 2-1/2 hours.
In my opinion, people who loved only the young Elvis and despised what he became in his final years do themselves a disservice. Elvis singing "You Gave Me A Mountain" is a majestic experience.
Ironically, he closed the show with "We'll meet you again. May God bless you. Adios."
I'm having a "nanner" and peanut butter sandwich for lunch today - remembering Elvis.
