Today is the anniversary of the death of the King of Rock and Roll Elvis Presley. Elvis died on August 16, 1977 at the age of 42. 

I’m told that Elvis’ death ranks up there with the JFK assassination and 9/11 in terms of the “remember-where-you-were-when-you-heard” metric. I say I’m told that by people who were around at the time because I was not born until September of 1977. In fact, due to the timing of Elvis’ death, my mother’s fandom, and the proximity of my birth, I was almost named Elvis. 

In 1969, Elvis performed two shows a night, seven days a week for a total of 636 back-to-back concerts. There’s someone who knew how to maintain a streak.

Live 1969 is a brand new Elvis Presley 11-CD box set that marks the 50th anniversary of his performances in Las Vegas after being away from the stage for eight years (making movies primarily). For those of you who are curious and still buying CDs, Amazon has this box set for US $135.99. I do not know the availability or price of a vinyl version playable on a dinosaur Victrola. I have been listening to the first album on Apple Music. 

I am enjoying the performances, the band, and especially the banter as Elvis tells stories and makes jokes and cracks himself up. Elvis performed his songs and quite a few covers including songs from the Beatles, Ray Charles, and Chuck Berry. Elvis would often perform songs live before he officially released recordings. He mentioned that for the song Suspicious Minds on the concert I listened to. 

On June 21, 1977 Elvis performed Unchained Melody, a song made famous by the Righteous Brothers who released it in 1965. Elvis is wearing his trademark white rhinestone jumpsuit. He is heavy and bloated. He’s slurring his words and appears out of it as he walks to the piano and sits down to play the song. Clearly we are seeing the effects of his non-stop touring schedule, poor diet, and his well-documented reliance on drugs. Five days later on June 26, 1977 he gave his last concert performance. Less than two months later he was dead.

Now you might think of all the performances to highlight, why pick this one? This is not Elvis at his peak or his best. This is Elvis at the end of his life. But that’s the point. He sits down at that piano and starts playing and singing and you see the raw talent. You see him struggling to perform. What was once effortless now requiring full concentration. In the climax of the song, his voice is operatic, beads of sweat dripping off his head as he delivers a rousing conclusion. I get chills when I watch it. If you are interested in watching the performance you can find it here: Unchained Melody.

Musical taste is very personal, and I know Elvis is not everyone’s cup of tea. Regardless, you have to admire someone who was so talented and whose music continues to inspire people decades after he is gone.