Elvis Presley's final concert wasn't meant to be his last. The singer was only 42 years
old and was scheduled to go on tour again shortly after his untimely passing. But a
lifetime of fried peanut butter, bacon, and banana sandwiches, accompanied by a decades-long
indulgence in narcotics, brought the King's career, and life, to an unexpected end.
The last live show that Presley ever performed occurred in 1977. The day was June 26, a date
that kept popping up in Elvis history. It was his manager, Colonel Tom Parker's, birthday.
Plus, according to Rolling Stone, Elvis was first called to the Sun Records office on
June 26, 1954. Three years to the day after that, he spent his first night at Graceland.
On June 26, 1979, Elvis' father died of heart failure. What could it all mean?
"It's all connected. A web of conspiracy that goes all the way to the top."
Well, probably not. Regardless, on the night in question, Elvis was on the tail end of
an arduous nine-day tour. His last concert would be performed for a packed crowd at the
Market Square Arena in Indianapolis. Per the Indiana Historical Bureau, nearly 18,000 people
attended, none of whom realized that they were witnessing history.
For seven years, warm-up comedian Jackie Kahane held the unenviable responsibility of getting
up on stage before the man known as "The King" took over. It was no easy job and he was even
booed off the stage of New York City's Madison Square Garden. Kahane's job as Elvis' opening
act even dominated the first half of his obituary in The Los Angeles Times when the comedian
died in 2001. In it, the Times describes how Kahane's set, formerly a tight 18 minutes,
had stretched to nearly 45 as the years wore on and it took longer for Elvis to get into
performance shape each night.
That night in Indianapolis, Kahane announced to the crowd
"Elvis looks great and Elvis sounds great!"
So he may have been a good comedian, but he definitely wasn't a prophet. Nevertheless,
as Kahane left the stage that night, few could have predicted things would come to an end
for the King quite so abruptly.
If you're wondering how much it cost to see Elvis Presley on the night of his death, it
was only $15 a ticket, or just over $65 in modern dollars, adjusted for inflation. Even
more surprisingly, tickets were still available for purchase the evening before the concert,
per the Indiana History Blog. Quite the bargain for an up-close look at one of the era's defining
stars.
Aside from Kahane, that evening's opening acts included a brass band and some soul singers.
In fact, those openers performed for almost an hour and a half before fans would catch
sight of the man they'd all been waiting for. The Indianapolis Star noted that for the Monday
evening performance, Elvis had donned the now-iconic white and gold jumpsuit, maybe
to better facilitate the dance moves that still drove the audience wild. Of particular
note to the reviewer, Elvis had limited his karate moves that evening but nevertheless
bounded on stage to kick off the show with a rendition of "C.C. Rider" and still threw
in a few of his signature leg jerks from his early days.
For fans, it was a remarkable performance — especially given how difficult 1977 had
been thus far for the King. According to "Far Out" Magazine, Elvis had broken up with a
long-term girlfriend, immediately became involved with a new woman, and was so out of it during
some earlier performances that journalist Tony Scherman recounted how he'd been nearly
"impossible to understand" at an earlier show in Louisiana. Despite that, the King rallied
and got things together for that one evening in June — if only briefly.
Critical reception for Elvis' final show was decidedly mixed. On the negative side, there
was Zack Duncan's review, which called the concert "tacky and outdated," with the lighting
merely "adequate," and the extensive use of warm-up acts coming off as "fluff." He claimed
that announcements were made over the PA system three times throughout the concert, reminding
folks to check out the merch stand, with a voice even taking the extra step of reading
the price tags of the available souvenirs.
There were also more positive reviews, like the one in The Indianapolis Star, which spent
a significant amount of time pointing out that Elvis wasn't as fat as he could have
been.
Over the course of a three-hour concert, Elvis spent just an hour and twenty minutes on stage,
performing old standards as well as new numbers, including a cover of Simon and Garfunkel's
"Bridge Over Troubled Water."
At the end of the show, Presley brought his father on stage to wave to the crowd, then
sang his hit song "Can't Help Falling In Love With You." Afterward, he told the audience,
"We'll meet you again, God bless, adios." And then the show was over, and Elvis left
the building for the very last time.
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