The Life And Career Of Elvis Aron Presley: 1970
On January 10th Elvis began to rehearse for his second engagement at the International Hotel in Las Vegas. Ronnie Tutt and Larry Muhoberac are not with him anymore, the drummer and the pianist are replaced by Bob Lanning and Glen D. Hardin. Due to another recording project the king included many new songs. He also changed his stage wear from karate inspired suits to one-piece jumpsuits. Bill Belew had designed a whole collection of costumes with high collars, which would become Elvis' trademark. The engagement ran from January 26th to February 23rd, RCA recorded between February 16th and 18th. While the king performed in Vegas RCA released "Kentucky Rain" / "My Little Friend". During its initial sales period it moved 600,000 copies, which was only half of the previous single.
On February 27th Elvis held a press conference in Houston/Texas. Afterwards he performed at 2:00 pm and 7:45 pm as a part of The Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo. On the following two days he also was on stage twice each day. At the end of the stint Elvis talked to the press once more and also accepted several Gold Awards.
Meanwhile Colonel Parker prepared the next project. On March 17th he made a contract with Filmways for a special concert of his client, that was to be shown as a pay-per-view event in selected cinemas. Elvis was to receive 1.1 million USD, 10% had to be paid to him in advance and was not refundable. Because Filmways gave the news to the press, even though it had been agreed to remain silent, Parker opted out of the project. Instead he made a deal with MGM for a documentary about Elvis forthcoming Vegas stint. Nobody needed to be convinced, because the movie studio was owned by Kirk Kerkorian, who also owned the International Hotel. Of course he was delighted to have his own studio producing a commercial for his entertainment resort and its biggest attracktion and have the audience paying to see it. Elvis himself also was happy, because he received half a million USD to be filmed doing something, he was doing anyway. A lot of money for little work. Needless to say, that the management of RCA had no problem to release a soundtrack and use the movie as free promotion. Elvis signed on April 7th.
The latest single of the king, a combination of "Mama Liked The Roses" and "The Wonder Of You", sold nearly a million copies and peaked at number nine of the Billboard Charts. The budget album "Let's Be Friends" went over the counter more than 400,000 times. The previous 45 might have been somewhat of a letdown, but this one was doing very well. And the CAMDEN release sold as good as the albums with recent recordings, even though it was nothing but a collection of old stuff from the vaults.
On June 4th Elvis began a string of recording sessions at RCA Studio B in Nashville. Scotty Moore, DJ Fontana, Floyd Cramer, Buddy Harman, Bob Moore and The Jordanaires were not booked for these sessions. Instead the king used new people like James Burton, Jerry Carrigan, David Briggs, Norbert Putnam, Chip Young and Charlie McCoy. For Moore and Fontana it was a slap in the face. The had accompanied Elvis from the very beginning and now they were combed out without any explanation. The king didn't even bother to talk to them. However, the sessions were extremely successful and generated more than 30 new tracks. Elvis was at the peak of his powers, his voice sounded great and he couldn't have been more motivated. Also in June RCA released "On Stage - February 1970". The live album sold more than half a million copies and peaked at number 13 of the Billboard Charts.
The preparations for the forthcoming Vegas stint, billed as "Elvis Summer Festival", began on July 14th. Ronnie Tutt was back on drums, Joe Guercio had taken over the direction of the International Hotel's orchestra. To make it easier for MGM to cover the rehearsal sessions, they took place at the studio's own soundstage. Also in July RCA released the first two songs from the recent Nashville sessions. But even though "I've Lost You" / "The Next Step Is Love" reached number 13 on the charts, it sold just half a million copies - 50% of the previous single. Certainly Elvis was back in the business, but the times, when everything he touched turned into gold, were over. The audience had become more selective and didn't buy a record, just because it featured Elvis' voice.
Colonel Parker promoted his client's current Vegas engagement in grand style. For the visitors he had prepared 100,000 souvenir menues, 100,000 promo cards, 60,000 RCA catalogues, 50,000 promo pictures and 20,000 photo books. He also had the hotel decorated with flags and banners. It looked quite tacky, but guaranteed attention. MGM filmed major parts of the first six concerts of the stint, RCA taped the accordant shows for a soundtrack album. While Elvis performed at the International Hotel, a lady named Patricia Ann Parker filed an affiliation case against the king. Besides that, he received a death threat. At first, none of these things seemed to affect his performances. Physically and vocally Elvis was at the peak of his powers, the concerts were musically versatile and entertaining. However, the last few performances were a tad on the sloppy side and the repertoire became less varied. On the final evening of the stint Elvis performed an additional show, which was compensated with 12,500 USD. This concert wasn't just loose, it bordered on the unprofessional. At the time nobody paid attention to these things, but inside of the Presley Universe it was noticed, that the singer's abuse of medication was increasing.
Meanwhile RCA released a set of four albums, which was called "Worldwide 50 Gold Award Hits - Volume 1". The retrospective sold 150,000 units and peaked at number 45 of the charts.
Right after the engagement at the International Hotel Elvis went on tour, his fist one since 1957. RCA promoted the first stop of the road trip, Colonel Parker took care of the concerts in Tampa/Florida. All other shows were handled by Management III. The company had paid 240,000 USD in advance to do business with the king. Because the tour was set up in the short term, The Imperials were not available. Elvis asked Hugh Jarrett, a former member of The Jordanaires, to compile a male harmony group. To save costs Joe Guercio didn't take his whole orchestra on tour, but traveled just with a few key members and added local musicians. On the first day Elvis used the sound system of the venue, just like he had done in Vegas. On the second day Management III rented mobile equipment from Clair Brothers. The king was elated and continued to work with the new set up. Commercially the tour was successful. After all bills had been paid Elvis was left with 174,212,53 USD.
To record some additonal material for his forthcoming album, a short recording session was held on September 22nd. Elvis appeared to be hurried and distracted. Priscilla, who accompanied her husband, explained to the musicians, that the reason for the king's behavior was the medicine he was taking.
Due to the success of the first road trip, Colonel Parker quickly set up another one. In November his client gave another eight concerts, this time all of them were handled by Management III. Elvis received 65% of the box office, a million USD had to be paid to him in advance. This time he was accompanied by The Imperials again.
Due to the success of the current record releases RCA flooded the market with new products. There was a new single with "You Don't Have To Say You Love Me" and "Patch It Up" and a budget album called "Almost In Love". The 45 sold more than 800,000 copies and therefore did twice as well as the previous single. The CAMDEN release was retailed more than 400,000 times, which almost mirrored the sales of the regular Presley albums. RCA also re-issued the double album "From Memphis To Vegas / From Vegas To Memphis" in form of two separate longplayers named "Elvis In Person" and "Back In Memphis". Just a few weeks later "That's The Way It Is", the regular new album of the singer, hit the market. It sold 500,000 copies and peaked at number 21. Almost simultaneously CAMDEN came up with a shortened budget version of "Elvis' Christmas Album". During the last few weeks of the year it sold 400,000 units.
In December Colonel Parker prolonged his consultancy agreement with RCA, which earned him 100,000 USD per year, until 1975. He also complained to Elvis, that it was getting harder to contact him. The king himself spent 339,000 USD for a new house in Los Angeles. Shortly before Xmas he had an argument with Priscilla and Vernon. Spontaneously he flew to Washington DC, where he wanted to meet president Nixon. On December 21st the meeting was granted and Elvis asked for a DEA badge. It was an unusual and bold request and to many it must have been a real surprise, that Nixon seriously made the singer a drug agent.
RCA closed out the year with another single. "There Goes My Everything" / "I Really Don't Want To Know" was the forerunner of the forthcoming album "Elvis Country - I'm 10,000 Years Old" and sold 700,000 copies.
Commercially 1970 marked a new record for the king. His stints in Vegas and the short tours had earned him 2,042,000 USD, another 1,325,000 USD came from the recording- and publishing-business. And finally there was the movie "That's The Way It Is", which generated an income of 730,000 USD.