Just a single day after having closed the "Elvis Summer Festival 1970" in Las Vegas, the king went on the road - for the first time since 1957. The admission fee was $10.00, $7.50 and $5.00.

Tour Stations

09/09/1970: Phoenix, Arizona; Veteran's Memorial Coliseum (13,300 spectators)
09/10/1970: St. Louis, Missouri; Kiel Auditorium (12,000 spectators)
09/11/1970: Detroit, Michigan: The Olympia Arena (16,000 spectators)
09/12/1970: Miami, Florida; Convention Center (24,000 spectators, 2 shows)
09/13/1970: Tampa, Florida; Curtis Hixon Hall (15,000 spectators, 2 shows)
09/14/1970: Mobile, Alabama; Municipal Auditorium (10,800 spectators)

Musicians

James Burton (guitar), John Wilkinson (guitar), Charlie Hodge (guitar and harmony vocals), Jerry Scheff (bass), Ronnie Tutt (drums), Glen D. Hardin (piano) and The Joe Guercio Orchestra. The harmony vocals were provided by The Sweet Inspirations (Myrna Smith, Sylvia Shemwell & Estelle Brown), The Hugh Jarret Singers (Hugh Jarret, Mike Redman, Harry Middlebrooks & Harry Martin, Hintergrundgesang) and Kathy Westmoreland.

About The Tour

Jerry Weintraub and Tom Hulett had tried for some time to convince Colonel Parker to allow their company, Management III, to take the Elvis Presley show on the road. After two successful engagements at the International Hotel in Las Vegas and a record breaking gig in Houston the manager finally agreed - if the young men were able to come up with a million dollar upfront and in cash! To his amazement Weintraub and Hulett showed up with a suitcase full of money, but he kept his word and they got the job. But he insisted on organizing the shows in Florida himself and made clear, that RCA was responsible for the opening show in Phoenix, because this concert would be filmed for MGM's movie project "That's The Way It Is". The reason why the road trip began just one day after a casino engagement of four weeks was simple: Everyone involved was at the same place, there was no need to rehearse and MGM was able to finish off their motion picture. It was a tour de force, but they all agreed upon the plan and I am pretty sure, that Elvis was keen to find out if his show worked in the multipurpose halls all around the country. The first day of the tour the crew used the speaker system of the venue. While this was the norm in the 1950s, meanwhile each and everyone brought their own equipment. Simply, because the house systems were made for announcements and sports commentaries, but not for music. The guys from Management III were quick on their feet and organized professional, up to date equipment from Concerts West. Elvis was enthusiastic about the sound and started to trust in the abilities of Weintraub and Hulett. It also turned out, that Colonel Parker's choice of accomodation didn't meet the demands of his client and the crew. Just like in the 1950s he booked small, middle-class hotels and regarded them to be sufficient for a concert tour of a superstar. Management III used larger and premium class hotels, which everyone liked much better. Realizing, that the young fellows did the job better, he handed over the organization of the following tours to them. To save money, it was decided, that Joe Guercio didn't take the whole orchestra with him. He just selected a few key members and added local musicians. The result wasn't all that great, because the new instrumentalists regularly had trouble to adjust to Elvis' spontaneities. Another problem was the inavailability of The Imperials. Elvis asked Hugh Jarrett, a former member of The Jordanaires, to ensemble a male harmony group. This procedure also was rather a temporary solution than a worked-out plan. Musically the shows mirrored the ones in Vegas, with the addition of the country ballad "Funny, How Time Slips Away". On stage Elvis worde the "Chain Suit" and the "Metall Eye Suit". Especially for the tour he had ordered the "White Fringe Suit & Colored Beads". He also added colorful scarfs, which he gave to his fans as a special souvenir.

Audio