Just a week after having closed his first stint at Del Webb's Sahara Tahoe Hotel the king opened the "Elvis Summer Festival 1971" at the Hilton International Hotel. Until September 6th he had to perform 57 concerts, which lead to an astonishing number of 85 shows within 49 days!
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 Imperials (Jim Murray, Armond Morales, Terry Blackwood, Roger Wiles & Joe Moscheo) as well as Kathy Westmoreland.
About The Engagement
In early 1971 the Hilton Group had purchased the International Hotel from the investor Kirk Kerkorian. Even though Elvis' contract included a get-out clause, he decided to stick to the original agreement until it expired in 1973. For the current stint the king took home 350,000 USD, after having paid the instrumentalists and singers.
The king closed his engagement at Del Webb's Sahara Tahoe Hotel on August 2nd, the following day he flew to Vegas. Because Perry Como, who had performed at the Hilton International before Elvis, had gotten sick and recuperated in the master suite, the king moved into another suite and didn't insist on his contractual right to be accommodated there. On August 7th and 8th the king rehearsed with the band, the singers and the orchestra, on August 9th the show marathon began. The press called the show lackluster and uneven and described the man himself as overweight. I have not heared a recording of the opening concert, but the photos on the covers of the albums "Elvis Now", "He Touched Me" and "Elvis Sings Hits From His Movies - Volume 1" as well as the sleeves of the singles "Until It's Time For You To Go" / "We Can Make The Morning" and "Bosom Of Abraham" / "He Touched Me" don't show an overweight person. In contrast to his previous engagement Elvis focused on the music and kept the interaction with the audience to a minimum. He also adhered to the preference of the hotel management and kept his shows to 45 to 50 minutes. The new songs of the season were "It's Impossible", "Lawdy Miss Clawdy", "It's Over" and "I'm Leavin'". As a special gimmick Elvis now handed out more scarfs than before and also threw plush bears into the audience while singing "Teddy Bear". During this season the king wore several versions of an outfit, that was inspired by the television show "The Cisco Kid". Some of these stage costumes were three-piece suits (consisting of a jacket, pants and a skirt), others were the ususal one-piece jumpsuits. The "Red Cisco Kid Suit & Red Yokes" can be seen on the cover of the album "He Touched Me". But Elvis also wore some older outfits like the "Turquoise Concho Suit", which is shown on the sleeve of the longplayer "Elvis Now". At the final concert of the stint Elvis presented a suit, that would characterize his image in the 1970s. The "Fireworks Suit & Green Cape" was a one-piece jumpsuit, decorated with metal elements and combined with a wide lether belt and a cape. Give or take a few exceptions Elvis would stick to this style of stagewear right up to the end.
During this engagement Elvis was honored with the Bing Crosby Liftime Archivement Award. On August 26th the National Academy Of Recording Arts And Sciences presented the award to him. Before Elvis just Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald and Irving Berlin had received this prestigious award. At the age of 36 Elvis had sold more than 200 million records (this amount equals 30 billion paid streams!) and was the most successful artist of his time.
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