Two months after his successful April tour, the king went back on the road. After all bills had been paid, he received 610,000 USD. An additional amount of 305,000 USD was paid to his manager. By now it was clear, that concert tours made more money than records or television appearances. Just like the Colonel had focused his client's career on the movies in the 1960s, he now put the live shows in the center of the business. And once again he was able to increase the profits on a regular basis.
Tour Stations
06/09/1972: New York City, New York; Madison
Square Garden (20,000 spectators)
06/10/1972:
New York City, New York; Madison Square Garden
(40,000 spectators, 2 shows)
06/11/1972: New
York City, New York; Madison Square Garden
(20,000 spectators)
06/12/1972: Fort Wayne,
Indiana; Memorial Coliseum (7,690 spectators)
06/13/1972: Evansville, Indiana; Roberts
Municipal Stadium (11,550 spectators)
06/14/1972: Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Milwaukee
Auditorium Arena (10,550 spectators)
06/15/1972: Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Milwaukee
Auditorium Arena (11,600 spectators)
06/16/1972: Chicago, Illinois; Chicago Stadium
(20,000 spectators)
06/17/1972: Chicago,
Illinois; Chicago Stadium (40,000 spectators, 2
shows)
06/18/1972: Fort Worth, Texas; Tarrant
Couty Convention Center (14,122 spectators)
06/19/1972: Wichita, Kansas; Henry Levitt Arena
(10,000 spectators)
06/20/1972: Tulsa,
Oklahoma; Civic Assembly Center (9,500
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 Malin Orchestra (conducted by Joe Guercio). The harmony vocals were provided by The Sweet Inspirations (Myrna Smith, Sylvia Shemwell & Estelle Brown), J.D. Sumner & The Stamps (Donnie Sumner, Bill Baize, Ed Enoch & Richard Sterban) and Kathy Westmoreland.
About The Tour
To prepare for the tour and the recording session in New York City, Elvis rehearsed on June 6th and 7th at RCA Studio C in Hollywood/California. The next day the group moved on to NYC, where the rehearsals were continued.
Before the actual tour began with a four show stint at the Madison Square Garden, Elvis gave a press conference at 4 p.m. He was the first entertainer, who had sold out four consecutive concerts in that venue. These shows alone generated 730,000 USD. RCA Victor used the media hype and recorded both concerts on June 10th. Just eight days later the first units of "Elvis As Recorded As Madison Square Garden" were shipped. The project was a success by any means. On the Billboard Charts the album reached number 11 and sold 500,000 copies within just eight weeks.
In contrast to Vegas and the April tour, the king opened his recent shows with "That's All Right". Besides that he surprised with rarely performed songs like "Reconsider Baby", "Something" or "My Babe". Vocally he was in top form and the shows were fast paced. For this tour Elvis had ordered several new outfits. The IC Costume Company delivered the "Adonis Suit & Gold Cape", the "Light Blue Wheat Suit & Gold Cape", the "Eyelet Suit & Red Cape", the "Lucky Suit & Silver Cape" as well as a 3-piece-ensemble, now known as "White 3-Piece Suit, Black Pocket Flaps, Paisley Shirt & Cape". Besides the new costumes, Elvis also wore the "Blue Nail Suit & White Cape", which he had also used during the April tour and in Vegas.
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