On September 27th Elvis was back on the road for another 15 shows. As usual the tickets were sold for $5.00, $7.50 and $10.00, after everything was paid $960,000 were left to be split between the king and his manager.
Tour Stations
09/27/1974: College Park, Maryland;
University Of Maryland (15,000 spectators)
09/28/1974: College Park, Maryland; University
Of Maryland (15,00 spectators)
09/29/1974:
Detroit, Michigan; Olympia Stadium (17,105
spectators)
09/30/1974: South Bend, Indiana;
Athletics & Convention Center (12,301
spectators)
10/01/1974: South Bend, Indiana;
Athletics & Convention Center (12,301
spectators)
10/02/1974: St. Paul, Minnesota;
Civic Center (17,163 spectators)
10/03/1974:
St. Paul, Minnesota; Civic Center (17,163
spectators)
10/04/1974: Detroit, Michigan;
Olympia Stadium (17,105 spectators)
10/05/1974: Indianapolis, Indiana; Expo
Convention Center (28,000 spectators, 2 shows)
10/06/1974: Dayton, Ohio; University Of Dayton
(27,000 spectators, 2 shows)
10/07/1974:
Wichita, Kansas; Levitt Arena (10,000
spectators)
10/08/1974: San Antonio, Texas;
Convention Center (10,500 spectators)
10/09/1974: Abilene, Texas; Expo Center (8,604
spectators)
Musicians
James Burton (guitar), John Wilkinson (guitar), Charlie Hodge (guitar and harmony vocals), Duke Bardwell (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), J.D. Sumner & The Stamps (Bill Baize, Ed Enoch & Ed Hill), Voice (Donnie Sumner, Tim Baty & Sherrill Nielsen) as well as Kathy Westmoreland.
About The Tour
Commercially the king's fall tour was a success, all concerts were sold out in advance. For his transportation Elvis used the Playboy jet, which was owned by the (at the time) famous magazine, which leased the plane to celebrities. During some of his shows in Vegas the king had worn two-piece leather outfits, but on this tour he was back to the usual jumpsuits. Elvis continued to wear the "Peacock Suit" and the "Blue Swirl Suit" and also used the newly ordered "Mad Tiger Suit" and "Chinese Dragon Suit". Since the beginning of the "Elvis Summer Festival 1974" the king had gained several pounds and looked somewhat weary. The reason became obvious as soon as he opened his mouth. He was constantly under the influence of substances. In Vegas Elvis had added liquid cocaine to his chemical repertoire and his consumption of drugs had gotten completely out of hand. On stage the king lost himself in embarrassing monologues, his voice sounded hoarse and often he yelled more than he sang. When Vernon Presley joined the group in Abilene/Texas, he was so shocked, that he instantly called Dr. Nichopolous. The physician managed to control Elvis' abuse of substances to a certain extent and the concerts at Del Webb's Sahara Tahoe Hotel in Stateline/Nevada were a tad better than the ones of this tour. But as soon as the stint was over, the king flew back to Vegas to succumb to drugs and his new girlfriend Sheila. For the first time the Presley camp seemed to realize the scope of the problem. To provide his client with some time to recover, Colonel Parker moved the planned recording sessions and the forthcoming Vegas stint to March 1975 and canceled the "gladiators" project (a documentary about karate). As it turned out, the fall of 1974 was the beginning of the end.
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