After not having been on the road since July 1975, the touring buisness started again in March 1976. For the first time in six years the admission fees were raised to $7.50, $10.00 and $12.50. The road trip was organized by Concerts West and Mid-South Concerts and generated a revenue of 500,000 USD.
Tour Stations
03/17/1976; Johnson City, Tennessee; Freedom
Hall (7,000 spectators)
03/18/1976; Johnson
City, Tennessee; Freedom Hall (7,000 spectators)
03/19/1976; Johnson City, Tennessee; Freedom
Hall (7,000 spectators)
03/20/1976;
Charlotte, North Carolina; Charlotte Coliseum
(24,000 spectators, 2 shows)
03/21/1976;
Cincinnati, Ohio; Riverfront Coliseum (35,080
spectators, 2 shows)
03/22/19796; St. Louis,
Missouri; Kiel Auditorium (100546 spectators)
Musicians
James Burton (guitar), John Wilkinson (guitar), Charlie Hodge (guitar and harmony vocals), Jerry Scheff (bass), Larry Lonidin (drums), Shane Kiester (piano), David Briggs (keyboard) 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 (Larry Strickland, Ed Hill, Ed Enoch & Ron Booth) as well as Kathy Westmoreland and Sherrill Nielsen.
About The Tour
Because of Elvis' condition, it had been planned to minimize the workload for a while. Apart from the recording sessions in February, which even took place at the king's Graceland Mansion, he was supposed to rest until the start of his engagement at Del Webb's Sahara Tahoe Hotel on April 30th. The band also showed some wear and tear, Glen D. Hardin, James Burton and Ronnie Tutt announced to leave the group. They were bored by playing the same songs over and over again and they had no intention to continue to watch Elvis' self-destruction. In late February the king's financial situation became so tight, that he decided to go on a short tour nevertheless. With the powers of persuasion and payment James Burton was lured back into the band, but Tutt and Hardin refused to re-join the group. So Felton Jarvis booked Larry Londin (drums) and Shane Kiester (piano) as replacements. To update the sound David Briggs was added to the lineup. He played keyboard and electronic clavinet and had worked with Elvis in the studio since 1966. There was a short rehearsal session at Graceland, but it was not much more than playing a few bars of a few songs. In general the show was the same as in Vegas, but with the addition of his forthcoming single "Hurt" and the revival of "Let Me Be There" and "Steamroller Blues". Elvis wore the "Rainfall Suit", the "Chicken Rib Suit", the "V-Neck Suit", the "White Egyptian Bird Suit" and the new "Blue Egyptian Bird Suit". The latter one premiered for only 30 minutes, because Elvis split the seam of the pants while doing "Polk Salad Annie". The costumes had been made in late 1975, but the king had gained some more pounds. During the past year Elvis had been overweight, but by March 1976 he justifiably could be called fat. He also looked pale, talked much less than in the summer of 1975 and lacked vitality and drive. However, his voice was in solid condition and the selection of songs was good.
Audio
