When the box office opened on May 19th at 8:00 am, an astonishing 3,000 people were standing in line to get tickets. Seven hours later all 12,000 seats were sold and Elvis had made another 146,450 USD. We have to remember, that back in Elvis' days there was no internet. So the people had to show up in person to buy paper tickets. Seven hours was the time it took the employees to hand out the 12,000 ticket stubs and to collect the money. Yes, in 1976 you had to come up with paper money and coins. To make it worse, there were also no screens. If you were seated in the back of the arena, you just saw a small dot which was supposed to be Elvis. But that's another story.

The orchestra plays an excerpt of "Also Sprach Zarathustra", the band takes over with the "Opening Riff" and Elvis enters the stage. He's dressed in the white edition of the "Egyptian Bird Suit". Charlie Hodge hands him his guitar and the singer walks to the center of the stage.

Today's version of "See See Rider" is the most lively one of this set. The Midsouth Coliseum is the last stop of the tour and the king mobilizes his final reserves.

Elvis sings the word "well" in different pitches, the last one is astonishingly low. Of course it was just a joke and the real singer was JD Sumner. The old Ray Charles tune "I Got A Woman" is presented with zest, as usual Elvis includes a few lines of "Amen" and asks the audience to sing along. He also offers Mr. Sumner two opportunities to show off his deep voice. After a short reprise of "I Got A Woman" the king throws his guitar to Charlie Hodge and welcomes the audience. He also acknowledges an overzealous lady by telling her "It's a high stage, you can't get to me anyway".

Of course the king throws a few scarfs into the audience while singing "Love Me".

Just like he had done in Baton Rouge Elvis substitutes "If You Love Me (Let Me Know)" with "Fairytale". This time everything works well and the country pop is performed with enthusiasm. However, the visitors of the king's previous years' performance might remember, that he had been vocally stronger in the summer of 1975.

As usual Elvis uses the power ballad to impress the fans with some loudly belted lines. It obviously takes more effort from his side nowadays, but he's still a very good singer.

With "I'd like to do a medley of some of my records...back through the years" the king announces his usual medley of hits. He doesn't appear to be enthusiastic about having to sing "All Shook Up", be we have heared worse renditions in the past.

The same applies here. Today Elvis throws so many scarfs into the audience, that he suddenly forgets at which point of the song he is. For a second or so he has to listen to the band, before he's able to continue his performance.

With "And I Love You So" the king offers another song from his previous years' longplayer "Elvis Today". Compared to the record his voice sounds a bit nasal and somewhat shaky today. Not all that much, most people won't even realize it. But if one listens closely, it's clear, that Elvis hasn't just degraded physically.

The famous "Jailhouse Rock" doesn't feature soft and long lines. He sounds much better here and obviously has fun singing this old song.

The next oldie is quite entertaining, too. Elvis cleverly moves his legs to drive the ladies nuts. Suddenly women in their 30s and 40s start to scream like teenagers and their husbands might wonder, what the chubby man on stage has to offer, that they lack.

The classic "America (The Beautiful)" offers another opportunity for Elvis to show off his voice. His rendition is emotional and patriotic, the grande finale of the anthem is nothing but impressive.

Now Elvis appears to be a little unsure about what to do next. "One Night? Wanna hear One Night?" he suddenly asks. Of course they want! During the last few years the king has omitted the r&b song, before he finally re-discovered it during his "Pre-Holiday Jubilee" in Vegas. It's great, that he remembers it tonight and he really does deliver. Maybe not as energetic as in 1970, but still with gusto.

"The first record I did here in Memphis was That's All Right Mama. A couple of people say "You can't do that anymore"...by God watch me!" announces the king. Charlie Hodge quickly brings the instrument, puts a mike on a stand to amplify his boss' guitar playing and holds a second microphone to capture the singing. Then Elvis performs a zesty rendition of his first single release.

For whatever reason the king continues with a Xmas tune. He's fully aware of how odd it is to sing "Blue Christmas" at this time of the year and even changes the lyrics to "You'll be doing all right with your Christmas in July".

While Charlie Hodge puts the guitar and the microphone stand away Elvis announces "I'll try and get to all the songs you want to hear as this is the end of the tour and I've got as long as you have!". When he spots Gary Pepper, the founder of the Tankers Fanclub in Memphis, Elvis greets him with "Hello, how you're doing?". Gary was suffering from cerebral palsy and Elvis even hired his father and bought a house for the family to support them. Although more upbeat than usual, the "Introductions" are a long-lasting and boring affair. Today the king suddenly decided to perform a complete version of "Early Morning Rain", but the sound engineer turned off the equipment. Back then he was recording the shows on magnetic tape and I guess the cassette had to be turned around, so that the second track could be used.

After each and everyone is introduced, had played a solo or whatever Elvis finally continues by announcing "I have a new record out, ladies and gentlemen. I'd like to sing that for you...you know". Elvis doesn't perform the a-side "For The Heart", but the power ballad on the b-side. After he has finished his impressive rendition of "Hurt", Elvis asks if the people wanted to hear the song again. His second try sounds even better. The man may be more than chubby, but he certainly can sing.

The rock'n'roll classic isn't presented nearly as well. The former king of that style obviously doesn't care about stuff like this anymore, but I have to admit, that we've heared worse performances of "Hound Dog" in the past.

Now the king wants to take a look at his subjects and asks for the house lights to be turned on. Then he sings "Funny, How Time Slips Away".

Elvis continues the concert with "Help Me", supposingly from an album called "Elvis In The Gutter". The performance doesn't match the one on the record (the longplayer was released in early 1975 and carried the name "Promised Land"), but certainly comes close.

Staying on topic the singer follows up with the gospel hymn "How Great Thou Art". Compared to the previous years' performance it seems to take more effort to get it right, but bet your birth todays' rendition is impressive, too.

Now Elvis announces "I'd like to do something a little bit different tonight, I'd like to relate to you a story I have heard..." and starts to perform "Softly, As I Leave You". Sherrill Nielsen does the singing while Elvis recites the lyrics. The men finally duet on the last line of the song. It's a very touching rendition and the only one the king ever did on tour. Usually he limites the presentation of this ballad to the intimate showrooms in Vegas and Stateline.

Before singing another song Elvis declares "I was in hospital for a couple of things, nothing really serious, but I am glad to be out working again". Of course the fans are happy to hear such things, but a simple look at the man on stage quickly reveals, that it's far from the truth. After having introduced his father and having thanked the people on stage and the fans, Elvis tells the crowd, that he'll be on tour again on July 23rd. But somehow they get it wrong and think, he'll be back in Memphis. The king quickly clarifies the missunderstanding and sings "Polk Salad Annie". Compared to what can be seen in the movie "That's The Way It Is" the performance is a joke (and a falsification of the singer's claim to be healthy), but the king obviously likes the song and does the best he can.

After having announced "It's Now Or Never", Elvis jokingly Elvis intones the first line of "Jambalaya". That's all he needs to get his band going. A funny moment and also very revealing regarding the quality of his group. Maybe Mr. Presley travels with some of the best ones in the business.

The short intermezzo is followed by a rendition of his best selling single. "It's Now Or Never" is sung with care and includes an impressive finale.

With a few words Elvis finally bows out and sings his usual closer "Can't Help Falling In Love". The band moves on to the "Closing Riff", the king shakes some hands, gives away his final scarf and leaves the stage. Now he can rest for three weeks before the tour circuit starts all over again.