On June 1, 1977 CBS announced to film parts of the king's forthcoming tour for a television special called "Elvis In Concert", that was about to air in October. RCA also was on hand to produce an accordant soundtrack album. The tour went from June 17th to 26th and included ten concerts.
Tour Stations
06/17/1977: Springfield, Missouri; Hammons
Center (9,000 spectators)
06/18/1977: Kansas
City, Missouri; Kemper Arena (17,000 spectators)
06/19/1977: Omaha, Nebraska; Civic Auditorium
(10,604 spectators)
06/20/1977: Lincoln,
Nebraska; Pershing Municipal Auditorium (7,500
spectators)
06/21/1977: Rapid City, South
Dakota; Rushmore Plaza Civic Center (10,000
spectators)
06/22/1977: Sioux Falls, South
Dakota; Sioux Falls Arena (7,911 spectators)
06/23/1977: Des Moines, Iowa; Veteran's Memorial
Auditorium (11,000 spectators)
06/24/1977:
Madison, Wisconsin; Dane County Coliseum (10,000
spectators)
06/25/1977: Cincinnati, Ohio;
Riverfront Coliseum (17,140 spectators)
06/26/1977: Indianapolis, Indiana; Market Square
Arena (16,500 spectators)
Musicians
James Burton (guitar), John Wilkinson (guitar), Charlie Hodge (guitar and harmony vocals), Jerry Scheff (bass), Ronnie Tutt (drums), Tony Brown (piano), Bobby Odgin (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 & Gary Buckles) as well as Kathy Westmoreland and Sherrill Nielsen.
About The Tour
Even though CBS was producing his first television special since 1973, Elvis didn't spend any time on preperation. He neither rehearsed, nor tried to get in shape physically. The king relied on the only two jumpsuits that still fit, the "Mexican Sundial Suit" and the "Embroidered Arabian Suit". He also didn't manage to regain control of his use of medication. Often his face was boated, his eyes were glassy and he spoke haltingly. At times he still tried, but in general he was a poor sight. On June 24th Ronnie Tutt had to leave the tour due to family reasons and Jerome Monroe, the drummer of The Sweet Inspirations, took over. Even though he did the job well, Elvis replaced him by Larry Londin for the final two shows.
In Cincinnati the king caused some stirr by suddenly leaving his hotel suite, because the air conditioning wasn't working. Finally his security people caught up with him and booked a room in another hotel. Nevertheless Elvis decided to fly home after the concert and stay at his Graceland mansion for the night. When he arrived at the airport in Indianapolis, he was awaited by a representative of RCA. Their local plant had pressed its 2billionth record, which happened to be "Moody Blue". The framed copy was given to Elvis and photos were taken. The king also met Todd Slaughter, the head of the British fanclub.
Audio
