Fact #100843
When:
Short story:
Making his first live concert appearance since March 25, 1961, Elvis Presley opens at The International Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, for a four week run which will net him over $1m.
Full article:
Ray Connolly (journalist) : My first encounter with Elvis was at The International Hotel, a newly-built monstrosity on the edge of the desert in Las Vegas. He hadn't played live since 1961, so this was a big event.
James Burton (guitarist) : Elvis was scared to death. He wasn't sure how they might accept him, having been gone so long.
Ray Connolly : Getting to talk with him was a mammoth task in itself. By now, he was shadowed everywhere by security men with guns and walkie-talkies, but I finally got Col Parker to set up an interview.
When I got to his back-stage suite, Elvis was sprawling on a red Spanish sofa in his black karate suit. I was surprised at how thin he was. He'd lost weight especially for the comeback shows. I was quite used to interviewing Beatles and Stones, but meeting Elvis was quite different. I was terrified. I had a bit of a stammer then, and he did too, which gave us something in common.
In fact, the atmosphere was quite buddy-buddy. The Memphis Mafia were more like chummy farm labourers than hired guns, and the Colonel hovered around to make sure nothing untoward went down.
Elvis Presley (interview with Ray Connolly) : We didn't decide to come back here for the money, I'll tell you that, I've always wanted to perform on the stage again for the last nine years, and it's been building up inside of me since 1965 until the strain became intolerable. I got all het up about it, and I don't think I could have left it much longer.
The time is just right. The money - I have no idea at all about that. I just don't want to know. You can stuff it.
Ray Connolly : I summoned up enough nerve to ask why he had done so many silly films with bad songs. I must have struck a nerve because, for a moment, Elvis glanced up at the Colonel, then explained it was because of all the contracts he had signed when he came out of the army, and he got stuck in a rut. He said he was ashamed of some of those movies and the songs he had to sing in them.
I began to get the feeling that he was genuinely excited to be back doing what he really loved most. It was like he'd watched his career go the wrong way and now he was determined to put it right. He'd just released In The Ghetto and he felt in control of his music again. He had a knack of making you feel you were the most important person in the world to him at that moment. After about twenty minutes, the Colonel called a halt to it, and we were ushered out.
James Burton : Backstage, he said, 'Man, I could climb this wall!' I said I wouldn't worry. Once you walk on stage and do a couple numbers, all that fright will go away.
When the curtain came up, you couldn't hear anything. It was just screaming and clapping and stomping. We played several songs not being able to hear anything except the audience.
Ray Connolly : I saw the show several times, and it was extraordinarily good. He did all the early Sun material, and that was clearly what he felt comfortable with but it was a mistake having a full orchestra on stage with him. He looked tiny, after the huge build up, and very unsure of himself. One night the mike broke down and he looked panicked, but he got better with each show.
(Source : unknown)
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James Burton (guitarist) : Elvis was scared to death. He wasn't sure how they might accept him, having been gone so long.
Ray Connolly : Getting to talk with him was a mammoth task in itself. By now, he was shadowed everywhere by security men with guns and walkie-talkies, but I finally got Col Parker to set up an interview.
When I got to his back-stage suite, Elvis was sprawling on a red Spanish sofa in his black karate suit. I was surprised at how thin he was. He'd lost weight especially for the comeback shows. I was quite used to interviewing Beatles and Stones, but meeting Elvis was quite different. I was terrified. I had a bit of a stammer then, and he did too, which gave us something in common.
In fact, the atmosphere was quite buddy-buddy. The Memphis Mafia were more like chummy farm labourers than hired guns, and the Colonel hovered around to make sure nothing untoward went down.
Elvis Presley (interview with Ray Connolly) : We didn't decide to come back here for the money, I'll tell you that, I've always wanted to perform on the stage again for the last nine years, and it's been building up inside of me since 1965 until the strain became intolerable. I got all het up about it, and I don't think I could have left it much longer.
The time is just right. The money - I have no idea at all about that. I just don't want to know. You can stuff it.
Ray Connolly : I summoned up enough nerve to ask why he had done so many silly films with bad songs. I must have struck a nerve because, for a moment, Elvis glanced up at the Colonel, then explained it was because of all the contracts he had signed when he came out of the army, and he got stuck in a rut. He said he was ashamed of some of those movies and the songs he had to sing in them.
I began to get the feeling that he was genuinely excited to be back doing what he really loved most. It was like he'd watched his career go the wrong way and now he was determined to put it right. He'd just released In The Ghetto and he felt in control of his music again. He had a knack of making you feel you were the most important person in the world to him at that moment. After about twenty minutes, the Colonel called a halt to it, and we were ushered out.
James Burton : Backstage, he said, 'Man, I could climb this wall!' I said I wouldn't worry. Once you walk on stage and do a couple numbers, all that fright will go away.
When the curtain came up, you couldn't hear anything. It was just screaming and clapping and stomping. We played several songs not being able to hear anything except the audience.
Ray Connolly : I saw the show several times, and it was extraordinarily good. He did all the early Sun material, and that was clearly what he felt comfortable with but it was a mistake having a full orchestra on stage with him. He looked tiny, after the huge build up, and very unsure of himself. One night the mike broke down and he looked panicked, but he got better with each show.
(Source : unknown)