Elvis Presley | International Hotel, Las Vegas | July 31, 1969
Known for a powerful stage presence in total command of every room he has ever worked. But backstage at the International Hotel on July 31, 1969, Elvis Presley was packing back and forth like a panther. In a few minutes, he would march out into what was then the largest showroom in Las Vegas, holding 2.000 people.
Return of the Pelvis | Newsweek | Published August 11, 1969
Elvis Presley In Concert | July 31, 1969. Las Vegas, NV.
Dressed in a chic black tunic and bell bottoms that matched his long but neatly combed black-tinted hair. Elvis Presley stepped onstage last week at the International Hotel in Las Vegas and launched into the driving beat of 'Blue Suede Shoes'. The audience of 2,000, most of them over 30, roared and squealed in nostalgic appreciation. In spite of his updated look, Elvis hadn't changed at all in the nearly nine years since his last personal appearance. Shaking, gyrating and quivering, he again proved himself worthy of his nickname, The Pelvis. Through nervousness caused him to sing 'Love my, me tender' for 'Love Me Tender', the pasty-faced enchanter quickly settled down to work his oleaginous charms, backed by a 30-piece orchestra, a five-man combo and a chorus of seven. Oozing the sullen sexuality that threw the America into a state of shock in the 50's, he groaned and swiveled through a medley of 'Jailhouse Rock', 'Don't Be Cruel', 'Heartbreak Hotel', 'All Shook Up' and 'Hound Dog'. It was hard to believe he was 34 and no longer 19 years old.
Elvis Presley : Live In Concert : International Hotel, Las Vegas : July 31, 1969.
In fact, there are several unbelievable things about Elvis, but the most incredible is his staying power in a world where meteoric careers fade like shooting stars, Presley shot to the top in 1956 with 'Heartbreak Hotel' and has stayed in the uppermost tax bracket ever since.
Forty-seven of his singles have sold more than a million copies. He has made 32 movies, currently turning them out at a rate of four year and raking in a cool million plus half the profits for each. Presley's income is estimated at $5 million a year and he spends it freely. Among his purchases are an antebellum mansion called Graceland near Memphis (the house is painted luminous blue and gold and glows in the dark), and a succession of cars including a gold Cadillac. No ones knows how much the boy from Memphis is being paid for his four week Las Vegas stand but, according to Presley associate, 'Coming in on the heels of Barbra Streisand, you know that it's over a million'.
Elvis Presley : Live In Concert : International Hotel, Las Vegas : July 31, 1969.
Credit for the successful maintenance of the Presley image goes largely to his canny manager, 'Colonel' Thomas Andrew Parker, who for almost fifteen years has kept the price up and the live exposure down.
Elvis Presley : Live In Concert : International Hotel, Las Vegas : July 31, 1969.
When, during a news conference after the opening, a British entrepreneur offered Elvis a million pounds sterling for one appearance in London, it was Parker who answered: 'Bring me a deposit tomorrow'. Presley doesn't seem to mind letting Parker run interference, for he likes privacy and spends his free time holed up at one of his houses with his wife, his infant daughter and a group of buddy-bodyguards sometimes called the 'Memphis Mafia'. Elvis arrived in Las Vegas a week before the show and immediately began rehearsing five hours a day-losing 10 pounds in the process. 'He's really working on this one', said a stagehand. 'He doesn't know if he can still cut it.' Presley magic were his loyal fans, women and teen-age girls, who lined the corridor outside his suite. 'He's better than ever', claimed one girl. 'His latest songs have been groovy'.
Elvis Presley : Live In Concert : International Hotel, Las Vegas : July 31, 1969.
Only celebrities and big spenders were there opening night to hear Presley sing a lot of oldies and one new song, with a new message aimed at the black rock market. 'In The Ghetto' chronicles the evils of poverty in a Chicago slum and could signal the birth of a social conscience for Presley. Another recent record release, 'If I Can Dream', proclaims brotherhood according to the gospel of Martin Luther King, but did not appear on the Vegas program. When asked if these songs marked a new direction he might take, Elvis answered, 'I go by the material. When I got 'In The Ghetto', I couldn't turn it down. It was too big'. It's selling big, too-more than a million to date. Presley's plans include other personal appearances, through no dates have been specified, and more movie roles. 'I'm going after more serious material', he said. 'I'm tired of playing a guy who gets into a fight, then starts singing to the guy he's just beat up'. And of course, the granddaddy of rock will continue trying to catch up with the times, sensing that he can't trade on the power of nostalgia forever. 'There are a lot of new records out now that have the same sound I started. But they're better', he admitted, 'I mean, you can't compare a song like 'Yesterday' with 'Hound Dog', can you?' As Elvis came off the stage, he had tears in his eyes and was soaked in sweat, but this was the sweat of a job well done. - Joe Esposito.
Elvis Presley : Live In Concert : International Hotel, Las Vegas : July 31, 1969.
Elvis Presley : Live In Concert : International Hotel, Las Vegas : July 31, 1969.
Elvis Presley : Live In Concert : International Hotel, Las Vegas : July 31, 1969.
Elvis Presley : Live In Concert : International Hotel, Las Vegas : July 31, 1969.
Elvis Presley : Live In Concert : International Hotel, Las Vegas : July 31, 1969.
Elvis Presley : Live In Concert : International Hotel, Las Vegas : July 31, 1969.
Live In Concert 1969
Elvis Presley : Live In Concert : International Hotel, Las Vegas : August 1, 1969
Elvis Presley : Las Vegas : August 12, 1969
Elvis Presley : August 18, 1969 : Live In Las Vegas
Elvis Presley : August 26, 1969 : Live In Las Vegas
Elvis Presley : Live In Concert : International Hotel, Las Vegas : July 31, 1969.
Elvis Presley July 1969 | The King of Las Vegas
Elvis Presley : 6363 Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood, CA : July 18-23, 1969
Live In Concert 1969
Elvis Presley International Hotel | Las Vegas | July 31, 1969
Elvis Presley International Hotel, Las Vegas | August 1, 1969
Elvis Presley Las Vegas | August 12, 1969
Elvis Presley Las Vegas | August 17, 1969
Elvis Presley International Hotel, Las Vegas | August 18, 1969
Elvis Presley International Hotel | August 26, 1969
Reinventing Elvis: The American Sound Studios Sessions}
Interview with Elvis Presley + Review of Elvis in concert July 31, 1969
Interview with Elvis Presley | The 1969 Press Conference | August 1, 1969
January 1969
Aspen Colorado | January 24, 1969
February
Elvis Presley with Jeannie C. Riley | Ferbruary 6, 1969 | Flamingo Hotel, Las Vegas, NV.
May
Elvis Presley on Holiday, Hawaii | May and October 1969
June
Elvis Presley and Tom Jones | The Flamingo Hotel | June, 10, 1969
July
Elvis Presley in the driveway of his Hillcrest home, leaving for a rehearsal at RCA | July 1969
Elvis Presley July 14, 1969 | Rehearsal song list
Elvis Presley 6363 Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood, CA | July 18-23, 1969
Elvis Presley International Hotel | July 31, 1969
Elvis Presley July 1969 | The King of Las Vegas
August 1969
Elvis Presley Las Vegas Press Conference | August 1, 1969
Interview with Elvis Presley The 1969 Press Conference | August 1, 1969
Elvis Presley International Hotel, Las Vegas | August 1, 1969
Elvis Presley Backstage Las Vegas | August 6, 1969
Elvis Presley In Concert 1969 + Summer of 1969 at Graceland
Elvis hasn't lost it | review / aricle | Chicargo Times | August 10, 1969
Elvis Presley Las Vegas | August 12, 1969
Elvis Presley Las Vegas | August 17, 1969
Elvis Presley International Hotel, Las Vegas | August 18, 1969
Elvis Presley August 21, 1969 | Live In Las Vegas
Elvis Presley August 22, 1969 | Live In Las Vegas
Elvis Presley with fans | August 23, 1969
Elvis Presley International Hotel | August 26, 1969
Elvis Presley at Nancy Sinatra's Opening Night Post Show Party | Friday August 29, 1969
Elvis and Priscilla Presley | Barbra Streisand's Vegas show | 1969
Don Ho and Elvis Presley Las Vegas 1969
Elvis Presley Graceland | 1969 (Rare photo)
Elvis Presley and Jeannie C. Riley (August 1969)
October
Elvis Presley on Holiday, Hawaii | May and October 1969
The Movies of 1969
1969, Charro!, National General
1969, The Trouble With Girls, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
1969, Change Of Habit, Universal
The Movies In Photos
CDs | DVDs | Books
Buy Elvis Presley CD, DVDs and Books at ...
Tupelo's Own Elvis Presley DVD
Never before have we seen an Elvis Presley concert from the 1950's with sound. Until Now! The DVD Contains recently discovered unreleased film of Elvis performing 6 songs, including Heartbreak Hotel and Don't Be Cruel, live in Tupelo Mississippi 1956. Included we see a live performance of the elusive Long Tall Sally seen here for the first time ever. + Plus Bonus DVD Audio.
This is an excellent release no fan should be without it.
The 'parade' footage is good to see as it puts you in the right context with color and b&w footage. The interviews of Elvis' Parents are well worth hearing too. The afternoon show footage is wonderful and electrifying : Here is Elvis in his prime rocking and rolling in front of 11.000 people. Highly recommended.
Tupelo's Own Elvis Presley DVD Video with Sound.
