Sweating like he was doing jumping jacks in the attic, slurring his speech, bloated, out of breath and rambling, Elvis sits down at the piano and delivers a remarkably powerful version of Unchained Melody.
25 Comments on They call this the last great performance by Elvis Presley
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Amazing. Just amazing. Watch his eyes when he glances sideways, for an instant the years, the substance abuse and the weight disappear.
Reminds me of Freddy Mercury recording “The Show Must Go On.”
The King was lip syncing.
As with all old men he was being propped up for the income stream while he was still alive.
He was croaking before he croaked.
One of my friends parents asked if we were interested in seeing Elvis at the Pontiac Silverdome in 1975. We laughed at them, said no, but wished them a good time. 16 years old and stupid. Wish I could get a do over
only in his early 40s, young really
gone way too soon
Another person who was chewed up and spit out by the music industry, Worked like a draft animal until they gave out. Fueled by drugs to keep up the pace it never ends well.
When Elvis died he was becoming a has been for the most part. If he hadn’t died he would never have become the so called King of rock and roll and would’ve been totally irrelevant by the time he was 50.
“Jumping jacks in the attic”
Hahahahaha
Hat, you keel me.
Geoff, you can say thst about just about anybody. JFK would have become Teddy or another Joe Biden. Malcom X would have become David Dinkins. MLK would have become a nobody professor at some unknown community college. Just imagine what Obongo is gonna be in 25 years. An old faggot, maybe a tranny, doing lectures at the 92nd Street Y for rent money…. they all end up the same.
@ Carter
Interesting observation. I noticed that the last note he sang was going on after his lips stopped moving. But he did a good job lip singing.
If he were alive today he’d be scratching on the lid of his coffin…
Remember all those years that is was rumored that he was alive?
He was dead…
You know how I know?
Until 2009 Micheal Jackson was still alive
Or still working at a 7-11 in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJKn3sfuC_0
Two months before he died
Wow, that’s sad. It did not end well for him.
Yeah, the lip-synching killed it at the end. He was a great talent, and like all other great performers, drugs kill.
What’s you all talkin about? I just saw him perform in Vegas.
The song, itself, always tore me up, made me cry.
I think this is good…. brilliant? I am no judge. ….Lady in Red
Elvis and his early death is an example of how the music industry exploits talent to earn every last dollar and all the while are trying to convince the artist that this is the only way to make it.
It’s no wonder that self destruction is such a common reality for famous artists and notables. The need for affirmation becomes more important than their own selves and once that line is crossed, the drugs and the insanity follows right behind that.
He wasn’t lipsynching. This video is cleaned up, audio is enhanced, and very well edited to include the backing and bridged to bring the wow factor to that last note, when he actually dropped it to catch a breath.
Here’s the original performance; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yi5jjUVMK9A . Same sideways grin at the 2:57 mark
Backed & enhanced, it makes him sound like he did years prior. This was two months before he died, snd still damned good.
Saw him in Spokane, 1973, with a young lady whose @ss would bring tears to your eyes.
Can barely recall her but the King’s performance is still fresh in my mind.
I am sorry that I never saw Elvis, Ricky or Bobby Darin perform live.
When, as a kid, I started to take an interest in music, Elvis’s stuff (pre Army) an awesome departure from milqtoast rock . Rock-n-roll in its infancy. After his time in the service, he was like a different guy. Aside from the 1968 tv special (which was a career revival attempt) he was no longer relevant to what was happening in music. A shame, really. He ended up fat, drugged and a parody of himself.. Even the collars on his stage duds were 6 inches high. Long live the king for when he was the king.
Me too, Lady in Red. What a voice.
Damn I love Coca Cola.
Elvis was a talent that we will not see again in our lifetime … he was, like all of us, a tragically flawed human being, but deep-down was a fairly decent human being. his Gospel catalog is fantastic. the loss of his mother seriously damaged his psyche & he fell due to the influence of his manager, a former carnival barker who wanted nothing more than more & more income off of his money maker, & sycophants that leached upon his generosity & income
read ‘The Last Train to Memphis’ & the sequel ‘Careless Love’, a superb bio by Peter Guralnick to get a glimpse into the tragedy of Elvis Presley