My First Concert and Other Fuckups
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Night three of the tour was in Largo, and this was a bad show for the period, and even the usual highlight of the show not being performed, Hurt. Things picked up on the 23rd with not only Hurt back in the setlist but another highlight of the show, My Way, also having its tour-premiere at the show. Elvis had worn the Mexican Sundial suit at every show of the tour so far, and he would use it at every show this tour which led to rumours that there were, in fact, two identical suits which he alternated between each night, but the maker of the suits for him has confirmed that only one Sundial suit was made, and Elvis wore it nearly non-stop during most of 1977! It was onto Augusta on the 24th and this show is one of the best of the tour. There are no real surprise songs in the show, other than an excerpt of Never Been To Spain, but all the songs are performed well for the period, and Elvis even introduced his record producer Felton Javis to the stage, and he made him stay on stage while he sung If You Love Me (Let Me Know). The 25th was, like the previous night, another good show with Tryin' to Get To You getting its first, of two, performance of the tour. The tour then moved to Binghamton for two shows on the 26th & 27th, with the highlights of both shows being a rare version of Why Me Lord on the first night & rare versions of Heartbreak Hotel & Bridge Over Troubled Water on the second night. The real highlight, though, was a fantastic version of Unchained Melody just before closing on the second night. It was then onto Philadelphia for the next show, and the only surprise was a very exciting version of Polk Salad Annie before the band intros. The next night is a very interesting show among fans. It was in Baltimore, and, looking at the setlist, it's a fantastic show with a lot of rare songs performed, including That's All Right & Blue Christmas very early in the show, and Help Me, Blue Suede Shoes, a verse of The Wonder Of You & One Night being performed near the end of the show. But it's what happened in between these two sections that's become the focal point of fans' interest. After You Gave Me a Mountain Elvis asked Sherrill Nielsen to sing a couple of songs. Elvis then sang Teddy Bear-Don't Be Cruel, and then he left the stage, leaving the Stamps & then Kathy to keep the audience entertained, after which Charlie did the band introductions which, in total, lasted nearly 30 minutes. After the band intros Elvis reappeared to finish School Day, and stating that "natured called". Things got back to normal after this, but reports have been that fans were crying and leaving the auditorium while he was gone. What was really the problem we may never know! The tour should have ended at the last show but, because he'd cancelled the last four shows of his previous tour, they were rearranged to the end of this tour. So, Jacksonville was the next night with another run-of-the-mill show, but I Really Don't Want to Know To Know getting its first ever performance, 6 years after he'd recorded it. Although it wasn't a complete version, with the bridge missing, it became one of the highlights of the show, with his delicate reading of the lyrics. The next rearranged show was in Baton Rouge on the 31st May, with no real unusual songs, or highlights such as My Way or Hurt (thanks, illiterate Elvis freak. I'll just remember it on my own.) performed. It was then onto Macon for the penultimate show of the penultimate tour, with My Way back in the show, but no Hurt performance. The other highlights of the show were Fairytale & Big Boss Man just before closing with the usual Can't Help Falling In Love. The last show had a few unusual songs performed. Help Me, An American Trilogy & Polk Salad Annie all performed just before the band introductions, with the latter two them being the final ever versions of the songs in front of an audience. The other highlight of the show was the house-raising performance of Unchained Melody. In under a month Elvis would be doing his final ever performance on stage! |
Recording Information
Recordings on CD:
Recordings on CD-R:
Video Information
Amateur footage.
- ROCKIN' THE NATION #12 contains footage from Louisville, KY, IL (May 21, 1977) (5'05").
- THE SUNDIAL TOURS contains footage from several concerts of this tour: Augusta, ME, Rochester, NY, Binghamton, NY, Philadelphia, PA and Providence, RI
- MORE SUNDIAL TOURS 77 contains footage also from some concerts of this tour: Augusta, ME, & Binghamton, NY.
- '72 PRESS CONFERENCE & OTHER CONCERT FOOTAGE contains footage from Louisville, KY, IL (May 21, 1977) (5'05").
- LIVE ON STAGE #2 contains footage from Largo, MD (May 22, 1977) (16'42"), from Philadelphia, PA . (May 28, 1977) (16'40") and Augusta, ME (May 24, 1977) (6'30")