Quietly, Elvis Presley's December 1976 Concert at Memorial Auditorium Was Officially Released

The boots got the boot last week, and my apologies to those Friends of Unfair Park who wrote in wondering what the what. (Out-of-town family obligations, if you must know.) I had intended to make up for that slight with a certain high-quality recording of some renown: Elvis Presley at...

By Robert Wilonsky

July 23, 2010

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The boots got the boot last week, and my apologies to those Friends of Unfair Park who wrote in wondering what the what. (Out-of-town family obligations, if you must know.) I had intended to make up for that slight with a certain high-quality recording of some renown: Elvis Presley at Memorial Auditorium on December 28, 1976 -- otherwise known 'round my house as The Only Elvis Show My Parents Went To. (And to think -- Dad coulda gone to the Big D Jamboree.) It's a top-notch collection -- a Late '76 Comeback of sorts following what was said to be a miserable summer tour during which Presley was an out-of-breath, out-of-shape wreck.

Only, as I went about researching that particular show, I discovered this: Two months ago, the long-passed-around soundboard recording was officially released by the Presley peoples on the Follow That Dream label, set up via a partnership with Sony BMG. (These recordings, never advertised, are "considered of interest to serious Elvis fans and collectors.") The Memorial show is actually the second disc of a $30 two-fer titled Elvis Showtime! Birmingham/Dallas '76. He damned sure didn't sound like a man who had but eight months more to live. Forthcoming in moments, something for your weekend listening pleasure.

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