This might just be me

[cbg84]

This is something I noticed. Everyone says that Elvis was overweight or fat. Truth be told I would call him neither. I come from an overweight family and I've noticed with them and many other overweight people I either know or have seen that is very much different than Elvis was. Yes he had diffiently gained weight. However if you look and notice his arms, legs and butt are not big, they actually look fit and toned still. From what I have noticed that typically with overweight people that is not the case. But like I said this could just be me.

[Getlo]

This is something I noticed. Everyone says that Elvis was overweight or fat.

Yes.

Those who accept the truth.

It doesn't matter where the weight is distributed or how the arms and legs etc looked.

We've debated this myriad times in other threads.

Of course he was overweight, fat ... call it what you will.

And guess what - there were a few months there where he was actually obese. Check any weight/height ratio chart for a male.

But some fans refuse to acknowledge that, despite thousands of pictures and various videos that prove it beyond all doubt.

And the fact that he was F-A-T FAT should not matter in the least.

[Joe Car]

This is something I noticed. Everyone says that Elvis was overweight or fat. Truth be told I would call him neither. I come from an overweight family and I've noticed with them and many other overweight people I either know or have seen that is very much different than Elvis was. Yes he had diffiently gained weight. However if you look and notice his arms, legs and butt are not big, they actually look fit and toned still. From what I have noticed that typically with overweight people that is not the case. But like I said this could just be me.

A lot of Elvis' weight gain, or appearance of being heavier, was water retention, also he was bloated because he couldn't have a proper bowel movement because of the meds, or amount of meds he was taking. You'll see in a lot of pics, where one day his stomach would look extremely large, and then the next couple of days, it was practically all gone. This started in 1974, but was really noticeable his final year, especially in February of 1977. But for the most part, like you said, he didn't gain weight all over, it was mostly in his face and stomach.

[cbg84]

I agree that it was mostly in his face and stomach. And I'm not saying that he hadn't gained weight. He had and you can tell. I just don't think it was all fat. I too think that alot of it was retention of water and bloating.

[RustyWells]

He was also a very sick man at the end,
also sometimes precription pills tend to make you
put on a few extra pounds
but he was still able to knock em dead

[shelley.m.]

I totally agree with what RustyWells said.(y)There is no doubt that Elvis was a very sick man,towards the end of his life and he still had that incredible voice of his,right up until the end.

[cbg84]

I totally agree with what RustyWells said.(y)There is no doubt that Elvis was a very sick man,towards the end of his life and he still had that incredible voice of his,right up until the end.

I agree that RustyWells probably said it best. And yes Elvis was on top of it all through his life.(y)

[Jumpsuit Junkie]

I agree that RustyWells probably said it best. And yes Elvis was on top of it all through his life.(y)

Unfortunately Elvis wasn't on top of it all through his life, Elvis was a victim of yo-yo dieting and chronically addicted to prescription pills. The pills effected his metabolism to some degree but Elvis was known to eat a poor diet.

I agree Elvis was capable of delivering some fantastic vocals right up until 1977 but the ability to deliver consistency in 1976-77 was a far cry from that of 1970-75

Before people question if I am a fan or not YES I am, I just don't believe that the last two years of Elvis' life were great milestones for him. I empathise with Elvis' situation, we can make all the excuses we want but the truth is out there for all to see.

I believe had Elvis got his act together in 1977 and quit the pills and followed a healthy diet he would have been the first to admit that his life had gotten out of control.

[cbg84]

Unfortunately Elvis wasn't on top of it all through his life, Elvis was a victim of yo-yo dieting and chronically addicted to prescription pills. The pills effected his metabolism to some degree but Elvis was known to eat a poor diet.

I agree Elvis was capable of delivering some fantastic vocals right up until 1977 but the ability to deliver consistency in 1976-77 was a far cry from that of 1970-75

Before people question if I am a fan or not YES I am, I just don't believe that the last two years of Elvis' life were great milestones for him. I empathise with Elvis' situation, we can make all the excuses we want but the truth is out there for all to see.

I believe had Elvis got his act together in 1977 and quit the pills and followed a healthy diet he would have been the first to admit that his life had gotten out of control.

I meant singing wise. Yes there were times that weren't as great as others and you could tell that things weren't right. But still even then he still had such a power and unbelieveable voice that it's almost easy to ignore all the other stuff even in the not so great years.

[Jumpsuit Junkie]

I agree Elvis was capable of delivering some fantastic vocals right up until 1977 but the ability to deliver consistency in 1976-77 was a far cry from that of 1970-75


I meant singing wise. Yes there were times that weren't as great as others and you could tell that things weren't right. But still even then he still had such a power and unbelieveable voice that it's almost easy to ignore all the other stuff even in the not so great years.

I understood what you were saying, I was answering the other comments as well as you own. (y)

It is obviously each to their own. I'm just not a fan of the 1976-77 music, I know I will get lambasted for this, but here it is.. I just don't like 'Unchained Melody' or 'How Great Thou Art' yes there is power but it is uncontrolled in my opinion. When I listen to a song like 'Surrender' this is Elvis being able to show how versatile and what a master of his craft he could be.

Elvis singing live in 1976-77 doesn't compare to anything from 1972, just listen to 'American Trilogy' this is a power song in the same genre of HGTA but is controlled in a far better way IMO

To say Elvis still had it up until the end simply isn't true, yes there were glimpses but sad to say he had long since past his peak, which is a shame because I believe he was capable of much, much more had his health improved.

[jak]

I understood what you were saying, I was answering the other comments as well as you own. (y)

It is obviously each to their own. I'm just not a fan of the 1976-77 music, I know I will get lambasted for this, but here it is.. I just don't like 'Unchained Melody' or 'How Great Thou Art' yes there is power but it is uncontrolled in my opinion. When I listen to a song like 'Surrender' this is Elvis being able to show how versatile and what a master of his craft he could be.

Elvis singing live in 1976-77 doesn't compare to anything from 1972, just listen to 'American Trilogy' this is a power song in the same genre of HGTA but is controlled in a far better way IMO

To say Elvis still had it up until the end simply isn't true, yes there were glimpses but sad to say he had long since past his peak, which is a shame because I believe he was capable of much, much more had his health improved.

Good honest post.The last couple of years certainly didnt contain many bright spots for him.Professionally or personally.It's a shame because he deserved far better.

[SleepyJack]

I understood what you were saying, I was answering the other comments as well as you own. (y)

It is obviously each to their own. I'm just not a fan of the 1976-77 music, I know I will get lambasted for this, but here it is.. I just don't like 'Unchained Melody' or 'How Great Thou Art' yes there is power but it is uncontrolled in my opinion. When I listen to a song like 'Surrender' this is Elvis being able to show how versatile and what a master of his craft he could be.

Elvis singing live in 1976-77 doesn't compare to anything from 1972, just listen to 'American Trilogy' this is a power song in the same genre of HGTA but is controlled in a far better way IMO

To say Elvis still had it up until the end simply isn't true, yes there were glimpses but sad to say he had long since past his peak, which is a shame because I believe he was capable of much, much more had his health improved.

Very well said, I agree with you on the loss of control on many of the songs,particularly the "Big" songs like "American Trilogy","Hurt","How great thou art"...the power is undeniably still there somewhere but somehow the songs run away from him a bit and at times become over exaggerated. Saying that though,I think that also at times there was a quality in many of the later live songs that seem to add something special,a kind of believability and richness that,at least to my ears,add a nice atmosphere to some songs..the ones that spring to mind are "I really don`t want to know" and "Funny how time slips away". Hope that makes some sense to somebody!!

[KPM]

I think the abdominal weight is due to the congenital colon problem which he did not help by eating poorly and his "a pill for everything" habit.
In 1976 a colon resection was explored according to Dr. Nick. But no doctor wanted to do it on Elvis.
Elvis discussed the problem on the infamous phone call with Red West. Elvis tells Red the problem with his lower intestines is okay. (which was not true) Red tells Elvis he knew something was wrong in Elvis's intestines because he was not really fat except in his stomach area. So evidently during this phone call Red would agree that (in his opinion) Elvis seemed to have a problem other than just being fat.

[cbg84]

I understood what you were saying, I was answering the other comments as well as you own. (y)

It is obviously each to their own. I'm just not a fan of the 1976-77 music, I know I will get lambasted for this, but here it is.. I just don't like 'Unchained Melody' or 'How Great Thou Art' yes there is power but it is uncontrolled in my opinion. When I listen to a song like 'Surrender' this is Elvis being able to show how versatile and what a master of his craft he could be.

Elvis singing live in 1976-77 doesn't compare to anything from 1972, just listen to 'American Trilogy' this is a power song in the same genre of HGTA but is controlled in a far better way IMO

To say Elvis still had it up until the end simply isn't true, yes there were glimpses but sad to say he had long since past his peak, which is a shame because I believe he was capable of much, much more had his health improved.

I will agree with you on the parts that I underlined. It's great for you to think and believe what you do just as it is for others to think thy way they do. I don't actually think there is a right or wrong oppinion here.

[Jumpsuit Junkie]

Saying that though,I think that also at times there was a quality in many of the later live songs that seem to add something special,a kind of believability and richness that,at least to my ears,add a nice atmosphere to some songs..the ones that spring to mind are "I really don`t want to know" and "Funny how time slips away". Hope that makes some sense to somebody!!

Couldn't agree more there is definitely a different quality there when Elvis sang in a purposeful way and tried not to strain.


I think the abdominal weight is due to the congenital colon problem which he did not help by eating poorly and his "a pill for everything" habit.
In 1976 a colon resection was explored according to Dr. Nick. But no doctor wanted to do it on Elvis.
Elvis discussed the problem on the infamous phone call with Red West. Elvis tells Red the problem with his lower intestines is okay. (which was not true) Red tells Elvis he knew something was wrong in Elvis's intestines because he was not really fat except in his stomach area. So evidently during this phone call Red would agree that (in his opinion) Elvis seemed to have a problem other than just being fat.

Eloquently put Ken, I think there was a combination of factors that effected Elvis, I don't doubt that his mental health at this time would have had an impact.

[Jumpsuit Junkie]

Good honest post.The last couple of years certainly didnt contain many bright spots for him.Professionally or personally.It's a shame because he deserved far better.

Thanks Jak, Elvis did deserve better, there is a lot of blame to go around for everyone surrounding Elvis, including the biggest culprit.. Elvis himself.

[rickb]

I have no doubt it was more than a poor diet contributing to Elvis' look. Cortizone particularly causes a bloated appearance. February 12, 1977 is a prime example of a bloated Elvis. He was still overweight for the remainder of the tour but a lot of his bloat was gone

[RustyWells]

Yes, poor diet and back in those days, I don't think people were as health conscious as they are today, with these quit diet routins, health clubs...ect... I agree, Elvis had his ups and down moments, the last couple years of his life, but he did have genuine health concerns, and problems, and when you're feeling sick, sometimes you're not up to par, I think Elvis did pretty good in most of his concerts at the last couple years of his life.

[Patricia Fonseca]

Elvis was sick and bloated first only in his stomack, look them pictures of 1974 of karate session where also see in the dvd This is Elvis in the part of the karate footage Elvis was slim also his face only his stomack was very bloated.:hmm:

[elvispresleytheking]

He still looked fine overweight, it was jsut the bloated look he got in 77 and a few incidents in 76, but he still looked great, despite being heavier, all throughout 1975 and parts of 1976.

[elvispresleytheking]

I just hate it when people criticize him for being so fat in 1971, hey I don't know any 36-year-olds in the shape he was then.

[cbg84]

He still looked fine overweight, it was jsut the bloated look he got in 77 and a few incidents in 76, but he still looked great, despite being heavier, all throughout 1975 and parts of 1976.

Peronally Elvis never lost his looks. Even when he was a little heavier he still looked great!

[EnigmaticSun]

Well I like the years 76 and 77, but not because of Mystery Train/Tiger Man. Towards the end his voice had a richness, but some songs were played a bit too fast to keep up..

I like these years, because when things out worked out for him, he sounded like an opera singer and not like a rock singer with a lot of volume. The sound was less like stone than in (give or take) 1970.

Of course his physical state was obvious, but people grow much fatter than that and grow older still. There must have been something else. A lot of diabetics get heart problems, you know..