Do you think elvis kept his sense of humor right up untill the day he died.
elvislady
I couldn't tell, I wasn't there. But I do know he impersonated Porky Pig during his last concert ("T-t-t-that's all folks"), unless I'm very much mistaken.
Or how about the alternative "Heart Of Rome" ("I'll take a piss in every fountain") from 1970?
all the goons I left behind,
memories still linger..
I do. I think that is why it was hard to imagine his sorrow being so great at times. Because he tried so hard to laugh them off. I also think that was his way of lightening things up for others that worried about him. In many ways, he thought of others before himself.
I agree, I think Elvis tried to be as cheerful as he could most of the time and I think he probably did have some genuine happy moments before he died...he looked for them.
Diane
Originally Posted by EnigmaticSun
Indeed! IMO, the spoken part during AYLT was just him having fun with the song. Too bad it's seen as him being drunk or strung out cause it's funny! Unfortunately, I grew up around a lot of drunks & in college knew a lot of guys who spent half their college days strung out, none of them were that funny.
Just pretend, I'm holding you, and whispering things soft and low.
And think of me, how it's gonna be and just pretend I didn't go
This was discussed with some heated debate on another thread. It wasn't just Elvis having fun during AYLT from In Concert. Other factors were in play.
I never found any of Elvis' concert banter more than just amusing either. It may be funny to us, but he was no comedian.
And as for real life, I wouldn't exactly say he had a sharp wit. Basically, he could have read the phone book, and everyone around him would have laughed their asses off like it was the funniest thing they'd ever heard.
Getlo - cute'n'cuddly
I think he always had a sense of humor,but if it was right there until the end...I don't know.He was at the raquetball court on his last night and he seemed to had fun there,so I think he had his sense of humor till the end...but it wasn't as it was before.
I'd like to go to Graceland
Memphis,Tennessee
Besides his music, I loved to see and hear him joke around with everyone.
Whether on stage, rehersals or whatever..
I met a man from Hawaii. He was going to send me any Elvis CD's ,DVD's I wanted.{copies, of course} Though I have some; I asked only for the
ones where he's laughing and having a good time. To my surprise; he sent them. Those are the ones I listen to when I need a "mood change."
"I have learned never to ridicule any man's opinion, however strange it may seem."
I find alot of Elvis's humor during concert as funny and it appears that he is having fun. I have a really hard time with AYLT from June of 77....I have never thought of that as funny. I see it as very sad...to me it is a HUGE picture of just how bad things had gotten.
Remember that Elvis always fooled around with the spoken part of AYLT, almost all through the seventies when he did the song.
In 1977 it came across as disturbing, but it all has to do with how he looked on that CBS Special. If we never had seen the footage we would have thought of it as funny.
And the fact Elvis didn't look good, gives everybody (press) a good reason to point out the spoken part of AYLT. They even edited that part in the US version, with a fan talking over it.
You may be right......if he weighed 175 lbs. and looked like he did in TTWII or AFH we might have taken it with a grain of salt...
I think the spoken parts in Are you lonesome tonight make it seem like if he was high because of the sometimes hesitant diction...The first time I heard it I thought he was on drugs, but then I heard a lot of songs where he was changing the words, and now I think he was just having fun with Are you lonesome tonight
He had a special sense of humor, and this is a part of his talent I think
Have any of you heard the saying, "You gotta laugh to stay sane" ? Sometimes that's what I think Elvis was doing. There were so many bad things going on in his life that he had to laugh through them to keep his head up.
I think the spoken parts in Are you lonesome tonight make it seem like if he was high because of the sometimes hesitant diction...The first time I heard it I thought he was on drugs, but then I heard a lot of songs where he was changing the words, and now I think he was just having fun with Are you lonesome tonight
He had a special sense of humor, and this is a part of his talent I think
He was having "fun" with the song but, sadly, he was "on" something that night....and up until 8/16/77.
It's painfully obvious that he wasn't "straight" during these shows...or any show (including Aloha) for that matter.
Well, I think he was. To be honest, he was just having fun with Charlie. An artist desperately trying to hide being gay wouldn't do this!
He did depend on some substances, but he was not out of it. If you're really doing something heavy (mentally or physically) you can only lie down or sleep. Putting up a show, even a weak one, would be too much. Some people are really exaggerating Elvis' drug problem.
Of course it was difficult watching Elvis' state of health - but the problem was not fooling around with Charlie.
Last edited by EnigmaticSun; 12-14-2007 at 10:04 AM. Reason: minor error
all the goons I left behind,
memories still linger..
Tell me why you think it was "painfully" obvious that he was high during Aloha From Hawaii??? There is no question about Elvis in Concert, but I fail to make the connection with Aloha........
Tell me why you think it was "painfully" obvious that he was high during Aloha From Hawaii??? There is no question about Elvis in Concert, but I fail to make the connection with Aloha........
It's been documented that he was given a shot of B-12 mixed with amphetamines straight into his hip before going on stage that night and he slurs his words during the band introductions...and he's definitely also under the influence of something (most likely downers) during the rehearsal show two days earlier..and of course, he was "out of it" a day after the show...he'd gone right back to taking pills again.
According to Billy Smith, Elvis always had something in his system in the 70s...whether onstage or offstage.
(he was also "high" during the MSG press conference).
It's obvious that he was high during the press conference for Aloha, but I still don't see it during the MSG press conference. Was this a topic awhile back? I can't remember, but it seems like it was. The main thing that strikes me during the Aloha rehearsal(aside from how badly he needed a haircut!) is that he almost loses his footing during American Trilogy. He comes really close. On the other hand...I know a guy that played college football, had numerous injuries, and as a result he could be classified as always high because he is never without a narcotic painkiller flowing thru his veins. Yet....there are times when you can tell he has taken "one" too many.............
But then again, who cares, if it's true, about that all?
It goes a little far as to what was going around in his mind. He was not the kind of person who'd take a tranquilizer and not have any creativity or progression anymore.
all the goons I left behind,
memories still linger..
C'mon you guys, high during the Aloha, give me a break! In one of the great vocal performances of his life, nailing song after song, he's considered high, especially with it being beamed worldwide, don't be ridiculous. Red and Sonny West, said that during the days and weeks that preceded Aloha and for the concert itself, he was fine, meaning not high. He was also fine for the rehearsal as well, he missed a step during Trilogy, but that was after completing a move. Tony, I'm sorry, he was fricking beaming with charisma for both shows, especially the rehearsal since he was a bit more relaxed. Had he been on downers, he wouldn't have been able to walk, let alone perform the songs he did. I think you need to go back and study the tape. As far as the actual Aloha itself, the man was completely focused, and gave a singing clinic, under enormous pressure.
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