Elvis in 1977 - the 'image' is much worse than the truth was... anyone else agree?

[monk37]

the choice may have been limited by which venues would allow the filming to occur

I was very annoyed during the Elvis stamp debate as being young Elvis or old Elvis.

Elvis never got to be old.

[donaldmccurry.63]

i don't think he was as bad as the photos made out there's times when you see him and he looked great in 77 at the end of the day his voice never changed it only got better

[hounddog]

I never have thought of Elvis as being hugely overweight in 1977. I actually look at him in 1969-1970 as being way to thin. I personally think Elvis looked great in 73-74 a healthy weight.

i think he looked very tired during the filming of EIC. But i have seen photos throughout his career when he looked very tired. Photos can be deceptive, lighting etc can add or detract features and make one look better or far worse than you are.

Sometimes i think the truth was worse than what the pictures showed, please let me explain i think Elvis was sicker at times in 1977 than any of the pictures showed. Other pics i look at and it's clear how unwell he was and he's still performing and it breaks my heart.

Maybe is he had of lived past 1977 pics from that year would be viewed differently. But with his death in 1977 the pics from this year sort of become the evidence of what he was going through physically.

[rocknroll]

Well, he was in bad enough shape that he died, so I would say he wasn't too well in 1977. I will say, however, that I thought he looked worse in 1976.

Also, anyone that says his voice was better in '77 is turning a deaf ear. He was toneless, out of breath and nasal and his voice was thin. He did not sound well, in fact I thought he sounded the way he looked......sick.

[EnigmaticSun]

Also, anyone that says his voice was better in '77 is turning a deaf ear. He was toneless, out of breath and nasal and his voice was thin. He did not sound well, in fact I thought he sounded the way he looked......sick.

It was more of an up and down thing. Having Elvis deliver a good performance was a bit of an unreliable task in '77. On some occasions, such as in May or June, his voice was just perfect even if it wasn't that much of a rock 'n roll voice.

[Cliff]

Well, he was in bad enough shape that he died, so I would say he wasn't too well in 1977. I will say, however, that I thought he looked worse in 1976.

Also, anyone that says his voice was better in '77 is turning a deaf ear. He was toneless, out of breath and nasal and his voice was thin. He did not sound well, in fact I thought he sounded the way he looked......sick.

Your comment is like a breath of fresh air. I agree, his voice was not better in the 70's. My feeling, and I know many will disagree, is this started with the '68 Comeback Special. He really hammered his voice in this.. Medication (please note I say medication and not drugs) can affect the voice. Also age takes it's toll. There is always the debate as to whether Elvis had some voice training. He may or may not have, but he must have picked up different techniques from people in the business. I feel Elvis abused his voice a lot in the 70's. No, my favourite period is, and always will be, the early to late 60's when his voice was like a finely tuned instument.

[EnigmaticSun]

No, my favourite period is, and always will be, the early to late 60's when his voice was like a finely tuned instument.

The eternal debate always seems to concern girly but delicate ballads as opposed to real tough but damaging rock 'n roll. It's hard to please everyone, I guess.
In 1970 for example, I appreciate the warmth and passion. Could you have been there, you would have felt the sweat and joy; Elvis was nonetheless precise in projecting the voice in ballads and such.
From 1972 onwards, flegmaticism seems to kick in, but it's not necessarily a bad thing. The songs reflected his mood.
What I like about late-period Elvis concerns life experiences and vocal training. If you think that Elvis from 1975 onwards was all bad, you don't know a bit about singing (who could sing you'll never walk alone like that, playing the piano?). Even though his body was ailing, Elvis spent a lot of time to gain a richer tone and quality - it showed from 1975 on especially.
All in all it's hard to blame him for sacrificing himself, although I do agree he could have had a more reliable and less dissipative way of life and method of making music.

[Cliff]

"girly but delicate ballads ". Man I'm glad Elvis is'nt around to hear you say that !! My interpretation of girly would have to be that they were songs you could romance a girl with or even sing to her. . . . .if you wanted to. I'd hardly call them 'girly' in the sense that I think you mean.
Not sure what you mean by 'if you could have been there'. I haven't been under a rock for the past 50 odd years. I have eyes and ears. I didn't have to be there in person to experience the emotions that you mention. Because of Elvis' magnitute this came across on live recordings and movies.

[EnigmaticSun]

"girly but delicate ballads ". Man I'm glad Elvis is'nt around to hear you say that !!

Well I do wish he were around to hear me say that. In fact I like the quality of his voice before the comeback special as well, though the magic didn't work on each and every song because some titles were just made to fit the movie and that's all.
Now in 1968 a song he didn't believe in was nowhere to be found, or at least not during the comeback special.

That's what you have: one party says the earlier ballads are too "girly", the other says 68 and after is too "rough".. it's hard to please everyone but he did please me - altogether!

Could you have been there, well: it's possible to enjoy the recordings from his live appearances and so do I. Still anyone who says it's hard to explain the feeling of having been there is right.
My best guess it was even more special than listening to it at home (with some delay) - witnessing a live concert is very direct, so Elvis didn't sing the song and you had to wait a while until the album was processed, sold to you and brought to your playing device.

[elvia7]

I agree that he still was good-looking in 1977. He always is beautiful.

AGREE with YOU my DEAREST

[Albert]

I was watching Elvis On Tour lately and a friend of mine came in. He watched some part of the show and asked if this was just before Elvis' death?!? Because "Elvis was already very overweight".... come on!?! That's just plain sick.

Even worse: this same story happened also a few years ago while watching That's The Way It Is.

Conclusion: people are judging Elvis way harder than any other living person. In 1977 Elvis was overweight, but not much more than many other American 40+ males. And don't forget that cameras add 10 pounds to someone.

Elvis looked bad in 1976-1977, but that wasn't really because of his weight. Compare Elvis with for example Meatloaf in the 70s (same weight), and you can see that Elvis didn't look like a healthy, energetic, full-of-life man from only 42 years old.

And don't forget that most of the unflatering pictures from 1977 are taken during the February/March tour of 1977 where Elvis looked extremely bad on many of the images taken.

[EnigmaticSun]

Conclusion: people are judging Elvis way harder than any other living person.

Such an intelligent post - and this is sooo true!!

Yes a lot of people can be overweight while not being judged as harshly or at least feeling more energetic and healthier..

Also some of his medication might cause the face to bloat, which would only accentuate the problem. In other words, appearing fatter just because water was gathering underneath the skin.

[Lisarose]

A good "today" example: And I'm only talking "looks" not talent or whatever, although, I enjoy his music, too. And maybe I don't get out much, but I don't recall a lot of flack about Garth's weight gain and I would think he's got the money to hire a personal trainer!

[Lisarose]

The eternal debate always seems to concern girly but delicate ballads as opposed to real tough but damaging rock 'n roll. It's hard to please everyone, I guess.
In 1970 for example, I appreciate the warmth and passion. Could you have been there, you would have felt the sweat and joy; Elvis was nonetheless precise in projecting the voice in ballads and such.
From 1972 onwards, flegmaticism seems to kick in, but it's not necessarily a bad thing. The songs reflected his mood.
What I like about late-period Elvis concerns life experiences and vocal training. If you think that Elvis from 1975 onwards was all bad, you don't know a bit about singing (who could sing you'll never walk alone like that, playing the piano?). Even though his body was ailing, Elvis spent a lot of time to gain a richer tone and quality - it showed from 1975 on especially.
All in all it's hard to blame him for sacrificing himself, although I do agree he could have had a more reliable and less dissipative way of life and method of making music.

Excellent, Fabian.
When it comes to Elvis, I rush to the defense. As RocknRoll says, he was in bad enough health that he died. sad, but true, I'm afraid. His performances seemed to be a series of rollercoaster rides, and yet, it was his very presence, IMO, that kept us coming back, keep us coming back.

[SleepyJack]

I don`t have any issues about the whole weight thing,one way or the other Elvis would have had to deal with all the natural problems of aging,if it wasn`t the weight it would have been hair-loss or something else...I think that in many ways Elvis appearing anything less than perfect upset some people because he represented their youth and they did not want him to age like a mere mortal. What upsets me about it all is that Elvis,at that time,looked seriously ill,tired,and a lot of the time was just going through the motions.He didn`t look like he was in any condition to be touring,but,at the same time he looked like onstage in front of his fans was the only place he really wanted to be. It is sad that,given all his talent,all his success,and all the happiness he gave over the years some people will never see past how he looked in his final years.As far as the music goes i think Elvis was,at times,walking a fine line between performing what he wanted to perform and what was expected of him...I sometimes find it hard to listen the throw-away attempts at some songs,especially from the final two years or so...thing like the "Teddy Bear/Don`t be cruel" medley or the short,speeded-up "Jailhouse Rock"...I doubt very much if Elvis really wanted to still be performing these songs,by then it seemed more a case of get them out of the way so I can get to the songs I really want to sing. It would not be a problem how Elvis looked as he got older,not to me anyway,but I wish that he had left this world happy and satisfied with his life and career..and I don`t think that he was .

[Diane]

I don`t have any issues about the whole weight thing,one way or the other Elvis would have had to deal with all the natural problems of aging,if it wasn`t the weight it would have been hair-loss or something else...I think that in many ways Elvis appearing anything less than perfect upset some people because he represented their youth and they did not want him to age like a mere mortal. What upsets me about it all is that Elvis,at that time,looked seriously ill,tired,and a lot of the time was just going through the motions.He didn`t look like he was in any condition to be touring,but,at the same time he looked like onstage in front of his fans was the only place he really wanted to be. It is sad that,given all his talent,all his success,and all the happiness he gave over the years some people will never see past how he looked in his final years.As far as the music goes i think Elvis was,at times,walking a fine line between performing what he wanted to perform and what was expected of him...I sometimes find it hard to listen the throw-away attempts at some songs,especially from the final two years or so...thing like the "Teddy Bear/Don`t be cruel" medley or the short,speeded-up "Jailhouse Rock"...I doubt very much if Elvis really wanted to still be performing these songs,by then it seemed more a case of get them out of the way so I can get to the songs I really want to sing. It would not be a problem how Elvis looked as he got older,not to me anyway,but I wish that he had left this world happy and satisfied with his life and career..and I don`t think that he was .

My feelings exactly!

[annie1000]

I don`t have any issues about the whole weight thing,one way or the other Elvis would have had to deal with all the natural problems of aging,if it wasn`t the weight it would have been hair-loss or something else...I think that in many ways Elvis appearing anything less than perfect upset some people because he represented their youth and they did not want him to age like a mere mortal. What upsets me about it all is that Elvis,at that time,looked seriously ill,tired,and a lot of the time was just going through the motions.He didn`t look like he was in any condition to be touring,but,at the same time he looked like onstage in front of his fans was the only place he really wanted to be. It is sad that,given all his talent,all his success,and all the happiness he gave over the years some people will never see past how he looked in his final years.As far as the music goes i think Elvis was,at times,walking a fine line between performing what he wanted to perform and what was expected of him...I sometimes find it hard to listen the throw-away attempts at some songs,especially from the final two years or so...thing like the "Teddy Bear/Don`t be cruel" medley or the short,speeded-up "Jailhouse Rock"...I doubt very much if Elvis really wanted to still be performing these songs,by then it seemed more a case of get them out of the way so I can get to the songs I really want to sing. It would not be a problem how Elvis looked as he got older,not to me anyway,but I wish that he had left this world happy and satisfied with his life and career..and I don`t think that he was .

Excellent post My feelings too!

[SleepyJack]

Thanks Diane and Annie.

[Tigerman1975]

While his weight was an issue at the end, his amazing voice never failed him.

[EnigmaticSun]

..like the "Teddy Bear/Don`t be cruel" medley or the short,speeded-up "Jailhouse Rock"...I doubt very much if Elvis really wanted to still be performing these songs,by then it seemed more a case of get them out of the way so I can get to the songs I really want to sing. It would not be a problem how Elvis looked as he got older,not to me anyway,but I wish that he had left this world happy and satisfied with his life and career..and I don`t think that he was .

Well - you have a point that you don't necessarily have to hear every attempt to the teddycruel medley, or hound dog. Maybe Elvis too, thought to himself "I'm number one, so why try harder?" - no, Elvis probably wasn't in the right environment to develop his talent further. He wasn't too dumb or too bad to star in serious movies, or to sing in an opera or whatever. Too bad the coloner Parker milkcow blues boogie kept him on a string, to go out and sing, bringing the money in before Parker could spend it. Having said that, Parker was ahead of his Fed (the Federal Reserve keeps borrowing too- they still owe me some trillions).

Whereas I don't think his goodbye to the movie business was just as strong, I'm happy for him that he gave a marvelous concert in Indianapolis, so with him being an artist it probably gave some assurance to end on a strong note - and he did, literally. It also gives an eerie feeling when you realize that he did sing unchained melody and blue eyes crying in the rain before he died, but I guess he just loved this material!