Elvis live at the piano

[dennyelvis]

Having just watched the cbs show (omaha) it reminded me that Elvis actually sung Unchained Melody sat at the piano.
How many more songs did he perform in concert at the piano ....
maybe You'll never walk alone ?

[charlie rodgers]

elvis did you never walk alone on the piano 19 july 75 ES long island new york
and rags to riches on new years eve 76 in pittsburg (both a fantastic versions

elvis did unchained melody on all december tour shows 76 5 shows
and a little over ten times in 77 with april 24 ann arbor being the master on moody blue(with overdub,the undubbed version is to be fund on FTD spring tours

theirs also a few pictures off elvis playing piano in concert in the fifties
oh and by the way denny elvis the cbs version of unchained melody is from rapid city 21 june

all the best
the original roustabout

[Davey]

He also sang a stunning one off version of Where No One Stands Alone sat at the piano in Montgomery on 16th Feb 1977.

[charlie rodgers]

yeah davey how could i forget that fantastic version
and also on closing night 23 feb 70 elvis played piano on short versions of blue berry hill and lawdy miss clawdy

and in west palm beach 13 feb 77 disatisfied with tonys way of playing the intro to blue berry hill elvis showed tony brown how to play it

[Cryogenic]

That goes for his live stuff.

He also performed on the piano in private. Just hours before he died, for example, he was supposedly playing "Blue Eyes Cryin' In The Rain". Am I correct?

[songs4u]

Cryo

Besides "Blue Eyes Crying In the Rain" didn't he also sing and play "Unchained Melody"?

[THENATUREBOY]

Cryo

Besides "Blue Eyes Crying In the Rain" didn't he also sing and play "Unchained Melody"?

Elvis sang both songs the night of his death in the racquetball room.

[Albert]

That goes for his live stuff.

He also performed on the piano in private. Just hours before he died, for example, he was supposedly playing "Blue Eyes Cryin' In The Rain". Am I correct?

No, I don't believe he was playing during the sessions. But he was supposed to be playing Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain over and over on his final night in August 16 1977 in the racketbalroom.

[Diane]

Ahhhh Albert, you know how to break a person's heart. - Elvis playing "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" on the last evening of his life? I thought the consensus was that Elvis was "up" and looking forward to his next concert in Portland, Maine and that he had been making plans for the future, getting rid of the colonel and getting new songs?

[Lonniebealestreet]

Well, I think Elvis always was drawn to that type of song, even if he did perform and record them more often as the years passed.

The consensus? I guess if everyone gets their version of the story from the same person, then yes, it could be considered as such. I would sort of like to think that as well, but then if there really was such a big turnaround right around the corner, doesn't that make the story all the more tragic?

I'd say so...particularly if you believe Billy Smith's claim about what Elvis was going to do if his audiences, newly enlightened to certain truths via the bodyguard book, became hostile and really heckled him. According to Billy, he went through several different plans on how to handle that type of scenario, finally deciding that honesty would be the best policy. He was to admit that there was a ring of truth to some of the claims in the book and he did in fact have a problem with prescription drugs, but he was under a doctor's care and was going to get better.

If true, such a decision would have been truly monumental as it would have illustrated that Elvis himself was no longer in denial...not to mention that he was maybe about to turn over a new leaf, a move that might have kept him around for several more decades.

By the way, I have heard that he sang both those songs the night before he died as well, but Billy only remembers Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain. One wonders if he had in mind that he was planning to work it into the show in the tour that was never to be.

[Diane]

Thanks Lonnie you're reply made me feel better.

I think it would have been a great move on Elvis' part if he had lived to admit he had a problem to his audiences and may have made him realize he had to do something about it finally. He would have known that his fans were watching and that if he didn't straighten up they would be very disappointed in him and we all know he did care what people thought of him.

[Joe Car]

Well, I think Elvis always was drawn to that type of song, even if he did perform and record them more often as the years passed.

The consensus? I guess if everyone gets their version of the story from the same person, then yes, it could be considered as such. I would sort of like to think that as well, but then if there really was such a big turnaround right around the corner, doesn't that make the story all the more tragic?

I'd say so...particularly if you believe Billy Smith's claim about what Elvis was going to do if his audiences, newly enlightened to certain truths via the bodyguard book, became hostile and really heckled him. According to Billy, he went through several different plans on how to handle that type of scenario, finally deciding that honesty would be the best policy. He was to admit that there was a ring of truth to some of the claims in the book and he did in fact have a problem with prescription drugs, but he was under a doctor's care and was going to get better.

If true, such a decision would have been truly monumental as it would have illustrated that Elvis himself was no longer in denial...not to mention that he was maybe about to turn over a new leaf, a move that might have kept him around for several more decades.

By the way, I have heard that he sang both those songs the night before he died as well, but Billy only remembers Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain. One wonders if he had in mind that he was planning to work it into the show in the tour that was never to be.

Lonnie, excellent post. I sure wish EP would have had the opportunity to try one of his plans out. Fans never would have booed him, and I'm sure had he addressed on stage or via a press conference, that he did have a problem, he would have been stunned at the support he would have received. That alone I'm sure would have encouraged him to get help.

[Cryogenic]

He was to admit that there was a ring of truth to some of the claims in the book and he did in fact have a problem with prescription drugs, but he was under a doctor's care and was going to get better.

If true, such a decision would have been truly monumental as it would have illustrated that Elvis himself was no longer in denial.

With all due respect, Lonnie... you are wrong.

The very notion that Elvis was considering this, and that he was going to say he was "under a doctor's care", is a skewed and inaccurate truth on his part. That's not a breaking from denial; that's a fresh layering, or restructuring, of denial. Pure and simple. Elvis needed extensive hospital treatment -- nothing less. He wasn't going to face up to his problems; he was merely going to put a fresh spin on them. He was in deep and couldn't, or wouldn't, see it.

[Lonniebealestreet]

Good call, Cryo. Thank you.

I made a mistake in the way I relayed that in that I took Elvis' second to last planned response--which was to not be totally honest--and mixed it with his purported final (last resort) plan, which did seem to point to complete honesty and acceptance.

In my mind I knew that if Billy's claim was accurate, it would have indeed represented a considerable breakthrough. But I hadn't realized that I had jumbled the details and the result reflected something less than that.

With apologies, to clear things up, here are Billy's words, as reported by Alanna Nash in Elvis Aaron Presley: Revelations from the Memphis Mafia:

He started imagining what people were going to say to him about it when he was onstage. He worried about somebody yelling things out like "Hey, drug addict!" or "Aw, hell, you're wiped out." So he started thinking of things he would say if that happened.

At first, he thought he'd just say that a lot of things had been written about him, good and bad, and that he was not a perfect person. He still wasn't going to admit that he abused drugs or even that he was on pretty heavy medication. And then he thought he'd say, "No, I'm not a drug addict. Sure I take certain things, but I need them. And here's my doctor. He'll tell you." And he was going to introduce Dr. Nick. At first, he thought he'd jot something down. And then he decided to play it by ear and hope that everything went well.

He just anguished over this something awful. And finally, he said that if it was necessary--in other words, if he was confronted by his audience, he'd tell them he had a message he wanted to give them. And he had a little speech ready. He didn't write it down. But he had it in his mind, and he told me about it. He was not going to deny anything. He was going to go ahead and say he had a problem with drugs.

It went something like "I know you've read a lot about me over the years. And after this tour, I'm going to take time to get myself straightened out." Because he finally realized, "The best defense is no defense at all." He was just going to open up and say, "This is what's happening." But only if the audience got hostile--if they started booing and throwing things.

Still, that was a giant step, to say he knew he needed treatment and that he was going to get it.

Thanks again, Cryo, for calling me on that. I'm glad I revisited that part of the book. Joe and Diane, I appreciate your comments as well.