Elvis Presley The International Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada, August 26,1969 (2-LP)

(RCA Legacy Recordings)

“I was missing the contact with a live audience,” Elvis says in this show, and at every show during his first engagement at The International Hotel in Las Vegas. Apart from two shows in 1961 and the recent TV show, Elvis hadn’t performed on stage for 11 years. After years of increasingly worse movies and diminishing record sales, Elvis had just managed to turn his career around with his 1968 TV special. The show had aired on December 3, 1968, and it was a surprising reminder to the world of just how magnetic a performer Elvis Presley still was. Just weeks later Elvis recorded more than 30 songs in Memphis, some of the best work of his career, and the return to live performances on July 31, 1969 was the third step of his resurrection as an artist.

The entire four-week engagement was sold out, and fans and critics were ecstatic. The New York Times wrote “…Elvis Presley came to this place and provided an unbelievable exercise in pure, exciting rock ’n’ roll.” There was a wild, almost manic, energy to the performances, displaying a burning desire from Elvis and his band to show the full potential of their abilities.

This show demonstrates all the charm and charisma of Elvis and his great, new band, combining repertoire of mainly blues-tinged rock ‘n’ roll, with a few beautiful ballads and his two, new, hit singles, “In The Ghetto” and “Suspicious Minds.” Recorded at the 2,000-seater showroom of the International, the intimate setting also gave Elvis the opportunity to talk to his audience, cracking jokes and telling a 10 minute story of his career, giving a rare insight to an otherwise very private man.

 

 

This TV special included the first ever unplugged session presented together with musicians from the early days such as Scotty Moore and D.J. Fontana. 1973 saw THE TV mega event at all: Elvis Presley, 'Aloha From Hawaii via Satellite'! Elvis' Honolulu appearance, the first time that a show was broadcasted worldwide via satellite! He was ahead of his time! Elvis Presley had 148 US single chart hits, including some so-called double-sider when A- and B-side both hit the charts like his 1956 smash 'Don't Be Cruel b/w Hound Dog', plus 15 EP hits between 1956 and 1977. Two billion of sold media and sound carriers by Elvis Presley is the estimated number! He received 14 Grammy nominations until 1978 and three Grammy for his Gospel interpretations. Elvis was the youngest artist when honored with the Bing Crosby Award (Lifetime Achivement Award) in 1971.

 

He is presented in 5 Halls of Fame (Rock'n'Roll, Rockabilly, Country, Blues and Gospel). Six of his song interpretations are collected in the Grammy Hall of Fame. On top of it all Elvis Presley got the most gold and platinum records and a Diamond-Award. He definetly is the 'Best selling solo artist in U.S. History' (RIAA – Record Industry Association of America)! Elvis Presley CD albums, vinyl records as LPs or singles at 45rpm - Bear Family offers a huge number of various Elvis Presley CDs, vinyl-LPs and 45rpm singles, vinyl- and CD box sets, books and mags, DVDs, unique and extraordinairy memorabilia! Let's say it in the words of one of Elvis sixties album title: There is "Something For Everybody"! And hey, you name it! Elvis Presley is the King of Rock'n'Roll, the biggest icon in showbusiness, and a great person who lives on forever!

Bear Family Records treats his legacy with the most respect and an optimum capacity of expert knowledge.