Elvis: The Final Years

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The Stax Recordings from 1973 also highlight an artist that still took his musical choices seriously; there was nothing horrendous a la Last Farewell at these sessions. During many shows, the audience wouldn't be able to understand what he was saying, and he would often leave the stage early, unable to continue.

They may have come from a similar place and may have both been pioneers of rock and roll, but Elvis eclipsed Lewis on many levels. By then, he really needs a lot of medication to achieve any form of sleep… And he’s taking things like Valium to achieve sleep because he literally cannot sleep any other way. Linda had been a stabilizing force in the singer's world, but she eventually left him because she wanted a more normal life.In the final years leading up to Elvis’ death, he toured and recorded constantly, selling out venues everywhere and earning a third and final Grammy award. The singer, who would have turned 87 on Saturday, was also on a cocktail of drugs and had been prescribed almost 9,000 pills, vials and injections in the seven months before his death. He suffered from glaucoma, hypertension, liver damage, and an enlarged colon, all of which were magnified and possibly caused by drug abuse. Despite what we now know to be his extensive health issues and struggles with addiction, The King gave a rendition of 'Are You Lonesome Tonight' that has gone down in history.

He had the proper perspective on the greatness of Elvis's music, the sadness and weirdness of the final years, and who contributed what along the way. I think after this book I have an even better appreciation of all of his work knowing what he was going through in his life.A formal offer will be made on April 4, 1975, and the Colonel responds with a counter offer for Elvis’ services on the 14, which was subsequently rejected. He looks awkward and is visibly sweating, however as soon as he starts singing again, the words come back naturally and he finishes off the performance with incredible vocal skill. He explained: "The position of Elvis Presley's body was such that he was about to sit down on the commode when the seizure occurred. Elvis' status, legacy and star has always been compared and contrasted with much bigger entertainers and artists, not legendary niche performers who broke and had most of their success in the 50's and early 60's.

Images Donate icon An illustration of a heart shape Donate Ellipses icon An illustration of text ellipses. Like many stars who became hugely famous before the concept of celebrity handlers had been formalized, Elvis was surrounded by yes-men and sycophants. It reminded me a bit of the story Kevin Smith tells in one of his college DVD's about Prince and someone relating how Prince lives in Princeland and doesn't always understand why his staff has trouble bringing him a live camel at 3 am on a January morning in Minneapolis. Started out,just like I expected to, somehow the ideal I was experiencing suddenly went south, stood toe to toe with the outcome,made wonderful fruit loops ,then hurried thru.If you’d like to file an allegation of infringement, you’ll need to follow the process described in our Copyright and Intellectual Property Policy. The star looked more bloated than his younger self, and while his body may have been on the brink, but his voice was still as strong as ever. The toxicology report from Elvis' death said he had the opiates Dilaudid, Demerol, and Percodan in his blood, not to mention Quaaludes and codeine.