ELVIS RECORDS IN NASHVILLE

January/February 1970
Some say it was a mistake to go back to Vegas so soon, especially during the slowest season for the city. Can he fill the seats? But, Elvis returns to the International Hotel for another month-long engagement. This time he breaks his own attendance records. Another live album is recorded.
February/March 1970
A press conference in Houston on the 27th. Elvis performs afternoon and evening shows at the Houston Astrodome in connection with the Texas Livestock Show. Two more shows follow on the 28th. Two more follow on March 1. A closing press conference and banquet follow, and Elvis is presented an armload of recent gold record awards. The six shows attract 207,494 people and set records. There is speculation among the press and the public that Elvis might tour in concert for the first time since the fifties.
June 1970
Elvis has recording sessions in Nashville.
July/September 1970
Back to Las Vegas for rehearsals for another month-long engagement at the International. He opens on August 10 and closes on September 7. MGM is on hand to film a documentary film called "Elvis -That's the Way It Is" that will show Elvis off stage, in rehearsals, in the recording studio, and on stage. RCA will also release an album with the same title.
September 1970
From the 9th through the 14th Elvis takes his show on a nine-city tour. It is a smashing success, the first tour since 1957, only these days the show is much more elaborate and requires a big crew. (MGM films portions of the first show on this tour for use in "Elvis - That's the Way It Is".)
Elvis has a recording session in Nashville.
November 1970
"That's the Way It Is" opens in theaters to good reviews and good box office. Documentaries traditionally do not do well at the box office, but this one makes a respectable showing. It, like other Elvis movies will go on to have a life on television and home video in years to come.
Elvis does a successful eight-city concert tour.
December 1970
Elvis's famous visit with President Richard Nixon at the White House occurs.

January 16, 1971
Elvis attends a day of functions culminating in an evening awards banquet. He and nine others accept the honor of being named "One of the Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Nation" by the United States Junior Chamber of Commerce. He is nervous about his acceptance speech. He is touched, excited and deeply proud. This national honor has been given each year since the late 1930's and recognizes young men who have made great achievements in their field of endeavor, illustrating the opportunities available in the free enterprise system. It also applauds humanitarianism and community service. Scientists, inventors, performers, filmmakers, politicians bound for the Presidency, and men of greatness in all fields, have been selected for this award over the years. For Elvis, a man who had grown up poor, and, in his early career had known the sting of ridicule from the Establishment, who, through the years had known criticism of his work, this is one of his proudest moments. It is a sign that he has achieved acceptance, recognition, and respect for his work and for the kind of person he is.
Late January/February 1971
Elvis plays another month-long engagement at the International Hotel in Las Vegas.
March 1971
Elvis begins a recording session in Nashville, but cancels it due to pain and inflammation in an eye. He is treated at a Nashville hospital where he is diagnosed with secondary glaucoma. This eye condition will plague him from time to time in varying degrees for the rest of his life.
May 1971
Elvis is featured on the cover of Look Magazine, which carries an installment of the forthcoming biography on Elvis by Jerry
Hopkins. Many books and articles have been written over the years, but this is the first in-depth, serious biography. The book Elvis : A Biography will be released in October.
Elvis has recording sessions in Nashville. Much of the work is for his forthcoming album "Elvis Sings the Wonderful World of Christmas".
June 1971
The two-room house Elvis was born in opens to the public for tours, having been restored by the East Heights Garden Club in Tupelo. Elvis has more recording sessions in Nashville, this time mostly for an upcoming gospel album, "He Touched Me".
A long stretch of Highway 51 South, part of which runs in front of Graceland, is officially renamed Elvis Presley Boulevard. The first of the new street signs will go up in January of 1972.
Various albums and singles continue to be released to various degrees of success during this period.
July/August 1971
Elvis plays a two-week engagement at the Sahara Hotel in Lake Tahoe, Nevada.
August 9 - September 6, 1971
Elvis plays an engagement in Las Vegas at the International Hotel, which has been renamed the Las Vegas Hilton International Hotel. He breaks another attendance record and tops himself once again.
During the engagement an award is presented to Elvis in his dressing room. It is the Bing Crosby Award from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (the Grammy Awards). The award is a special means of recognition from NARAS and is named for its first recipient. The award is not given every year as a rule. It will later be re-named the Lifetime Achievement Award. Elvis is 36 years old.
November 5-16, 1971
Elvis goes on a 12-city concert tour.
Late 1971, Early 1972
Elvis and Priscilla separate. She moves out on her own with Lisa Marie.

January 26 - February 23, 1972
Elvis plays another successful engagement at the Hilton in Vegas.
March/April 1972
In April MGM films Elvis in a Hollywood recording studio, then films on and off stage during his 15-city concert tour, which is a
big success. MGM will use the footage for another theatrically released documentary, "Elvis on Tour".
In April the gospel album "He Touched Me" is released to good reviews. The album will go on to win Elvis his second Grammy Award, this one for the category of Best Inspirational Performance.
June 1972
Elvis continues touring in concert, beginning with a press conference in New York on the 9th. (MGM is on hand to film the conference for use in "Elvis on Tour".) Elvis makes entertainment history by performing four sold-out shows at New York's Madison Square Garden. John Lennon, George Harrison, Bob Dylan, David Bowie, and Art Garfunkel are among the music stars spotted at the shows.

RCA rush-releases a live album from one of the Madison Square Garden shows, nine days after it is recorded. Elvis tours to seven more cities.
Elvis's Vegas and concert tour career is hot, hot, hot during the early to mid-seventies. He breaks attendance records in cities all over America. Record releases also continue.

July 1972
Elvis and Priscilla's separation is formalized. A divorce is to come. Elvis has begun seeing Linda Thompson, who will be his main female companion until late 1976.
August 4 - September 4, 1972
Elvis plays a month-long engagement at the Hilton in Vegas.

Elvis plays a month-long engagement at the Hilton in Vegas.September 5, 1972
Elvis participates in a press conference in Vegas announcing plans for a television concert to be broadcast via satellite around
the world from Hawaii. It is predicted that the show will reach the largest audience in television history and that the live album will be a big hit.
October 1972
Elvis has a number two pop hit with the single "Burning Love", one of his biggest records in recent years.
November 1972
"Elvis on Tour" opens to good reviews and good box office performance in theaters. Later, its producers will receive the Golden Globe Award for Best Documentary of 1972. Like other Elvis films it will have a life on television and on home video.
Elvis tours seven cities in concert. The last is Honolulu, Hawaii, where he does three shows at the Honolulu International Center Arena, the same venue that will host his satellite special in January.
Elvis appears at a press conference in Hawaii regarding his upcoming satellite show. It is announced that it will be a benefit for the Kui Lee Cancer Fund.

January 1973
Elvis makes television and entertainment history with his "Elvis: Aloha from Hawaii - Via Satellite" special. Performed at the Honolulu International Center Arena on January 14, 1973, broadcast live at 12:30 AM Hawaiian time, beamed via Globecam Satellite to Australia, South Korea, Japan, Thailand, the Phillipines, South Vietnam and other countries. It is seen on a delayed basis in around 30 European countries. A tape of the show will be seen in America on April 4th on NBC. The live broadcast in January attracts 37.8% of the viewers in Japan, 91.8% in the Phillipines, 70% in Hong Kong, and 70-80% of the viewers in Korea. The April showing in America attracts 51% of the television viewing audience, and is seen in more American households than man's first walk on the moon. In all, it will be seen in about 40 countries by one billion to 1.5 billion people.
Elvis commissions an American Eagle design for his jumpsuit for this show, his patriotic message to his worldwide audience. Never has one performer held the world's attention in such a way. This is probably the pinnacle of his superstardom. It is one of the great moments of his career.
The soundtrack album "Elvis: Aloha from Hawaii - Via Satellite" is soon released and goes to number one on the Billboard Pop Album Chart, and stays on the chart at various positions for 52 weeks. The show will later have continued life on television through the years and eventually home video.
January 26-February 23, 1973
Elvis plays an engagement at the Las Vegas Hilton.
March 1973
Elvis and the Colonel sell RCA the singer's royalty rights on Elvis's entire recording catalog up to that point.
April 4, 1973
The "Aloha" special is seen on American television for the first time.
Late April 1973
Elvis goes on an eight-city concert tour.
May 4-16, 1973
Elvis plays an engagement at the Sahara Hotel in Lake Tahoe, Nevada.
May 1973
The "Aloha from Hawaii" concert album hits number one on the Billboard pop album chart. It is his first number one album since "Roustabout" in 1965. It will also be his last number one album on the pop chart.

June 20 - July 3, 1973
Elvis goes out on concert tour.
July, 1973
Elvis records a few songs at the Stax Recording Studio in Memphis - his first time to record in Memphis since 1969.
August 6 - September 3, 1973
Back to the Vegas Hilton for another engagement.
October 9, 1973
Elvis and Priscilla make a court appearance together and their divorce is granted. They will continue to be close friends. Though Priscilla has custody of Lisa Marie, there will be no formal schedule of visitation for Elvis, and he and his daughter will spend time together regularly.
October 15 - November 1, 1973
Elvis is hospitalized in Memphis for recurring pneumonia and pleurisy, an enlarged colon, and hepatitis. Elvis has been battling health problems for some time, including an increasing dependency upon prescription drugs. It will get worse. He also battles his weight.
December 1973
Elvis returns to the Stax Recording Studio in Memphis for a week of sessions.

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January 26-February 9, 1974
Elvis plays the Vegas Hilton again.
March - July 1974
Elvis is on tour through much of March. In March he plays the Houston Astrodome and sets a one-day attendance record with his two shows. Also in March he plays Memphis for the first time since 1961 and does four shows in two days to meet the demand for tickets. Another live album results from the excitement in Memphis, and it includes a performance of "How Great Thou Art" that will win Elvis his third Grammy. He takes a break in April. He resumes touring in May and plays the Sahara in Lake Tahoe May 16 -26. He's back on tour in mid-June and takes a few weeks off, starting in early July.
August 19-September 2, 1974
Back to the Hilton in Vegas for an engagement. During this engagement Barbra Streisand and Elvis discuss his playing the male lead opposite her in her remake of "A Star is Born". Elvis is excited by the prospect of returning to the screen in a serious film.
He still has aspirations to become a serious actor. He is growing weary of the road, his health is worsening, his performances are suffering, and he needs a new challenge. Unfortunately, it doesn't work out for various reasons. After his death some will speculate that this film role would have changed the course of his career and his life had he done it.
September 27 - October 14, 1974
Elvis on tour again. Plays the Sahara-Tahoe October 11-14.
Record releases have continued through this period with varying degrees of success.

January 29-February 14, 1975
Elvis is hospitalized with health and prescription problems again.
March 1975
Elvis's live recording of "How Great Thou Art" from the album recorded at one of his Memphis concerts in 1974 wins the Grammy for Best Inspirational Performance. This is Elvis's third and final Grammy win out of fourteen nominations (one nomination posthumously). All three Grammy wins have been for his gospel music rather than pop or rock.
March 18-April 1, 1975
Engagement at the Hilton.
April - July, 1975
Concert touring.
August 18 - September 5, 1975
Elvis opens in Vegas but ends his engagement on the 20th and is hospitalized in Memphis until September 5.
November 1975
The renovation of a Convair 880 jet Elvis bought earlier in the year is complete, and he takes his first flight on the "Lisa Marie"
jet.
December 2-15, 1975
Elvis returns to the Hilton in Vegas to make up for the shows that were canceled during his previous engagement.
December 31, 1975
Elvis performs a special New Year's Eve concert in Pontiac, Michigan and sets a single performance attendance record of 62,500.

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February 1976
Elvis has a week of recording sessions in the den at Graceland, with RCA bringing in mobile recording equipment.March 17-22, 1976
Elvis tours in concert.
April 21-27, 1976
Elvis tours in concert.
April 30 - May 9, 1976
An engagement at the Sahara Tahoe in Nevada.
May 27- June 6, 1976
Elvis tours in concert.
June 25 - July 5, 1976
Elvis tours in concert.
July 23 - August 5, 1976
Elvis tours in concert.
August 27-September 8, 1976
Elvis tours in concert.
October 14-27, 1976
Elvis tours in concert.
October 29-30, 1976
Two more nights of recording in the den at Graceland.
Early November, 1976
Elvis and Linda Thompson, his steady girlfriend since 1972, split up.
Late November, 1976
Elvis meets Ginger Alden who will be his steady girlfriend until his death.
November 24-30, 1976
Elvis tours in concert.
December 2-12, 1976
Elvis plays the Hilton in Vegas for what will turn out to be the last time.
December 27-31, 1976
Elvis tours in concert, ending with a special New Year's Eve concert in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

February 12-21, 1977
Elvis tours in concert.
March 23-30, 1977
Elvis tours in concert.
April 1-5, 1977
Elvis is hospitalized in Memphis and tour shows scheduled for March 31-April 3 are canceled.
April 21- May 31, 1977
Elvis tours in concert.
June 1-2, 1977
More concert dates.
June 17-26, 1977
Elvis tours in concert. Shows on June 19, 20, and 21 are recorded by RCA and videotaped by CBS-TV for an upcoming live album and television special. Footage from the show on the 20th is not used in the show. The special will be called "Elvis in Concert". It will air in early October after Elvis's death in August. The camera gives a shocking picture of Elvis's poor health in his final days. Still, some of the song performances are great. He still had his voice.
June 26, 1977
A concert at Indianapolis, Indiana's Market Square Arena. This will turn out to be his very last concert performance.
June 27- August 15, 1977
Elvis relaxes in Memphis and prepares for the next leg of touring for 1977.

August 16, 1977
Shortly after midnight Elvis returns to Graceland from a late-night visit to the dentist. Through the early morning of the 16th he takes care of last minute tour details and relaxes with family and staff. He is to fly to Portland, Maine that night and do a show there on the 17th, then continue the scheduled tour. He retires to his master suite at Graceland around 7:00 AM to rest for his evening flight. By late morning, Elvis Presley is dead. It is announced by mid-afternoon. In a matter of hours the shock registers around the world.