ELVIS JULY 31, 1969

ELVIS, THE RETURN OF PRODIGY, 1969

JOHNNY RIVERS : Long before Elvis hired James Burton, we got together listening to records and jamming to stuff like TRAVELIN’ MAN. We loved those old Ricky Nelson records because we loved the musicians who played on them. And we also loved the lead guitar line and the riffs that James Burton played. When Elvis assembled his band for the comeback in Vegas, James must have been in his head from the start.

DAVE CLARK: When I first saw Elvis in Las Vegas, I went in expecting the impossible, because he changed our lives. In England and Europe, he was the only one responsible for starting us in Rock’n’Roll. He was as good as I had hoped and even better. It was magical. For me, Elvis was THE ULTIMATE ROCK’N’ROLL ARTIST.

GLEN CAMPBELL: There was no other like Elvis. I have never seen anyone with such charisma. He revolutionized the city, his show was fabulous. He was a phenomenal talent. In the show there were women in their 50s and 60s screaming like teenagers.

PRISCILLA BEAULIEU: Elvis wouldn’t let me go to rehearsals.

TERRY BLACKWOOD: It looked like a political convention, like “ELVIS FOR PRESIDENT.”

JERRY SCHEFF: When we finished the first song, he knew his people still loved him.

CAROL KAYE: I got to the airport and there were slot machines and Elvis posters everywhere. Then we were going down the Strip and there were huge billboards saying in big letters: “ELVIS PRESLEY IN PERSON AT THE INTERNATIONAL HOTEL”. It was the city of Elvis. I couldn’t breathe. I was crying, I was laughing, I was so excited. I felt like the luckiest person in the world.

CRICKET MENDELL COUNTER: On the opening night there were no fans, but mainly press, V.I.P.’s and celebrities, who are not so easy to impress. There were people who thought he was going to fail, because he had been away so long. But almost immediately, he had everyone in the palm of his hands.

MARTY LACKER: Elvis put his all into his performance. I wanted to erase what had happened in ’56, and show everyone that “…hey, hdps… I’m back!”. He was never better than in that first season in Las Vegas.

GEORGE KLEIN: He was doing what he loved the most, which was performing live. He had all this talent that had been bottled up for 8 years while he was making movies, and it just exploded on stage.

FATS DOMINO: I loved the show. He was a great artist. Nobody ever did what he did. I loved his voice too. He was different from everyone. There will never be another Elvis.

BOBBY VINTON: Elvis was like an institution. I would walk onstage and people would stand up and girls would cry. I’ve seen Frank Sinatra, the Beatles and Michael Jackson, and I’ve never seen a reaction like Elvis got on stage.

Source: VEGAS ’69 by KEN SHARP

Information provided by Elvis Shop Argentina https://2001elvisfanclubargentina.blogspot.com/p/principal.html?m=1

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