“When he showed up in town, the city councils from many cities tried to stop him from performing,” Gallagher said. Presley not only brought attitude to the game, he was viewed as dangerous, which is so rock and roll. Presley, as former President Jimmy Carter once noted, “permanently changed the face of American pop culture.”
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Elvis apparently liked watching multiple TV shows at once. I saw the room with 15 TVs in it that everyone talks about. The rooms were gaudy, as if an old lady lived there. “I expected this massive mansion and it’s only about 3,000 square feet,” McLaughlin said. McLaughlin, who has lived in north Spokane for much of her life, visited Elvis’ home, Graceland, in Memphis a decade after Presley died and was surprised. “I got to see the shows since my mother worked with me in concessions and she just let me go to watch the concerts.” “I was able to get into the Green Room for every show I worked except Elvis, who had his own security,” McLaughlin said. McLaughlin saw virtually every act that performed at the dilapidated venue from 1972 -76, from Black Sabbath to John Denver. He played to the crowd like no one else I saw at the Coliseum.” But regarding Elvis, he could put on a show. They would scream like they were little girls. “These women that were decked out head to toe were doing all that they could to grab the scarves Elvis tossed into the crowd after he wiped his forehead. It was so hot in the Boone Street Barn since there was no air conditioning since the city never wanted to pay for it.”įemale fans clamoring for a sweat-soaked scarf from Presley amused McLaughlin. “Elvis put on a great show, but I found it humorous that most of the women who went to the show wore gowns with their hair piled up on their heads as if they were going to a gala. “I wasn’t a screaming maniac of an Elvis fan, but I liked Elvis,” McLaughlin said.
Lorrie McLaughlin, 65, who worked the Coliseum concession stands witnessed the entirety of Presley’s final local performance. The most iconic figure from the ’50s had drug problems, personal issues and an unrelenting schedule, thanks to his overbearing manager.īut Presley delivered at the Coliseum, aka the Boone Street Barn, less than 16-months before he passed away. Much changed between Presley’s first Spokane show and his last in the Lilac City on April 27, 1976, at the Spokane Coliseum. There were guys like Gene Vincent but we’re not talking household names.” Back in his early days, he really had no competition. Elvis ushered in the rock and roll era as we know it. “Back then Elvis had his first two records out and that rockabilly stuff is just great.
“It must have been incredible,” 4000 Holes record shop owner Bob Gallagher said. Presley as a smoldering, hip-shaking 22-year-old must have been a sight to behold. The 16-song set included such hits as “Don’t Be Cruel,” “Hound Dog” and “Heartbreak Hotel.” 30, 1957, at Memorial Stadium, but it isn’t easy finding anyone who caught what must have been a mind-bending performance 65-years ago. However, many who experienced the early days of Presley live have left the building. Neil Young nailed it when he wrote “The king is gone but he’s not forgotten” with “Hey Hey, My My.”įans have raved about Presley’s incendiary performances. “Elvis” director Baz Luhrmann excels with the sizzle but stumbles with substance.Īustin Butler is exceptional as Elvis with a performance right up there with Jonathan Rhys Meyer, who portrayed Presley in the 2005 film, also dubbed “Elvis.” The story is told from the perspective of the late Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks), who managed Elvis. The latest, “Elvis,” is an uneven epic of a movie. Presley reissues or live documents pop up annually, and every few years, there are films that focus on the life of the King. Even though Elvis Presley has been dead longer than he was alive, it feels as if the King is still present.
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