The day after 2 shows that will be remembered by Elvis Presley fans (the fabulous concerts in Wichita, Kansas and Dallas, Texas), the King flew from Dallas to land 1H37 later at Birmingham – Shuttlesworth International Airport.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n That’s a distance of almost 1,000 km as the crow flies from Dallas to Birmingham, the largest city in the state of Alabama.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Elvis set up on arrival in Birmingham with the entire band and staff in the entire 14th floor of the Kahler Plaza Hotel.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The concert took place in the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center Coliseum, which was to be the largest venue (18,400 people) of the five shows of the 24 tour.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The King inaugurated the venue on Wednesday 29 December 1976, being the first celebrity to perform there, as the building was inaugurated only 1 month before with the best acoustics available at that time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Of course, as with all his shows, the show sold out within hours of tickets going on sale for this unique event as it was the first time Elvis Presley had performed in the city of Birmingham.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n For this show, Elvis wore the ‘Egyptian Jumpsuit’ (also called the ‘Inca Gold Leaf’) with the famous ‘Chief’ belt which he put over the jumpsuit.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It was a suit that the King wore from 26 May 1974 at Lake Tahoe and then during Tour 11 (mid-June to early July 1974). After his drastic diet in September\/October 1976 where he lost a lot of weight, Elvis wore it again during the show in Chicago on October 14, 1976 and this until the show in Birmingham which will be the last show where he will perform with this splendid jumpsuit. He wore it 15 times in total.<\/p>\n The show starts about a second after the first note of ‘Also Sprach Zarathushtra’ \/ ‘2001 Theme<\/b>‘ – has been played.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n As soon as the instrumental introduction of ‘C.C.Rider’<\/b> begins, the first notes of which always start with Ronnie Tutt’s magnificent drumming, you can hear that the audience is overjoyed, especially as this is the first time that many people have attended an Elvis Presley show. Elvis took the time to greet each part of the audience; as usual, he didn’t forget anyone.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It is immediately obvious that Elvis is in incredible form and that his voice is at its best, more mature than in 1969 and 70 but just as perfect; this version is with the one from the previous day’s show in Dallas, Texas is the proof.<\/p>\n He takes the microphone and like the day before in Dallas, he starts with an ultra dynamic “Yeahhh C.!!! C.C. Rider” followed by vocal climbs in normally instrumental parts of the song and will add for one of the only times I know of: “I SAY I’m going away” twice. What ardour!<\/p>\n Elvis follows as usual with Ray Charles’ hit “I Got A Woman<\/b>“; once again you can feel the wild rocker of the 50s on stage; he’s really having fun, he’s enjoying it, he’s having fun with the tonal variations. (With a range like that, he has no problem with it). The segue to ‘Amen’ is full of dynamism and happiness; the audience sings along and is in symbiosis with ‘Sweet Inspirations’ and Elvis keeps this moment going for a while before taking over the floor; Elvis complains that there is some feedback but that doesn’t stop him from moving his pelvis on Ronnie Tutt’s drumming.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Once finished, the King introduces himself to the audience as singer\/songwriter Glenn Campbell.<\/p>\n Elvis takes the opportunity to tell the crowd that this is his first time performing in Birmingham (the crowd exults) and then adds “my god, it’s a huge venue!” (which it is). As usual, he speaks with all his generosity and kindness to his audience, telling them that he wants everyone to have a good time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It’s time to get the audience screaming and Elvis does just that with a beautiful version of ‘Love Me’<\/b> which he sings with application and good humour. The finale is magnificent and Elvis puts all his breath into it!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n He followed this with a version of ‘Fairytale’<\/b>; he introduced it into his repertoire during the 12th season in Las Vegas in March 1975. He has the last chorus repeated once more to the delight of his audience.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n He is very cool on this song; as usual, his left leg marks the rhythm and he turns several times to the musicians as if to motivate them. This show is indeed going to be a fairytale!<\/p>\n This is followed by a superb version of “You Gave Me A Mountain<\/b>” which Elvis sings perfectly well even if he complains very quietly about the sound which is indeed bad; he deploys a lot of vocal power on this song which he likes very much (to date, we have been able to count 363 versions sung on stage exactly). As always, he puts his heart into it; he lifts his left arm to show how much this weight of life is crushing him but that he will face it with dignity. Although Elvis has always denied that there is any connection between the lyrics and his separation from Priscilla, there are huge similarities between his inner sadness and the chorus. However, Elvis is a modest person and he ends the song with a joke “You Gave Me A Mountain, Over There, Somewhere”!<\/p>\n Then it was the turn of one of Elvis’ 1957 hits, the legendary ‘Jailhouse Rock’<\/b>; both on his 1968 comeback and 1969 return, Elvis seemed to enjoy it, as for years he seemed to force himself to sing this song as the ‘Teddy Bear \/ Don’t Be Cruel’ medley to please his audience. Tonight, he gives a good energy to the song and for the musicians (including Tony Brown who is exceptional) and the audience, it’s a good moment to hear the King’s version of this masterpiece again, 20 years later! Elvis is obliged to calm the ardour of the female spectators at the end of the song.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Since December 4, 1976 in Las Vegas, the King had the excellent idea of talking about the Italian origin of one of his masterpieces, “It’s Now Or Never”<\/b>, by asking Sherill Nielsen to sing in Italian, a capella, the first part of the song before taking over with the support of Joe Guercio’s orchestra which, for my taste, was a bit too strong on the trumpets that night; unfortunately, there is a cut in the middle of the song.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Once the song is over, Elvis Presley addresses the audience explaining that he will perform many different songs and if he doesn’t mind, songs he doesn’t know and he starts with a powerful version of one of his very first hits, “Trying To Get To You”<\/b>; as with “Jailhouse Rock”<\/b>, and he will remark on it himself, it is very interesting to hear how the Elvis of 1976 interprets a song of the Elvis of 1955.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This is followed by a beautiful version of “My Way<\/b>“, which is very poignant. This is a far cry from the 1972\/73 versions with a wheezy, omnipresent violin that had little to do with an Elvis Presley concert. The versions from 1976, even if they are still rare, start to give us chills as if Elvis Presley sensed the tragedy that was slowly but surely overtaking him. He puts so much of himself into this version that he raises his voice a notch higher on the end note. It is magnificent.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Once again, the King proves to his audience that he excels whatever the musical style he interprets; he proves it once again by giving a wild version of “Polk Salad Annie<\/b>“; as usual, Jerry Scheff on bass is imperial as well as the TCB Band; Joe Guercio’s orchestra is not to be outdone! Listening to this version, one has the impression of attending a total improvisation, it’s madness on stage. Elvis starts to shout several times “Play It Loud! (“play it loud!”). He is having a blast on stage, moving his body in all directions as if he was throwing punches.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The finale is magnificent, we wish the song would never end! Elvis gets into an attack position by doing a kata, he remains motionless, a sign that Joe Guercio’s orchestra has to hold the last note and ends it in an attack movement, Ronnie Tutt accompanying Elvis’ gestures.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Elvis moves on to the presentation of the musicians; he respectfully and generously gives them the opportunity to do solos; this could be boring for the audience but it is not, especially since mid 1976 when he often accompanies them by singing over them; and this evening again, he will offer his audience a magnificent gift as he will sing one of the longest interpretations of “Early Morning Rain<\/b>” (2’54) played with delicacy by John Wilkinson<\/b> on the rhythm guitar. What a pleasure to listen to; this pleasure is shared as Elvis urges the band to continue by turning to them and saying “One more verse”. Note the beautiful interpretation of Sweet Inspirations and the Stamps.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n He continues with James Burton<\/b> singing “What’d I Say<\/b>“; the version as usual is sung much too quickly and does not really present any artistic interest; he then asks him to play “Johnny B. Goode<\/b>“: we take a little more pleasure in listening to it even if once again the tempo is too fast Elvis adds, speaking of James Burton’s guitar playing: “if it’s easy for him, it’s hard for me!<\/p>\n Ronnie Tutt<\/b> follows with an impressive drum solo<\/b> on which Elvis encourages him.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n He does the same on Jerry Sheff’s bass solo<\/b>. Each time the audience applauds them; then it’s the turn of the young piano prodigy, Tony Brown<\/b>, the “new kid on the block” in the TCB Band since Glen Hardin’s departure, and finally David Briggs who is also a great musician on whom the King can count.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Elvis asked him as usual to play ‘Love Letters’<\/b> at the end of the TCB Band’s solos. He started doing this regularly during the 5th and final season in Lake Tahoe (May 1976) until the start of Tour 26 in Alexandria, Virginia on March 30, 1977. If it is not unpleasant to listen to, its tempo, as the months go by, becomes longer and longer (there are no less than 113 versions to date!); it remains quite still and slowly moves around the stage, getting closer to its fans.\u00a0 <\/span>If it’s not an unpleasant moment, it breaks the dynamics of the solos, the applause is timid and you can even hear some whistles…<\/p>\n Fortunately, Elvis will go wild on the solo of Joe Guercio’s orchestra<\/b> on a magnificent “Hail Hail Rock’n’Roll” to the point that on the final where Elvis has a blast, we can hear him say: “What the heck was that note I just hit? I just strained a gut! I just strained a gut!)<\/p>\n When Elvis Presley asks for the lights to be turned on in the hall to see the audience, you can hear the crowd roar with delight!<\/p>\n As on ‘On Tour’, Elvis follows up with a very cool ‘Funny How Time Slips Away’<\/b> which is aptly named. Throughout the song you can hear J.D. Sumner and he of course excels on the finale. Elvis is in a good mood and throws little souvenirs to the crowd which are given to him one by one by Charlie Hodge who follows him as soon as Elvis moves on the stage.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n One of the highlights of the show (but not the only one) is the remarkable performance of one of his last hits, ‘Hurt<\/b>‘ released as a single on March 12, 1976; Elvis Presley is in such good form that he repeats the words of the lyrics several times to add more emotion but is never out of tune. Charlie Hodge hands him a large terry towel which Elvis uses for a few moments to clean his face, the sweat damaging his eyes.\u00a0 <\/span>As usual, the finale is very successful but he takes a breath on the way down; for the audience, it’s inaudible but for the fans who are lucky enough to hear him on the soundboard, there’s no doubt that the King, who is a born perfectionist, will double the finale; and we can say that his second attempt gives one of the most beautiful finales I’ve ever heard on this song, which is one of the hardest to sing in his repertoire. What a concert! The crowd applauds him wildly because they have witnessed a truly incredible moment that only Elvis Presley can offer them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n He followed this up with a revisited and very (too?) fast tempo version of ‘Hound Dog’<\/b> but the finale, with the King’s unexpected wiggle to Ronnie Tutt’s drumming, drew much applause. This is a moment that Elvis chooses to hand out scarves which are given to him by Charlie Hodge.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Then, to everyone’s surprise, Elvis launched into a totally improvised version of ‘For The Good Times’<\/b>, a song he hadn’t sung for years. Even Elvis seemed unsure of himself at first and asked James Burton to play the first note for him to get his voice right. It was at this point that a terrible accidental noise was heard coming from the stage. He takes over the song but it has not been rehearsed at all by the band for years, which explains the wavering throughout the song. Indeed, if he sang this song 40 times, 38 were only taken in the spring and summer of 1972 (and twice in 1975). This is therefore the 41st and last time Elvis will sing this song. This is bound to be emotional and the tempo at which the song is played, despite the goodwill of the musicians, makes it the slowest and most delicate version he has ever sung. Charlie Hodge<\/b> and Sherill Nielsen<\/b> join Elvis in a 3-part harmony.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n While the audience could legitimately say that they have seen one of the best concerts Elvis has given in years, the best has yet to come.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Elvis glances at the crowd; we don’t know who he’s looking at but we’ll figure it out. It’s Ginger Alden, his brand new girlfriend to whom he’s dedicating that diamond he hasn’t performed in a long time too, “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face”.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n “It’s for you, sweetheart,” he tells her; it hasn’t been performed in a long time. Every word out of the King’s mouth is a gem. The TCB Band is a bit behind but in their defence, Elvis essentially sang it 3 \u00bd years earlier in the 9th season in Vegas (summer 1973); this is the 40th and final version that the 18,000 audience is listening to but it’s as if only Ginger is left in the room; he addresses her several times saying “listen”. There is also some wavering in Joe Guercio’s band (he would admit many years later that he hated playing this song on stage because of its difficulty) but Elvis sings perfectly. Then, to everyone’s surprise, Elvis asks all the musicians to stop playing except David Briggs; if the sound is turned up loud, we can hear the flies flying; the 18,400 spectators are as if suspended on each of his words, which he pronounces with an uncommon gentleness and sensitivity: “a prince from another planet”, as a journalist had nicknamed him the day after his last two concerts at Madison Square Garden in June 1972. Elvis seemed to be in another world, in his own bubble with him and Ginger, and when he heard some fans talking, he gave them a “Shut up”. He turns his back to the audience and like a conductor, he goes to ask each musician to start playing again, one after the other, the Stamps and the Sweet Inspirations join him and to finish on Joe Guercio’s orchestra who this time are in the rhythm; the song then rises crescendo to reach its paroxysm on a high note that Elvis holds for several seconds. There are no words to imagine what the audience felt at that moment but a standing ovation follows… And this version is all the more poignant when we know that he will never sing it again.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n But Elvis wasn’t done giving his audience gift after gift; he addressed them saying, “If you don’t mind I’d like to play the piano and sing for you”. And for the third show in a row, Tony Brown leaves his place to Elvis who settles down while Charlie Hodge holds the microphone for him to perform ‘Unchained Melody’; as Elvis starts to play, you can hear the notes gush out like water from a mountain spring and then the King starts to sing with the utmost gentleness.<\/p>\n On the second verse he hits a wrong note but quickly recovers; David Briggs follows him very quietly; then on the last verse he sings to your heart’s content:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n “Woah, my love, my darling<\/p>\n I’ve hungered, hungered for your touch<\/p>\n A long, lonely time<\/p>\n And time goes by so slowly<\/p>\n And time can do so much<\/p>\n Are you still mine?<\/p>\n I need your love<\/p>\n I need your love<\/p>\n God speed your love to me<\/p>\n On the last word “me”, the King uses his head voice, going to the highest register his vocal cords can manage.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Once again, the audience gives him a well-deserved standing ovation. Elvis raises his two arms high once his last note is played, stands up and goes to the centre of the stage.<\/p>\n The King has not finished yet since he is going to interpret with all his power but also his lightness of the 50’s the medley “Mystery Train \/ Tiger Man” updated; in spite of everything, he remains very applied and on “Mystery Train” James Burton makes a splendid solo; with “Tiger Man” as on the film “That’s The Way It Is”, he gives himself to the full with dehanch\u00e9s on the backdrop of lights which turn on and off on what has the gift to make the female public scream.<\/p>\n At the end of the song, Elvis humbly thanks the audience and says “Adios” as he sometimes says (and not just once during his last concert on 26 June 1977 as the sensationalist journalists say)<\/p>\n He then sings “Can’t Help Falling In Love” in spite of the frenzied crowd. Charlie Hodge, dressed all in blue, only gives Elvis blue silk scarves!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Once the song is over, Elvis, who has given an outstanding show of remarkable quality, takes the time to greet each part of the crowd; he is smiling and goes as far as doing several katas in a row before slipping away to the left side of the stage where Joe Guercio and his bodyguards are waiting for him. Meanwhile, the audience is hysterical, the police have difficulty in containing it;\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This fabulous concert was first released in 1998 in an excellent soundboard and has been the subject of several reissues, including an official one on the FTD label.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n Burning In Birmingham” (2 editions due to a printing error on the front of the CD) on the 2001 label (1998) First Time In Birmingham’ on Forum Records (2007)<\/p>\n<\/div> High Voltage – Birmingham ’76 Revisited’ on Audionics (2008); the sound has been greatly improved<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n Showtime’ on FTD (2010) December ’76’ on Hawaiian Divorce Ltd (2020)<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n Elvis – The Biggest Show On Earth – Wonderland Records CD4 (2010) <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Jean-Etienne BADUEL – 2022<\/p>\n<\/div> 8.30 PM – December, 29 1976 English version The day after 2 shows that will be remembered by Elvis Presley fans (the fabulous concerts in Wichita, Kansas and Dallas, Texas), the King flew from Dallas to land 1H37 later at Birmingham – Shuttlesworth International Airport.\u00a0 That’s a distance of almost 1,000 km as the crow […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-4417","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.elvismyhappiness.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.elvismyhappiness.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.elvismyhappiness.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.elvismyhappiness.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.elvismyhappiness.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4417"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.elvismyhappiness.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4417\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4437,"href":"https:\/\/www.elvismyhappiness.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4417\/revisions\/4437"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.elvismyhappiness.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.elvismyhappiness.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Capture-decran-2026-07-19-a-18.53.50.png\")
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