Elvis Presley 1976/07/05
Taken on:
1976/07/05
Photo:
Commercial Appeal
Location:
Memphis, Tennessee
Attendance
12,000
Suit
Bicentennial suit w/blue
Info:
Elvis in action during his last concert in his hometown. Memphis, Tennessee. This July 5, 1976 show - one of the better 1976 shows - is released on bootleg as "Goodbye Memphis".
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OtisBlue22 wrote on July 13, 2011
I just visited the Coliseum last week, on my first trip to Memphis—just diggin' all the Elvis sites. Realised the venue was close to my hostel and that it had been abandoned some 6 years ago. Just think: this is where The Beatles' infamous "firecracker" show took place in 1966, when the Klan promised a few "surprises" for them. And of course, Elvis' homecoming shows in 1974, 1975 and 1976. That's my favourite live album of his! It was sad to see the letters spelling M I D S O U T H C O L I S E U M falling into disrepair. The place seemed haunted: of course, all the doors were locked, but the dark, empty arena was undoubtedly filled with thousands of ghosts. I could hear the last, distant strains of Can't Help Falling In Love, or Elvis as he admonished those who had previously put him down: "You, by God, watch me!" I could hear the rapturous applause of countless capacity crowds. Around the back was the VIP entrance through which stepped McCartney, Lennon, Harrison, Starr, Springsteen, Presley et al. And adjacent to this now derelict shrine to rock & roll legend was the former site of the Zippin Pippin - the wooden roller coaster Elvis adored so much - and the old fairgrounds where he spent many a hot summer night. Elvis would have driven right past it on his way to the arena's VIP entrance, and when he rode the Pippin one last time, just a week before his death, I wonder if he spied the Mid South Coliseum and looked ahead to his scheduled homecoming concert later that month...the one that was never to be. This is sacred ground, let's preserve what's left!
TheMemphisFan wrote on August 29, 2020
. . . and 9 years, 6 weeks later (after OtisBlue22 posted below) the M I D - S O U T H C O L I S E U M is still abandoned and in disrepair.
TheMemphisFan wrote on August 29, 2020
The July 5, 1976 show in Memphis was the only Elvis concert that I was fortunate enough to attend, and I'm so glad that I did!
Deano1 wrote on November 17, 2020
How unbelievably sad to see these great arenas from the past fall into disrepair and ultimately come down such as the Cincinnati Gardens where Elvis performed in 1971 and 1973. I was in the Gardens (to see an arena football game) before they tore it down and it was so filled with history from Elvis, to the Beatles to Presidential conventions to great sports starts like Oscar Robertson. You could, as OtisBlue22 said about the Mid-South, almost hear the voices. What a shame, they tore it down and obviously the Mid-South Coliseum will follow the same demise. On a positive note, The Cincinnati Coliseum (now the Heritage Bank Center) is still standing and operational. Elvis performed there twice in 1976 and his penultimate show there on 6/25/1977. My wife and I saw Tom Petty there in 2017 (great show BTW) just months before he died. Before the show I brought up the video of Elvis from YouTube that shows him performing in the arena and pointed it at the stage. For one brief moment, it was almost like seeing Elvis in concert...Almost.