Elvis Presley: Norfolk Scope July 20, 1975

[DEH]

Teen acts are always in the spotlight for a few years. until the teenage girls improve their tastes and move on. it happens 90% of the time . Elvis was sepcial. Bieber does not sing even live! what talent? he won't last. Madonna is from a different era. Timberlake will dry up. none of these acts today will be packing arenas like U2, Springsteen, yadda yadda in 30 years. younger talent is not found and brought along the way the long lasting acts were where they had to be talented to last. its a different time. this is a time when people are going to American Idol to discover new talent. its totally warped. acts come and go faster than ever now.

[drjohncarpenter]

Man, are you bitter.

[norrie]

Man, are you bitter.

.....and old.


Nice stories memphisound and Rob,thanks


norrie

[DEH]

No just can spot lack of talent a mile away. and my predictions on who lasts are usually right.

If u can't even sing live your days as a popular singer are numbered.

[memphisound]

Teen acts are always in the spotlight for a few years. until the teenage girls improve their tastes and move on. it happens 90% of the time . Elvis was sepcial. Bieber does not sing even live! what talent? he won't last. Madonna is from a different era. Timberlake will dry up. none of these acts today will be packing arenas like U2, Springsteen, yadda yadda in 30 years. younger talent is not found and brought along the way the long lasting acts were where they had to be talented to last. its a different time. this is a time when people are going to American Idol to discover new talent. its totally warped. acts come and go faster than ever now.

What do you mean Timberlake will dry up? He's been in the spotlight since the mid-late 1990's and his career survived the breakup of his boy group "Nysync" because of his talent. And now drops material when he wants to because as a singer-songwriter, actor, record producer, businessman, I'm sure he's a busy man and not on the way to drying up. We never will think they make stars today like they use to, a lot of that is true to an extent, but in a way its mostly because of nostalgia. And norrie, glad you enjoyed the story!

[paulsweeney]

Never knew that people sometimes forget the sweet side of the MAN

Elvis had a "sweet side" like no other. I talked to a lady a few years ago who could confirm this first hand.

Many of you know that during Elvis' evening show in Cincinnati in 1976, he makes an emergency announcement. He tells Carla Mulford of Lawrenceburg, Indiana to report to the emergency first aid station. Normally, he would not have made such an announcement. However, in this case, it definitely was an emergency.

I did a little investigative work recently and found the one and only Carla Mulford. She was a little hesitant to talk with me. Once she found out that I had a CD of the show and I was merely trying to find out the story behind the emergency, she opened up a little. She is now in her late 60's and at the time had a three-year old daughter named Beth. Beth was mentally retarded because of being born with fluid on her brain. Carla was very protective of the little girl and was hesitant to leave her alone to go see Elvis' show at the Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati on the evening of March 21, 1976.

With a little coaxing from her family, she did attend the concert. Unfortunately, Beth had a seizure while her mother and father were at the show. Family members rushed the girl to the hospital. At that time she was unresponsive. The medical staff said that they could not treat the girl without permission from the parents. They called the coliseum and asked that Beth's parents be paged immediately because it was a matter of life and death. One of the employees at the coliseum went on stage and handed the information to Elvis who promptly read it.

Carla Mulford heard the announcement and in a panic rushed to the emergency station and gave the doctors permission to treat Beth.

The little girl survived that night and lived for 23 more years. She finally passed away in 1999 after a lifetime of medical problems due to her condition. It was the only time that Carla Mulford ever attended an Elvis concert. She and her husband left the concert immediately following Elvis' announcement and rushed to the hospital, therefore missing much of the show.

Here's the great part of this story. When Elvis came off stage, he wanted to know what the emergency was all about. When he was told what had happened, he instructed someone to call the hospital to find out the condition of the little girl. Elvis specifically asked to talk to one of Beth's parents. He talked to Carla and found out that the little girl looked as if she was going to make it. She said her conversation with Elvis lasted about 5 minutes after she realized it was actually Elvis that she was talking to. She obviously did not believe him at first.


I am going to send her a copy of "Holding Back The Years" so that she can hear the rest of what she missed 31 years ago.

Carla and her husband still get around very well and are currently on vacation in Mexico.

Lawrenceburg, Indiana is about 45 minutes from here. It took a little detective work, but I was relieved to know that I finally found her. Maybe I should open up my own private investigation firm.

Anyway....that's the story of the Carla Mulford emergency in Cincinnati on the night of March 21, 1976.


Elvis Presley was certainly one of a kind and each day I am proud to call myself a fan.

Great work Rob - awesome story and excellent detective work!!

[paulsweeney]

During the July 20, 1975 show, between songs Elvis was joking around and giving out scarves when he noticed a little girl standing on the far left of the stage. He walked over and knelt down on one knee in front of her. Realising she was blind, Elvis held her hands and spoke to her for a few minutes. The audience could not hear as he kept the microphone away from his mouth. He then kissed his scarf and touched both her eyes with it. When he was finished he took the scarf and held it to the child's face. The little girl stood there with complete confidence in what Elvis was doing. The girl had been blind since birth.


We all know this was a rough time for Elvis, and he was clearly unhappy. But this goes to show how big a heart he had. I hadn't come across it before and after reading and knowing of the events with the Sweet Inspiration's and Kathy Westmoreland I was surprised this happened at the show same.

Great stuff memphisound! I forgot all about this. Thanks for reminding us of this great story.

[King Volcano]

these youngsters careers are not going to last as as long as their predecessors. half of them are lip synchers and their music has no depth. these type of acts come and go. they will be performing on cruise ships eventually. u think One direction will be around in 10 years? Jonas Bros were the next big thing and they are already done. remember avril lavigne? she can't attract 5,000 people at 20,000 seater anymore. all those boy bands have to go away so they can have a reunion tour 15 years later.lol

This was said about Elvis in 1956. It seems Colonel Parker managed Elvis as if he would be a flash in the pan. If they're talented, they can stay around. Madonna's lasted many years, which I don't clearly understand. Timberlake's been around for awhile. Bieber's been in the spotlight for a few years now, hasn't he? Who knows what the future holds?

Talent isn't always necessary, musical anyway. Many people wrote off Robbie Williams in the UK, poking fun at his weight and alleged behaviour when he quit Take That. And yet in subsequent years he raked in an absolute fortune and became a huge solo star. While his undeniably more talented ex colleague who wrote most of Take That's hits, became a laughing stock in the UK for many years.

And with Williams, all that unexpected solo success with (in my opinion) an absolutely awful, nasal, thin, stomach-churning singing voice. It might be OK on record via studio techniques, but often not on stage / TV from what I've heard. He was all over UK TV December just gone, and sounded awful. As people say above, you just can't tell what will happen to these pop people, talented or not. People are often hypnotized by the strangest, smallest things, like Williams' grin or suits. What else could it be?

[drjohncarpenter]

No just can spot lack of talent a mile away. and my predictions on who lasts are usually right.

If u can't even sing live your days as a popular singer are numbered.

Your posts only tell us that "u" are misinformed and bitter.

[poormadpeter]

Those saying that teenage acts today do not partake in the sort of behaviour shown by Elvis is complete rubbish. The vast majority treat their fans with the respect they deserve - and this can be seen by their interaction with them through social media. Meanwhile Bieber regularly visits childrens hospitals as a simple google search shows. As for him not singing live (although what that has to do with the thread is anybody's guess), this a recent development, and anyone reading the reports of this will know it is only for one or two songs per show anyway - and no doubt linked to his recent erratic behaviour, which hopefully can be sorted out before it's too late.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?sourceid=navclient&aq=&oq=bieber+sick+children&hl=en-GB&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4GGLS_en-GBGB572GB572&q=bieber+sick+children&gs_l=hp...0i22i30l5.0.0.0.9418...........0.8XSnfCEm0KY

[drjohncarpenter]

The flip-side of 7-20-1975 in Norfolk:

750721_Memphis Press-Scimitar.JPG

Memphis Press-Scimitar - Monday, July 21, 1975

[jurasic1968]

Thanks, Doc. Until now I believed that this incident was never mentioned in the press. But I read in Careless Love that what Elvis sad was a racist comment. It seems to be true, unfortunately, sad and hard to explain his behaviour, maybe he was very angry that night, I think we'll never know. Fortunately it was an exception.

[memphisound]

Thanks for the artice John.

[rickeap]

Ignoring the negativity, thanks Memphisound for the photos and info and particularly Rob for the follow-up to that 1976 announcement, which always interested me.

[elvisalisellers]

Madonna's lasted many years, which I don't clearly understand.

Let it go.

[keninlincs]

Madonna's lasted many years, which I don't clearly understand.

Let it go.

she outshone many at this years grammys

[drjohncarpenter]

Thanks, Doc. Until now I believed that this incident was never mentioned in the press. But I read in Careless Love that what Elvis sad was a racist comment. It seems to be true, unfortunately, sad and hard to explain his behaviour, maybe he was very angry that night, I think we'll never know. Fortunately it was an exception.

Thanks for the artice John.

Thanks. It's all part of the story, one show OK, the next not OK.

Somehow, I don't feel Elvis' comment was intended to come off as racist. In his current state he meant it to be funny, but it was no surprise two of the Sweet Inspirations (Estelle, Sylvia) and Kathy Westmoreland left the stage. Kathy, in particular, had been the butt of some very unkind "jokes" throughout this tour.

[Ciscoking]

The incident reportedly happened during the intros..on the AR you can`t make out a
word about it..it must have been off mike..

[elvisjock]

The incident reportedly happened during the intros..on the AR you can`t make out a
word about it..it must have been off mike..

It is very hard to hear, but I do recall the line about people breathing on him. It was early in the show.

He did, during the introductions, say that he was sorry for embarrassing The Sweets, but if they can't take it, they can "get off the pot."

[drjohncarpenter]

The incident reportedly happened during the intros..on the AR you can`t make out a
word about it..it must have been off mike..

The next day's UPI story, posted above, has direct quotes. It must have been audible to the reporter there.

[Ciscoking]

I have to say..the AR sounds awful..

[rlj4ep]

THANK YOU so much Rob and memphisound. GREAT stories. Part of the reason we appreciate Elvis so much!!! I really wish there was more of a focus on this part of Elvis than all of the other "stuff."

rlj

[Ricky]

Audible, barely...we in the audience didn't really catch the verbage. Trying to give Myrna a star-shaped diamond ring was more obivious. Although pictures later showed him wearing the ring again later in the tour. It was explained in the paper...somewhat vaguely... the next day by long time entertainment writer Mal Vincent (recently deceased). I have the original article, let me find it. My memory says the first real description of this event was detailed in "Elvis What Happened".