Caesars Palace '74

[TCB-FAN]

Sept. 3rd, 1974, doing a karate pose for Tom Jones fans @ a Tom Jones show.





....And here are other pics from that night (with Sheila Ryan)

[eligain]

I wish Elvis did this more. He needed to go out more. Jackie Gleason warned him early on that he needed to go out and not become isolated and trapped by his fame. I often think about what a small world Elvis lived in even though he had the whole world at his feet!

[brian]

I wish Elvis did this more. He needed to go out more. Jackie Gleason warned him early on that he needed to go out and not become isolated and trapped by his fame. I often think about what a small world Elvis lived in even though he had the whole world at his feet!

He probably got out more that we realize.

[Elton]

Well ELvis admits he could be a little sneaky when he wanted to..
I mean he did have a back-gate at Graceland.

But I agree he should have gotten out more.
Tony Joe White invited him to come visit and go fishing and hang out ect.
and even outing like this you can bet that a guitar wasn't very far from Tony Joe's reach.
but it just wasn't meant to be!
....Wow the music they could've made!

[rlj4ep]

TCB-FAN, thanks so much for posting these pics. All but one are new to my eyes. Thanks so much.

rlj

[Mister Mike]

Having a new woman in his life obviously made him more outgoing.

[keninlincs]

Thanks TCBFan

[Gitchops83]

Just a couple of weeks later he looked terrible ...................

[keninlincs]

Just a couple of weeks later he looked terrible ...................

Welcome to FECC

[fn2drive]

Good lord he looked ridiculous. Guitar player laughing- at him in pic 1? This is what delusional looks like- very sad.

[eligain]

I wish Elvis did this more. He needed to go out more. Jackie Gleason warned him early on that he needed to go out and not become isolated and trapped by his fame. I often think about what a small world Elvis lived in even though he had the whole world at his feet!

He probably got out more that we realize.

Not really. He tended to only go out when the rest of the world was sleeping and then only to places that we open only to him. Rarely out in the public to restaurants and parties etc. that didn't involve only his group.

[brian]

I wish Elvis did this more. He needed to go out more. Jackie Gleason warned him early on that he needed to go out and not become isolated and trapped by his fame. I often think about what a small world Elvis lived in even though he had the whole world at his feet!

He probably got out more that we realize.

Not really. He tended to only go out when the rest of the world was sleeping and then only to places that we open only to him. Rarely out in the public to restaurants and parties etc. that didn't involve only his group.

He didn't go to restaurants or parties because he didn't want to.

If he wanted to go to more restaurants or Hollywood parties he certainly could have.

Fame doesn't stop celebrities from doing those things.

[rlj4ep]

Good lord he looked ridiculous. Guitar player laughing- at him in pic 1? This is what delusional looks like- very sad.

I can see why you make that statement..... But I'm willing to not read so much into the photo. It is a frozen moment in time and we really do not know why the man with the guitar was laughing. Perhaps Tom Jones had invited Elvis on stage to perform some karate; maybe some jokes were shared, anything is possible. The picture simply captures the moment and not the complete context. I'll extend the benefit of the doubt to Elvis.

rlj

[Scatter]

Man, he was really starting to lose it by this time. Thank God he didn't start whipping out his guns too.

[eligain]

I wish Elvis did this more. He needed to go out more. Jackie Gleason warned him early on that he needed to go out and not become isolated and trapped by his fame. I often think about what a small world Elvis lived in even though he had the whole world at his feet!

He probably got out more that we realize.

Not really. He tended to only go out when the rest of the world was sleeping and then only to places that we open only to him. Rarely out in the public to restaurants and parties etc. that didn't involve only his group.

He didn't go to restaurants or parties because he didn't want to.

If he wanted to go to more restaurants or Hollywood parties he certainly could have.

Fame doesn't stop celebrities from doing those things.

But it seemed to stop him. The bottom line is Elvis isolated himself and was out of touch with the real world and popular culture which wasn't good.

[Jim Dandy]

I quite like his look and outfit, I don't perceive it as those he is "losing it". At least he's not wearing a turban: "Yeah man, my hairy was like, really greasy, and I couldn't be rooted washing it, so I found this rag in the closet, and hey presto".

[Scatter]

I quite like his look and outfit, I don't perceive it as those he is "losing it". At least he's not wearing a turban: "Yeah man, my hairy was like, really greasy, and I couldn't be rooted washing it, so I found this rag in the closet, and hey presto".

Lets see.....got up onstage during someone else's show and riffed endlessly about martial arts while demonstrating different poses. Yeah, he was fine.

The appropriate action would be to mount the stage after being introduced, shake Tom's hand, wave to the crowd, and sit the hell down.

[brian]

I wish Elvis did this more. He needed to go out more. Jackie Gleason warned him early on that he needed to go out and not become isolated and trapped by his fame. I often think about what a small world Elvis lived in even though he had the whole world at his feet!

He probably got out more that we realize.

Not really. He tended to only go out when the rest of the world was sleeping and then only to places that we open only to him. Rarely out in the public to restaurants and parties etc. that didn't involve only his group.

He didn't go to restaurants or parties because he didn't want to.

If he wanted to go to more restaurants or Hollywood parties he certainly could have.

Fame doesn't stop celebrities from doing those things.

But it seemed to stop him. The bottom line is Elvis isolated himself and was out of touch with the real world and popular culture which wasn't good.

Nah.

Being famous didn't stop Elvis from going to Hollywood parties or going to restaurants.

Celebrities do those things if they want and a lot of them do.

If Elvis was out of touch with popular culture or the real world he should have read more newspapers and watched the news.

Going to Hollywood parties wouldn't have changed that if he was out of touch with the real world.

[londonflash]

"I got the damn paunch. I wore a bullet proof vest on stage. True. Y' know, in case some fool trys (sic) to take a .22 and blow my belly button off. That's true. I got 'is pauch. Sumbitch".

From Joe Russo's review of one of Elvis' College Park "gigs" later that month.

http://home.online.no/~ov-egela/profile2.html#disc2

Elvis might have been in the car but the wheels had come off.

[eligain]

I wish Elvis did this more. He needed to go out more. Jackie Gleason warned him early on that he needed to go out and not become isolated and trapped by his fame. I often think about what a small world Elvis lived in even though he had the whole world at his feet!

He probably got out more that we realize.

Not really. He tended to only go out when the rest of the world was sleeping and then only to places that we open only to him. Rarely out in the public to restaurants and parties etc. that didn't involve only his group.

He didn't go to restaurants or parties because he didn't want to.

If he wanted to go to more restaurants or Hollywood parties he certainly could have.

Fame doesn't stop celebrities from doing those things.

But it seemed to stop him. The bottom line is Elvis isolated himself and was out of touch with the real world and popular culture which wasn't good.

Nah.

Being famous didn't stop Elvis from going to Hollywood parties or going to restaurants.

Celebrities do those things if they want and a lot of them do.

If Elvis was out of touch with popular culture or the real world he should have read more newspapers and watched the news.

Going to Hollywood parties wouldn't have changed that if he was out of touch with the real world.

I'm not talking about Hollywood Parties. That is just as out of touch with reality as staying holed up in Graceland. I'm talking about going out in the world. Doing what he did the night these pictures were taken. That was a rarity and it shouldn't have been. The real reason he didn't go to Hollywood parties is that he felt insecure. He didn't go to restaurants because he thought he would be mobbed. I believe the Colonel instilled this in him because he didn't want him out being seen and he didn't want him talking to other people in the business and finding out that maybe the grass was greener on the other side of the fence.

Denver police chief Jerry Kennedy told me personally that Elvis enjoyed the hell out of going out to eat in Denver but he was so hesitant to go because he thought he would be mobbed. When he wasn't mobbed, he even started walking around the restaurant trying to be recognized.

[brian]

I wish Elvis did this more. He needed to go out more. Jackie Gleason warned him early on that he needed to go out and not become isolated and trapped by his fame. I often think about what a small world Elvis lived in even though he had the whole world at his feet!

He probably got out more that we realize.

Not really. He tended to only go out when the rest of the world was sleeping and then only to places that we open only to him. Rarely out in the public to restaurants and parties etc. that didn't involve only his group.

He didn't go to restaurants or parties because he didn't want to.

If he wanted to go to more restaurants or Hollywood parties he certainly could have.

Fame doesn't stop celebrities from doing those things.

But it seemed to stop him. The bottom line is Elvis isolated himself and was out of touch with the real world and popular culture which wasn't good.

Nah.

Being famous didn't stop Elvis from going to Hollywood parties or going to restaurants.

Celebrities do those things if they want and a lot of them do.

If Elvis was out of touch with popular culture or the real world he should have read more newspapers and watched the news.

Going to Hollywood parties wouldn't have changed that if he was out of touch with the real world.

The reason he didn't go to Hollywood parties is that he felt insecure

I doubt that.

I thought it was that he didn't enjoy the lifestyles of other famous people and couldn't relate to them.

In his life he did go to a few Hollywood parties.

There are stories of Elvis going to see Bobby Darin, Barbara Streisand and Nancy Sinatra concerts In Vegas.

He attended WFL football games in Memphis.

There are stories of him going out to eat with Linda Thompson and people thought he was an Elvis impersonator.

So maybe just maybe he got out more than we realize.

[jurasic1968]

Elvis attended many shows of other singers in his life so he was not so reclusive, like many people thought.

[Jim Dandy]

I quite like his look and outfit, I don't perceive it as those he is "losing it". At least he's not wearing a turban: "Yeah man, my hairy was like, really greasy, and I couldn't be rooted washing it, so I found this rag in the closet, and hey presto".

Lets see.....got up onstage during someone else's show and riffed endlessly about martial arts while demonstrating different poses. Yeah, he was fine.

The appropriate action would be to mount the stage after being introduced, shake Tom's hand, wave to the crowd, and sit the hell down.

Scatter, without a recording of Elvis 'introduction available, I don't think your presumption is fair. Perhaps the band attempted to play an impromptu opening riff" and being the showman, Elvis did a little "show off". Perhaps Jones tried to upstage him some how and Elvis countered it?

Think of it this way: if Michael Jackson was introduced and brought on stage, not only would you expect him to do a little moon dance, but the crowd would have loved it. What would you expect Elvis to do? Return to the 1950s and swirl his hips like he's playing with a hoola hoop? No, he'd do karate because it works with the (presumed playing) drum beat and that's what he was known for at the time - karate chops at the end of songs.

Re the guitarist, I don't perceive him to be laughing at Elvis. I see him as smiling or laughing in disbelief that Elvis is on the same stage as him. Maybe you are right and the Jones band thinks Elvis was a joke.

Anyway, each to their own, but I don't see anything inappropriate with what Elvis is doing in that picture, or what he's wearing considering he was Elvis Presley (I wouldn't expect some introverted, plainly dressed guy called Elvis to get on the stage). Let's find an audience recording and find out what was going on: surely their are Tom Jones nuts out there who could help?

[Gitchops83]

I know they were mates but its a bit ordinary to upstage someone else's show like that but who knows you can read alot into a picture.
But genuine fans should be able to discuss the not so nice aspects of elvis and his life aswell

[stedders]

There must be people there (Tom himself) who could regale what actually happened.

As for the guitarist laughing in the first pic, that could be anything don't be so silly whoever wrote that.