Elvis Presley’s Declining Health in Later Years

After slimming down for his 1973 Aloha From Hawaii special, Elvis Presley gained significant weight in his final years. He relied on uppers and downers to sustain his intense touring schedule, performing nearly 400 concerts from 1974 to 1976. By 1977, health issues including liver damage, glaucoma, an enlarged colon, and high blood pressure left him a shadow of his former self.

Around Christmas 1976, his girlfriend of four years, Linda Thompson, ended their relationship amicably, seeking a life away from his demanding celebrity world.

The Final 1977 Tour and TV Special

During his last tour in 1977, manager Colonel Tom Parker arranged a third TV special, Elvis in Concert. Crews filmed performances in Nebraska and South Dakota on June 19 and 21, weeks before Presley’s death on August 16. CBS aired the program on October 3, two months after he passed.

Elvis Presley Enterprises has not released it commercially, stating: “We have no plans for releasing a home video of the Elvis in Concert material at this time. Because of the severity of Elvis’ health problems at the time the special was shot, Elvis was far from his best in the way he looked and the way he performed, though there are some truly brilliant moments in the footage.”

Reactions from Inner Circle

Memphis Mafia member Jerry Schilling recalled watching the CBS special and questioning Colonel Parker: “How could you let him be filmed looking like that?”

Linda Thompson described her shock: “I just remember standing and looking at the television set and thinking, ‘Oh my god, this is not even the same man that I said goodbye to eight months ago. It was horrifying to me to watch.”

Despite the struggles, standout moments shone through. Thompson noted the emotional power in his rendition of Unchained Melody: “But the power that he had on Unchained Melody that night was just gut-wrenching.” Pianist Tony Brown praised it as “the greatest performance he’d ever done,” adding that the song seemed to bring Presley pain.

Priscilla Presley, his ex-wife, reflected in the documentary Elvis: The Searcher: “Those last shows were not the most memorable as far as performance. Sometimes he didn’t get through a song. I think the last year, he was pretty much over it. I don’t even know why he went on stage. They’re just hard to watch. Sometimes I think it was maybe better if they just cancelled the show.”

Rock writer Nik Cohn observed: “Night by night it became harder for him to carry on being Elvis. Drugs and self-destructiveness were all punishments.” Yet, Presley drew joy from his fans’ adoration: “He was in great pain and yet he would give so much pleasure. He would go off stage and collapse and the audience would go out…joyous; spiritually blessed.”

Elvis Presley died at age 42 from a heart attack at Graceland on August 16, 1977.