Video of the Day: Elvis in New York

In June of 1972 (just months after his divorce) Elvis Presley performed a 3-day run at Madison Square Garden. These shows were the first full concerts he put on in NYC, and the first since he appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1956. Excitement was in the air, and Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Art Garfunkel, all of Led Zepplin and half of The Beatles (John Lennon and George Harrison) were in the audience. Another notable name: some report Liberace was there and after seeing him in concert suggested adding flashy costumes into his act.

This second show, on June 10th, was being recorded for a live album to be released one week later, which ended up being titled, Elvis as Recorded at Madison Square Garden. During his 2:30pm matinee show earlier that day, another album was recorded (released in 1997!) titled An Afternoon at the Garden. Below is a video of The King performing at the evening show:

Here's another clip from the same trip of Elvis at the Hilton Hotel in New York. After this visit the New York Times, who had previously panned him ("Mr. Presley has no discernible singing ability. His specialty is rhythm songs which he renders in an undistinguished whine; his phrasing, if it can be called that, consists of the stereotyped variations that go with a beginner's aria in a bathtub. For the ear he is an unutterable bore."), declared him "a prince from another planet." We're sure they meant king, not prince. Today marks the 30th year anniversary of the rock royalty's death (if he's dead, that is), and you can be sure Graceland is selling lots of tickets to his former home - which is beginning to undergo a very expensive makeover.

For the non-Memphis-bound, Citysearch has compiled a list of Elvis hangouts and Time Out NY has some Elvis in NYC tidbits, including where to find the famed Gold Loaf sandwich (there's an alternative here).