I’ve already gone over the details of Elvis Presley’s first Michigan concert.....so by popular demand (okay, not really), here’s some info on the last time Elvis performed in Michigan.
It took place on April 22, 1977 – four months before he passed away – at Olympia Stadium. It was the eighth time Elvis appeared in the Detroit area, if you include his 1975 appearance at the Pontiac Silverdome.
15,000 came to see if the King of Rock ‘n Roll had indeed gained more weight, as the tabloids had been reporting. Too many peanut butter, mayo, and ‘nanner sandwiches, fried foods, and red-eye gravy made with coffee and bacon grease. Elvis did indeed look like he had put on more pounds, “literally bigger than he’s ever been. Certainly Presley is about 25 pounds over his best days, and a robust part of that surplus hangs over the front of his wide, gold studded belt” said writer Lawrence DeVine, in a not-so-flattering review.
His review doesn’t get any better, saying Elvis had a lack of inspiration and the stage production was overdone and predictable, with not much that was new: “His onstage production, which seven years ago was so stunning, in the brilliance of his musicians and singers, and in the flash of its costume design, now is beginning to look stodgy because it is so predictable.”
Maybe if he knew the problems Elvis was having, including his unnecessary excessive-medication prescriptions, the review might have been kinder. When Elvis died on August 16 of that year, the fans who saw him that April night realized how fortunate they were to see this icon in person.
The years leading up to his death included drug use and secluding himself in his bedroom scarfing down cheeseburger after cheeseburger.
According to MSN, “he refrained from bathing throughout 1975, leading to the formation of sores on his body. His unhealthy eating habits led to severe constipation, and a post-mortem examination revealed four months' worth of stool compacted in his bowel.....he had consumed a staggering amount of prescription drugs - nearly 9000 pills, vials, and injections were prescribed to him in the seven months leading up to his untimely demise.”
Elvis was found face down on his bathroom floor around 2:30pm by his fiancée, Ginger Alden. Original reports claimed heart attack, but it was years later when the gruesome details were revealed. And Elvis’ doctor, George Nichopoulos, was accused of overprescribing drugs; however, he was acquitted on all counts in 1981. Then, in 1993, the Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners found him guilty and revoked his medical license.
Dr. Nick died in 2016.
Read More: Elvis Presley's Last Michigan Concert and His Shocking Autopsy | https://witl.com/ixp/691/p/elvis-last-m ... m=referral