Elvis Presley died 45 years ago today, Chicago.
Here’s a quick look back at his Chicago appearances and how the Tribune wrote about his death.
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March 28, 1957: Elvis ‘rolls’ the International Amphitheater
Just one year before he entered the U.S. Army, the “Heartbreak Hotel” crooner wowed a Chicago crowd of teenagers — and their mothers.
But the kids weren’t the only people moved by Elvis. “A mother, seated with her three children, reached out and touched Presley. Tears of joy rolled down her face,” the Trib said. Read more.
March 29, 1957: Read the original concert review by Louise Hutchinson
Elvis Presley was drafted into the Army. He was never the same.
Michael Phillips on ‘Elvis’: Baz Luhrmann’s movie gyrates more than its subject
June 1972 concerts: Elvis ‘like a white batman dressed formal’
“He kissed a few never-to-be-forgotten kisses, tossed a few perspiration soaked scarves, graciously accepted the proffered lingerie. Crouching and karate chopping, he teased the audience into perfectly controlled, orderly, well behaved hysteria,” the Tribune reported. Read more.
Did you know? Elvis was dishwater blond? More facts about the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll.
Michael Sneed: ‘Elvis the Pelvis was superman with his golden cape’
October 1976 concerts: Fans ‘loved him tender, love him true’
“Presley could do no wrong,” Tribune critic Lynn Van Matre wrote, though his fans now gyrated more than he did. Read more.
Rick Kogan: ‘From someone who knew him — my brother Mark Kogan — a look at the real Colonel Tom Parker and Elvis Presley‘
Aug. 17, 1977: ‘Elvis Presley dies at 42’
“Presley’s unconscious form was discovered in a bathroom at his white-columned mansion by Joe Esposito, his road manager,” the Tribune reported the morning after Elvis died — just three months after his final Chicago performance. Read more.
Ann Landers: ‘Sorry to Say, but the King is dead’
Gene Siskel: ‘Elvis mined gold in the movies, too’
Greg Kot: ‘Elvis at his best’
Lynn Van Matre: ‘The king is dead. His crown had, of course, been askew for some time.’
“When he parked his Ford pickup outside the Memphis Recording studios, a subsidiary of Sam Phillips’ Sun Records, Elvis Presley was merely a 19-year-old Tennessee truck driver with two goals: The first, and immediate one, was to cut an acetate record of ‘My Happiness’ and ‘That’s When Your Heartaches Begin’ (total cost, $4) to give his mom for her birthday. Read more.
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