Elvis Presley - America (The Beautiful) - The Live Comparison Series - Volume Fifty

With America's bicentennial approaching, Elvis introduced America (The Beautiful) to his live set list for his December 1975 Las Vegas engagement, and he would specifically introduce the song by pointing out that this was why he was performing it. Version One – 2 December 1975, Opening Show, Las Vegas – The First Rendition Had Elvis not cancelled his August 1975 Las Vegas engagement due to exhaustion, then this rearranged December 1975 would never have occurred. By extension, it is therefore almost certain that Elvis would not have introduced the song until early 1976, and the first live rendition would have taken place then. As it was, the opening show of his penultimate Las Vegas engagement saw the introduction of this song in place of “Trilogy”. Version Two – 13 December 1975, Midnight Show, Las Vegas – The RCA Master This live performance, which would become the RCA master, and would be released as a single with 'My Way', was recorded in Las Vegas on 13 December Midnight show, eleven days after the first performance. Version Three – 31 December 1975, Pontiac – The First Bicentennial Rendition It should be remembered that Elvis gave two New Years Eve shows in consecutive years, and this first show is often overlooked. This is likely in part due to the extensive exposure of the both the excellent amateur 8mm footage and superb sounding audience recorded audio of the Pittsburgh 1976 show. It should be remembered though, that the 1975 show in the Pontiac Silverdome saw Elvis perform in front of the largest crowd of his career. The rendition of “America”, as the third song performed after midnight, is technically the first rendition of 1976 and thus the first bicentennial rendition. Version Four – 20 March 1976, Evening Show – Charlotte During his first tour of the bicentennial year, Elvis sang the song at all shows except for the evening show at Johnson City’s Freedom Hall. This evening show in Charlotte was the fifth show of eight, which concluded in St. Louis on 22 March. Version Five – 22 April 1976, Omaha Listen for the unusual ending by Elvis in this rendition. This show was the second of eight shows in seven days, and included just a single matinee show. At the conclusion of the tour, in Spokane on 27 April, Elvis took just two days off before commencing his final Lake Tahoe engagement. Version Six – 9 May 1976, Closing Show – Lake Tahoe For whatever reason, Elvis always seemed more at ease in Lake Tahoe than in Vegas, and often this was reflected in the shows that he gave at the resort. This closing show, his final show at the venue, is case and point and Elvis gives a wonderful rendition of the song. Version Seven – 5 June 1976, Atlanta Elvis and Atlanta always seemed to be a winning combination, and his five shows in 1973 and three in 1975 in the city are evidence of this. This was the final show of the tour, and the last of three consecutive shows in the city and all shows were of a decent standard. Version Eight – 4 July 1976, Tulsa – The Bicentennial Day Rendition Not Elvis finest rendition of the song, but one of which the significance cannot be underplayed. As this was Bicentennial day, Elvis took the unique step of performing both this and “Trilogy” in the same show. In addition Elvis gave only a matinee performance on this day. This is another show which had been available in bootleg circles for a few years in very poor sound. The soundboard recording of the show was finally released officially in December 2017. Version Nine – 1 August 1976, Hampton Roads This show was remains one of the best sounding bootleg shows ever released, and contains an unrehearsed version of “Return To Sender”. Despite sounding exhausted throughout the show, Elvis gives a heartfelt rendition of the song and the audience loved it. The concert is now available officially on the Follow That Dream label as part of a three disc set titled “Summer ‘76”. Version Ten – 31 August 1976, Macon Version Eleven – 19 October 1976, Madison This was Elvis’ first visit to Madison during the seventies, and he would return once more, during his final tour, and would perform his third last show of his lifetime here on 24 June 1977. Version Twelve – 28 October 1976, San Francisco – The Final Tour Rendition As Elvis, surprisingly, did not include the song during his final, superb end of year mini tour, this would be the final time it would be sung outside Las Vegas. This show in San Francisco’s Cow Palace was the third last show of the tour, but Elvis did not give a rendition at the following evening’s show at the venue nor the tour closing show in Anaheim on 30 October. Version Thirteen – 9 December 1976, Midnight Show, Las Vegas – The Final Rendition Despite Elvis’ final engagement in Las Vegas consisting of fifteen shows, the song was only sung at four, shows three, four, six and ten. Show ten saw the final live rendition which was this version from his 9 December Midnight Show.