Would-Be Scalpers Lose Money On Elvis Tickets
by Jerry Kenion
Greensboro Daily News
Monday July 22, 1975

Some would-be ticket scalpers were losing money at a fast clip Monday night before the sold-out Elvis Presley concert at the Greensboro Coliseum.

By 8:50 pm, 20 minutes after the warm-up acts had been entertaining the crowd inside, about a dozen people were standing outside of the Coliseum, Elvis tickets fanned out in their hands. There were no big-money buyers left. Four $10 tickets went for a total of $5. Several people gave away $10 tickets. One man admitted to trading a $450 truck for 4 $10 tickets, which he was holding, with no buyers in sight.

For more scalping had been a profitable business. A local radio announcer admitted to having made a $500 profit on Elvis tickets, so he didn't mind giving away his last few. Cash in pocket, this young man went home; he didn't even stay for the show.

The more than 16,000 people inside the Coliseum seemed to be getting their money's worth, though, whether they paid the standard rates or up to $200 for a scalper's front row ticket.

The fans were polite and reasonably responsive to singers The Voice and a comedian whose name was garbled on the sound system. The electricity really began to flow, though, when the Sweet Inspirations came out. These three singing, hip-swinging women wowed them with their fancy footwork and vocalizing, working the crowd into a hand-clapping frenzy before intermission.

Then, at 9:55 p.m., the old familiar fanfare began. The stage was dark, the trumpets blared and the timpani rolled, as deafening screams filled the Coliseum

The King was back. He was still their King of Rock'n'Roll, and he was better than ever.

To syncopated splashes of light from thousands of flashbulbs, Elvis stepped into the spotlight. He still smiles the one-sided smile that shows his dimples. He still wiggles and gets cheers and screams for every motion. And, who else in the world can get a screaming cheer for lifting a glass of water and taking a sip?

Though the singing superstar seems to have put on a few inches around the middle, it's doubtful that any of his fans noticed, or even cared if they did notice. Elvis still knows how to move, to shimmy, to vibrate a knee, or turn his backside to an audience and get cheered for it.

Dressed in a sequin-trimmed black jumpsuit with white full sleeves and a low cut neck, the gyrating singer strutted his stuff with a style that seems to get more humorous and more relaxed every year. He wiped his neck, forehead and chest with about a dozen of multi-colored scarves before bestowing them upon adoring fans. Some of the young women got kisses from Elvis along with the scarves. Some went away disappointed.

Elvis clowned, tied a scarf around his head and talked in a falsetto Geraldine like voice, trying to break up the J.D. Sumner and the Stamps Quartet while they were singing.

He talked about having to go to the dentist today because a filling fell out of his tooth last night. He admitted to being a bit tired after a rafter-shaking rendition of "Poke Salad Annie" and sat down on the stage to rest.

Through all this relaxed show, which included fewer of the golden oldies and more gospel and recent material, Elvis seemed to be having fun while earning a fortune. The audience had fun, too.

One woman got so carried away that she donated a pair of black panties to the show, and Elvis clowned around, covering the face of a member of his group with the garment.

One very small Elvis fan, dressed in a tiny, white, caped replica of some Elvis past costumes, stole the show for a few moments close to the end of the concert. Elvis asked for the little boy, who identified himself as Mitch, age 7, to be brought to the stage. After wrapping a bright blue scarf around the little boy's neck, Elvis asked Mitch if he could shake his legs. Center stage, in the spotlight, Mitch twitched and the audience cheered.

Elvis Presley fell to the floor, rolled over on his back, with his legs in the air, and gullawed. Then the superstar added with mock jealousy, "Get him off!".

There was plenty of fun for Elvis fans in the Coliseum, but they also got their money's worth in the music department. Elvis' voice was so good; so versatile and so powerful, especially on "How Great Thou Art," that the audience stood and cheered for more of the same. Elvis repeated part of the song.

The King of Rock'n'Roll seems to perform better with each added year. He is in great voice, and he can control an audience with half-inch move of a muscle.

That's real superstar, with a super show