He's greatest Of All Time
by Ezra Greenhouse
Syracuse Herald Journal
July 26, 1976

Richard Hess and Patricia Ann Cervone drove from Long Island to sit in the last row of seats on the floor of the soldout War Memorial last night.

They will follow Elvis Presley to performances in Rochester today, Syracuse again tomorrow, New Haven, Conn., Springfield, Mass., and anywhere else they can find his name on a marquee.

"Just to know I'm breathing the same air with him is enough for me," said Hess, who eagerly flashes a wallet photo of himself and Elvis taken in Las Vegas.

Miss Cervone hands out a card listing her as director of EPIC (Elvis Presley Information Center) in Atlantic Beach, and boasts that last night was her 150th Elvis concert. "He's the greatest of all time," she said, with all the firmness of historical truth.

For the 8,300-plus fans of all ages Elvis was indeed the greatest,' and has been since they first heard his Mississippi bred baritone 'quiver through a radio speaker and into their bones.

The men have no trouble coming to terms with Elvis. "He's a he-man," said one. "An All-American male," said another.

For women, it's "his eyes," or "his style," or "I can't tell you because I'm embarrassed."

"I was a little too old for him when he first started," said Mrs "'Pam Bagozzi. "Now I'm a lot younger."

Tammy Wheeler, a diminutive 11-year-old who came from Port Byron with her parents, got a very youthful start with Elvis.

"I've been a fan since I was four," she said matter-of-factly, and added, "I love his looks." Not everyone had as little difficulty as Tammy expressing their feelings about Elvis.

A registered nurse at the War Memorial dispensary said she ran out of aspirin tablets an hour before the concert treating people for "nervous tension."

"I just can't believe this," she said. "I had one boy from Buffalo who said he paid $90 for a ticket, and who complained he was hepped up all day about Elvis."

War Memorial Manager Pete Napier said many of the excited fans lined up to take their seats at 5 p.m. - two hours before the doors opened. Fortunately for the medical profession, most left their nervous and other energies in the auditorium when they departed six hours later.

They also left a good deal of money, with estimated gross ticket sales at $200,000-plus for the two Elvis concerts, and thousands more for enthusiastically promoted Elvis buttons, photos, and programs.

No one, however, complained about paying $12.50 each, or driving hundreds of miles to catch a glimpse and and an earful of America's most successful rock 'n roller.

"For Elvis, I thought the price was cheap," said Linda McDowell of Phoenix. "To me, he's like an old friend."

The Presley entourage, several dozen strong, arrived in its own jet for three days in Syracuse. Although he performs in Rochester tonight, the company will remain headquartered here.

The star's personal security force was bolstered by members of the Syracuse Police Department.

Courtesy of Francesc Lopez