Elvis Presley Is Coming To Cincinnati
by Brad Balfour
The Cincinnati Post
February 21, 1976

Aging rock star Elvis Presley still has his magic. Moments after yesterday's announcement that he will perform at Riverfront Coliseum March 21, phones were ringing off the hooks at the Coliseum and Ticketron offices.

The 16,000-plus seats are expected to be sold by Monday or Tuesday. Ticketron has set a limit per customer in an effort to avoid ticket-scalping. And Ticketron officials also warned Elvis fans not to try to buy tickets outside the Coliseum the night of the show because of counterfeiters.

MARK SHONER of Ticketron took precautions before the announcement to prevent leaks, yet insure a smooth flow of sales, by preparing everything in advance the day before without letting on whose show they were for. Then, at noon, all hell broke loose.

Elvis causes all this furor time and time again. The last time he was in Cincinnati was the June 27, 1973, show at Cincinnati Gardens. The Post described the craziness at that time.

"He belts out 'C.C. Rider' amid shrieks from middle-aged women, round-eyed teenyboppers and puzzled but dreamy smiles from male escorts. The four-inch-wide white belt barely conceals a ripening paunch"

An aging Elvis? What will this appearance be like?

EVIDENTLY ELVIS wishes to remain timeless, expecting to always draw such response. According to Charlie Stone - an associate of Colonel Parker, Elvis' manager - he will be doing the same show he has done for the last five years.

"This is the entire Las Vegas show," Stone said "completely self-contained, with everything including J.D. Sommer and the Stamps Quartet, a gospel group that has traveled with Elvis.

"He does change around the numbers from a prearranged set of variations. nobody knows just what he'll do until he hits the stage. The band is rehearsed in all of them.

Stone has worked for Colonel Parker for about three years, taking care of press arrangements and handling stage productions.

"THIS IS PART of three-city tour: here, Johnson city, Tenn and Charlotte, NC. The Johnson City dated sold out in 4 1/2 hours," Stone said.

"Elvis gets around to a city every two or three years. He doesn't play a city every year like most rock acts. Since he hasn't been here since the Gardens date three years ago, and with the new Coliseum, it was time for him to come back here.

"When he did the Pontiac, Mich. Stadium, he sold 60,000 seats, and that was on New Year's Eve. I think that was his largest crowd to date," Stone said.

WITH CROWDS that large, what about security? "It's most amazing the number of women trying to get to Elvis. We try to have extra special precautions, but we are dealing with adults, not kids. Security is always a major problem," Stone said.

"Some people say, 'Gee, President Ford doesn't have this much security.' Well, he doesn't have women trying to pull his clothes off. But we do nothing that obstructs the view of the stage; all our security is kept out of sight."

Actually, throughout the entire event, Elvis stays to himself and his private entourage.

From the moment he arrives at the airport in his private Convair (one of the largest jets privately owned by one individual - it is 10 feet shorter than a Boeing 707) to his appearance at the Coliseum virtually five minutes before he is to go, on stage, he remains in his private world.

THEN IT IS Elvis the entertainer, the public figure, who explodes with all his classic poses.

Even before the band winds down to the last notes, Elvis is whisked away back to his plane or hotel room.

And he can get away with all this because he is the dean of rock stars - the first. He is now 41, and this year marks the 20th anniversary of his first appearance in movies ("Love Me Tender") and on television (in "The Dorsey Brothers," a summer replacement for the Jackie Gleason show).

Tickets are $12.50, $10 and $7.50.

Courtesy of REX's 1970s W.E.N.S.W #256-257