'Pelvis' slower; voice still there
by Ernie Neff
The Greensboro Record
July 1, 1976, Greensboro, NC

The voice is still there, but the pelvis doesn't move quite the way it used to. Elvis Presley is in his forties now and is putting on some weight in the midsection, but that didn't matter to Elvis fans Wednesday night at the Greensboro Coliseum. To them, Elvis was still the greatest.

The famed rock and roller from Memphis drew the squeals, screams, shrieks and groams that always greet him, even though some of his loyal supporters admitted he looked a little tired.

The predominantly female crowd of more than 16.000 showed Elvis that he is always welcome in Greensboro. Most of the time the rock star was performing, girls and women fought for stand up positions close to the stage, spots where they could kiss Elvis, touch him, give him gifts or grab one of the scores of sweat dabbed blue and white scarves he tossed out.

Elvis, decked in white shirt and heavily ornamented vest and trousers, sang about 15 songs, including such Presley greats as "All Shook Up", "Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear", "Don't Step On My Blue Suede Shoes" and "You Ain't Nothing But A Hound Dog".

As he has done in recent concerts here, Elvis asked that the house lights be turned up near the end of his show so he could see the audience.

Just before the show ended, one blonde hatted boy who appeared to be about 17 dove over the backs of several girls standing near the stage in an effort to get one of the last scarves

Elvis tossed to the crowd. The boy was excorted from the coliseum by two policemen after he continued to fight the women for the Elvis souvenir.

After the concert, Caroline Black of Thomasville was beside herself. "Loved it" she said of the concert. "I saw him in March in Charlotte, and gosh, what can I say ?".

Caroline, who is 23, has seen Elvis about 10 times since 1972, and said she would go 25,000 miles to see him. She drove to Regional Airport from Thomasville at 1 a.m. Wednesday morning hoping to see Elvis land, even though she had no idea when he would arrive in town. She then drove to the Hilton Inn at 4 a.m. in hopes of spotting him. She didn't see him either place, but she was still fired up Wednesday night.

"She was a nervous wreck all the way in." said Barbara Black, who married Caroline's cousin. Barbara said Caroline's older sister was so excited about the concert that she "chewed a whole pack of Rolaids on the way in."

Caroline said the best thing about Elvis is his leg action, but noted the King of Rock 'n' Roll looked just a little bit tired Wednesday. "He didn't shake as good." added cousin Jeanette.

Both, however, admonished a reporter not to quote them as having said Elvis looked tired. They think he's the greatest no matter what.

Courtesy of Mark van Hout