Hardly any POLK SALAD to be found in the Woods and the Fields! Or Las Vegas! Only 2 versions performed in 1973! This is probably because after T.T.W.I.I. and 'ON TOUR' Elvis had no need to include POLK SALAD ANNIE in his Hawaiian 'Special'.The first one from Vegas Winter season is a 'surprise' version but thankfully filmed by a fan. This shows me a version VERY similar to August 1972 complete with the hand rotations and low leg squat moves in Karate Styled stances good version.There was a 'brief' one liner at the 2.9.73 3am show(but that doesn't count as a version!) The 2nd Version had no Jerry Scheff playing so the 'solo' request of 'play the bass ' was simply not asked for from Emery Gordy!.
| Date | 'LORD' | BASS SOLO @ | R/T | END R/T | Comments | |
| 15.2.73 d/s | -- | 1'20" | 25 | 3'10" | Good low bass | |
| 3.9.73 d/s | -- | none | -- | 2'43" | Piano beat,+drum brass end. | |
'Play it James','Play it Duke' - Memphis 20th March 1974 show.
1974 brought back POLK SALAD ANNIE but with a 'new' Bass Guitarist.Usually performed between FEVER and WHY ME LORD?With a 'new' Bass Guitarist actually came totally different style of playing more laid back and less 'busy' playing. I don't think Elvis liked this style (even though by the end of the year Elvis would note 'surprise talents from Duke Bardwell) However with POLK SALAD ANNIE being once again performed at most shows after a years break Dukes style of going down the scale at the end of the song be Mae one of his trademarks as well of the 'sparring' DUO playing between himself and James Burton as the year developed.
Noticeable that Without Jerry around Elvis requests 'Play it James' for the solo bit and James does from anywhere from 20-40 seconds long!.Versions are all pretty similar with hardly any changed words and very 'routine' there are however many great versions and a lot of this happens when the two main guitarists start playing a duo and Elvis cooks up a brief Karate ENDING usually with one high karate kick.Most versions were under the 3 minutes and as well (which would REALLYstart to become apparent as the year went on ) the Joe Guercio Orchestra would start a tremendous BRASS trumpet keyed in last verse and 'wind up' to the end of the song. BRASS playing was a new flavour in POLK SALAD ANNIE this year!.Probably a typical 'flavour' of this season can be found as all the band had become familiar with each others playing by the end of the season. The 8.2.74 M/S has Dukes pulsating Start,duo playing along with James solo and typical Duke Bardwell going up and down the scale at the wind up end of the song to Rons Drum ending.
| Date | 'LORD' | Play it J.B @ | Duo | R/T | END R/T | Comments |
| 26.1.74 o/s | -- | 1'15" | no | 20 | 2'26" | Extremely fast + short |
| 26.1.74 m/s | -- | 1'15" | no | 27 | 2'35" | Again too fast |
| 27.1.74 10pm | -- | 1'05" | no | 25 | 2'25" | Too fast |
| 28.1.74 d/s | -- | -- | -- | -- | 2'35" | Extremely fast |
| 28.1.74 m/s | -- | 1'07" | Yes/brief | 25 | 2'25" | Up 2,3,4 ending. |
| 29.1.74 d/s | -- | 1'15" | no | 25 | 2'47" | Low bass,fast drum etc. |
| 30.1.74 d/s | -- | 1'15" | yes | 28 | 3'01" | Pretty fast,but ok. |
| 30.1.74 m/s | 1x | 1'17" | no | 33 | 3'07" | 'lived a feedback' drum end ok. |
| 31.1.74 d/s | 1x | 1'12" | no | 29 | 3'00" | Chic a Boom drum end. |
| 31.1.74 m/s | -- | 1'15" | no | 27 | 3'00" | Drums and James |
| 1.2.74 d/s | -- | 1'14" | yes | 33 | 3'00" | Medium start, OK |
| 1.2.74 m/s | 2x | 1'12" | no | 25 | 2'50" | Fast but good sounding drums. |
| 2.2.74 d/s | -- | 1'15" | no | 42 | 3'05" | Bassy fast end |
| 2.2.74 m/s | 2x | 1'12" | yes | 35 | 3'06" | Fast bass drum ending |
| 3.2.74 d/s | -- | 1'25" | no | 27 | 3'09" | Very strong drums |
| 3.2.74 m/s | -- | 1'09" | no | 27 | 2'45" | Very fast-too fast to be good |
| 4.2.74 d/s | -- | 1'15" | yes | 35 | 3'05" | Fast but real duo guitars here. |
| 4.2.74 m/s | -- | 1'10" | no | 25 | 2'50" | Far too fast. |
| 5.2.74 d/s | -- | 1'15" | no | 26 | 3'00" | Fast but good drum ending |
| 5.2.74 m/s | 1x | 1'06" | no | 28 | 2'42" | Fast drum end |
| 6.2.74 d/s | -- | 1'20" | no | 32 | 3'10" | Drum end,bass pretty quiet. |
| 6.2.74 m/s | 2x | 1'10" | no | 37 | 3'03" | Chang,chang too fast ending. |
| 7.2.74 d/s | -- | 1'20" | yes | 42 | 3'11" | Pretty fast manic rushed ending. |
| 7.2.74 m/s | -- | 1'10" | yes | 25 | 2'47" | Too fast |
| 8.2.74 d/s | -- | 1'25" | yes | 36 | 3'26" | Shouts at end |
| 8.2.74 m/s | -- | 1'22" | yes | 35 | 3'17" | Duke goes up + down the scale. |
| 9.2.74 m/s | -- | 1'15" | yes | 35 | 3'12" | Drum end |
| 9.2.74 m/s | -- | 1'10" | yes | 30 | 2'45" | Still Very,very fast. |
Following the Vegas season was an extended tour.Dukes bass often sounded distorted here and Joe Guercio's Brass sound Orchestration was becoming very evident at the end of the song.Monroe 7.3.74 is an exiting version ,then after the first show back in Memphis on 16th Elvis says 'well that got my blood going anyway'.Richmond on 18th seemed to feature a saxophone wind up ending!At the Memphis 20.3.74 version after asking James to play it Ronnie & Duke gets asked as well.After the show back at Graceland he received his TCB from Elvis!.
| Date | 'LORD' | Play it J.B @ | Duo | R/T | END R/T | Comments |
| 3.3.74 A/S | 1x | 1'25" | no | 31 | 3'02" | without orchestra GO,GO,GO fast ending like 1970! |
| 5.3.74 | -- | 1'13" | no | 30 | 2'50" | Too fast |
| 6.3.74 | -- | 1'12" | no | 34 | 3'00" | Great brass effect. |
| 7.3.74 | 1x | 1'15" | no | 37 | 3'05" | High energy pretty good. |
| 10.3.74 | 1x | 1'15" | no | 35 | 3'05" | Drums and low distorted bass end. |
| 15.3.74 e/s | -- | 1'15" | no | 30 | 2'55" | Pretty fast drum end. |
| 16.3.74 a/s | -- | 1'17" | no | 35 | 3'20" | Great brass+ Dukes distorted bass. |
| 16.3.74 e/s | -- | 1'16" | no | 31 | 3'09" | Low bass end ok. |
| 17.3.74 a/s | -- | 1'12" | yes | 29 | 3'05" | Pretty average bass etc. |
| 18.3.74 a/s | -- | 1'15" | no | 29 | 3'17" | Sax wind up ending. |
| 20.3.74 | 1x | 1'21" | yes | 37 | 3'29" | Ok with great drum work.. |
In May leading into the 3rd Lake Tahoe Season was a short tour.This Los Angeles 11.5.74 shows are the first time I have actually seen Elvis performing Polk Salad annie since the Las Vegas 15.2.73 D/S version! The Los Angeles 11.5.74 A/S version shows us a confident Elvis in his Peacock suit he performs as if you never know quite what he's going to do next!. Sometimes standing still,sometimes 'going down' to a left leg Karate pose, then a waist high Karate Kick as well as shaking well to a final drum end. Elvis still shakes his back to the line 'claimed he had a bad back'.At the evening show on 11.5.74 Elvis ends with a right leg 'Kick'.
In Lake Tahoe in 1974 Duke Bardwell really played his best! He started off playing well in May 74' ,then ended up singing a song called 'I died in the Kitchen' at the 14.10.74 M/S! quite a year for Duke!.Versions from Lake Tahoe are consistently good with Duke doing his DUO playing and ending going down the scale . The 24.5.74 & 25.5.74 features some good Tamborine shaking work and after the final 27.5.74 3am show version Elvis says 'I recommend doing that every morning when you first get up!'.By now the BRASS section coming in mid-song,then keying in the end part is vital and the wind up ending is very familiar!.
| Date | 'LORD' | Play it J.B @ | Duo | R/T | END R/T | Comments |
| 11.5.74 A/S | 1x | 1'15" | no | 35 | 3'30" | Good leg movements,left leg down. |
| 11.5.74 E/S | -- | 1'20" | no | 40 | 3'33" | Down the scale bass end. |
| 16.5.74 D/S | -- | 1'15" | yes | 35 | 3'20" | Last 20" Duke runs down the scale. |
| 17.5.74 M/S | 1x | 1'20" | yes | 42 | 3'40" | Wah,wah bass ending ok. |
| 24.5.74 D/S | 2x | 1'12" | yes | 33 | 3'28" | Pretty good,drum bass end. |
| 24.5.74 M/S | -- | 1'12" | no | 36 | 3'44" | Can hear Dukes monotonous low note. |
| 25.5.74 D/S | -- | 1'20" | no | 35 | 3'42" | NO brass section keying in last verse. |
| 26.5.74 M/S | -- | 1'15" | no | 36 | 3'35" | Muddy low noted bass sounds. |
| 27.5.74 3AM | -- | 1'20" | no | 38 | 4'00" | Brass wind up and bass down scale end. |
I have listened to another 15 versions from the Summer 74' tour:-These like the recent Tahoe versions are all similar but good.The most noticeable difference here is Joe's BRASS section coming in almost at the start of the song after Duke has started it!.At the end it's the Trumpet that initiates the 'wind up ending'!.After the 23.6.74 E/S Elvis says 'don't do that just after eating Breakfast'.then the next night in Niagara Falls he quipps 'don't try that when you get through eating'. In the Omaha 1.7.74 Elvis says 'her daddy was a lame brain'. Seen on Video here Elvis moves well on stage doing little dance moves and raises his hand up to key in the Brass section before a left leg pose then a hand jabbing ending with a jump and left leg Karate Kick.After the end of tour version in Salt Lake City Elvis says 'just let me walk around'.
| Date | 'LORD' | Play it J.B @ | Duo | R/T | END R/T | Comments |
| 16.6.74 A/S | -- | 1'20" | no | 31 | 3'20" | Brass+ down scale bass end. |
| 20.6.74 | -- | 1'19" | yes | 40 | 3'29" | Brass/bass wind up ending. |
| 22.6.74 A/S | -- | 1'15" | no | 35 | 3'15" | Drum ending. |
| 23.6.74 A/S | 1x | 1'10" | yes | 35 | 3'16" | Brass and bass wind up ending |
| 23.6.74 E/S | -- | 1'20" | no | 30 | 3'20" | Frenzied ending. |
| 24.6.74 A/S | -- | 1'17" | yes | 35 | 3'15" | Ok, but fast |
| 24.6.74 E/S | -- | 1'16" | no | 35 | 3'12" | Brass start Wild trumpet and bass end. |
| 25.6.74 | -- | 1'16" | yes | 36 | 3'32" | Pretty average version. |
| 26.6.74 | -- | 1'15" | no | 45 | 3'30" | Down the scale bass end. |
| 27.6.74 | -- | 1'15" | no | 45 | 3'45" | Pretty good ending. |
| 28.6.74 | -- | 1'15" | no | 36 | 3'25" | Duke bass ends. |
| 29.6.74 | -- | 1'23" | no | 40 | 3'44" | Noticeable brass wind up ending. |
| 30.6.74 A/S | 1x | 1'15" | yes | 46 | 3'39" | Drum and bass ending. |
| 1.7.74 | -- | 1'23" | yes | 50 | 3'33" | Bass going down scale. |
| 2.7.74 | -- | 1'15" | no | 43 | 3'35" | Down scale bass |
Following the tour came the Vegas Season.With just a dozen performances we can see that PSA is now reduced to being performed at 44% of shows!.The opening version was good with Elvis performing a much faster version when compared to 1970, the arm jabbing is a strong feature as he rotates to pump on both sides and as he rotates his arm he ends up doing the leg poses and finishing with a Karate Kick and stance as the 'Sweets' do the chick a boom end chant brass,drums and bass sounds seem to be what it's all about (keying in the last verse and ending) and Elvis seems to love the 'all out' playing to the climactic ending.Only minor comments out of the ordinary come from Elvis regarding his polk salad performance as he says afterwoods on 22.8.74 d/s - 'that woke me up', on 25.8.74 m/s - 'watch the feedback' and on all versions after about 1.20 'play it James'. On the version heard on 23.8.74 d/s Duke Bardwell seems to have his wandering bass playing all over the place -pretty fast and low again with the 1.9.74 d/s version performed before the intros we get a throbbing bass start,'gators got your granny ' line from J.D.Sumner,then the guitar instrumental from both D.Bardwell and J.Burton to a drum end before the Orchestra wind up the song in this 4 minute version as Elvis is doing his low leg poses to a final drum beating end.This version would be typical of the whole season.Certainly no dramatic changes in how it was performed over the year given that the arm jabbing/pumping rotating was his main way of digging the beat before the end finale of the low leg moves and thrusting up arm and leg kick.
| Date | 'LORD' | Play it J.B @ | Duo | R/T | END R/T | Comments |
| 19.8.74 O/S | 1x | 1'30" | no | 30 | 3'53" | Fast bass,drums,brass key in 3rd verse. |
| 20.8.74 D/S | -- | 1'17" | no | 33 | 3'35" | 'just get my breath back' |
| 20.8.74 M/S | -- | 1'20" | no | 30 | 3'20" | Frenzied ending. |
| 21.8.74 D/S | -- | 1'50" | no | 31 | 3'13" | Down scale bass ending |
| 21.8.74 M/S | -- | 1'20" | no | 36 | 3'42" | Noisy usual 74' ending |
| 22.8.74 D/S | -- | 1'20" | no | 30 | 3'43" | Bass going down end. |
| 23.8.74 D/S | -- | 1'12" | no | 32 | 3'36" | Dukes wandering bass all over the place. |
| 23.8.74 M/S | -- | 1'15" | no | 27 | 3'25" | Muddy noise with bass and drums. |
| 24.8.74 D/S | -- | 1'16" | no | 34 | 3'55" | Bass end and orchestra wind up end. |
| 25.8.74 M/S | -- | 1'12" | yes | 35 | 3'38" | Going down scale bass ending. |
| 27.8.74 D/S | -- | 1'20" | no | 25 | 3'37" | Bass and drum end. |
| 1.9.74 D/S | -- | 1'30" | yes | 35 | 4'00" | Orchestral wind up as does low leg squats. |
| 27.9.74 D/S | -- | 1'25" | no | 35 | 3'37" | Elvis sounds very 'foggy' here. |
| 30.9.74 D/S | -- | 1'20" | no | 22 | 3'12" | Ok but fast. Sax/brass sounds here. |
| 5.10.74 A/S | -- | 1'10" | no | 20 | 3'05" | Very fast version,brassy start. |
In the last tour of 74 at first PSA was performed between perhaps killing me softly and why me lord(south bend 30.9.74),then later on on 5.10.74 and 7.10.74 it became the 2nd to last song with just C.H.F.I.L. performed before closing the show.Many less versions in 1975 with none performed until May 75'. Many readers will be very familiar with the low leg pose photo taken during the end of POLK SALAD ANNIE at the Indianapolis 5.10.74 Afternoon Show with Elvis wearing his 'MAD TIGER' suit this picture is probably the most well known and familiar shot of Elvis performing this song all year!He doesn't look the best and knowing the show was a poor one I can't help thinking it was performed just before closing the show because Elvis wasn't sufficiently 'awake' until that late in the show.There is NO WAY Elvis could have performed the low leg poses in this song if he wasn't steady on his feet (or else he would have fallen over!) Therefore I always believe Elvis had to be alert and having absolute control over his movements with concentration to be able to perform the low Karate Stances 'on stage'.Unfortunatly I have not got access to all the versions of POLK SALAD from this tour as I'm at least missing a version performed in Wichata on 7.10,74, however it wasn't performed in Lake Tahoe so none are missing from their.
