The atmosphere inside Crisler Arena on Sunday, April 24, 1977, was electric. Fourteen thousand fans buzzed with anticipation. Stagehand Doug Edwards and his colleagues were setting up, the intermission following the warm-up acts—Marty Horrell and the Hilton Hot Horns, comedian Jack Kahane, and gospel group J.D. Sumner and the Stamps Quartet—drawing to a close around 10 p.m. This concert, one of many in his final year, offered a glimpse of Elvis In The End: a complex mix of lingering star power and visible decline.
As Edwards worked, a white stretch limousine appeared, gliding through the arena’s north tunnel to stop backstage. Three men emerged: two assistants and the unmistakable figure of Elvis Presley, clad in a white jumpsuit open to the waist, wearing glasses. Moments later, the house lights dimmed, the iconic theme from “2001: A Space Odyssey” erupted from the sound system, and the King walked past Edwards, barely five feet away. He seemed larger than expected. “I didn’t really have anything to say to him,” Edwards recalled. “I mean, what are you gonna say to Elvis?”
Elvis Presley performing on stage in his iconic white jumpsuit at Crisler Arena, Ann Arbor, 1977, during his final tour.
End-Times Elvis: Rumors vs. Reality
By 1977, Elvis, at 42, seemed caught in a well-publicized downward spiral. Tabloids churned out stories: he was supposedly dying, abusing drugs, overweight, breaking commitments, feuding with his manager Colonel Tom Parker, and engaged to a young beauty queen. This narrative painted a stark picture of Elvis Presley’s final years.
Elvis Presley backstage at Crisler Arena in 1977, looking heavier near a motorcycle, reflecting the ‘end-times Elvis’ era.
But for true believers, the rumors were just noise. Fans like Jack Harbaugh, then an assistant football coach at the University of Michigan under Bo Schembechler, were there purely for the music and the man. He and his wife, Jackie, seated high in the upper deck, had been fans since their own teenage years, captivated by the Memphis native who brought rock ‘n’ roll to the mainstream. They remembered watching his controversial waist-up-only appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show.”
As Elvis launched into “See See Rider” and “I Got a Woman,” the Harbaughs noticed Anne Hanlon, wife of fellow coach Jerry Hanlon, near the stage. Known as a composed and elegant woman, Anne was transformed—jumping, yelling, and soon rushing the stage, scarf in hand. In the ’70s, Elvis famously tossed silk scarves to fans, who often threw their own scarves hoping he’d catch one, wipe his brow, and return it—a coveted souvenir. (These scarves can fetch $800-$1,200 today). As Harbaugh remembered, Anne’s scarf went up, and came back down, imbued with the King’s aura. The devotion, despite the “end-times Elvis” narrative, remained fierce.
Performance and Presence: A Divided View
A bootleg recording, available online as “Elvis Presley at Cazzie’s House,” captures over an hour of the Ann Arbor concert. The setlist spanned his career: early hits like “Don’t Be Cruel,” later anthems like “My Way,” gospel standard “Amen,” and covers ranging from “O Sole Mio” to Olivia Newton-John’s “If You Love Me, Let Me Know.”
His stage presence was erratic. He mumbled, told jokes (“I mean, my suit’s too tight”), and threw karate kicks. His vocal performance, however, still showcased impressive range, from deep bass notes to a high falsetto. Yet, perceptions of the performance quality in 1977 varied drastically. Stagehand Doug Edwards offered a blunt assessment: “I don’t want to throw Elvis under the bus, but he was on a downhill slope… Elvis had died but they hadn’t buried him. He was dressed up and they put him out there and he got through the show.”
The Harbaughs, watching from above, had a completely different experience. “As he got older his voice was better than when he was younger,” Jack Harbaugh insisted. “It was just an outstanding performance — outstanding!” The bootleg seems to support this, revealing a voice that, despite everything, retained significant power. For Harbaugh, the magic was undeniable: “He was just able to connect. It was charisma. It was a presence, an understanding of how to connect with an audience.” This enduring Elvis Presley charisma fought against the visible signs of his decline.
Fans eagerly buying Elvis Presley merchandise at the souvenir stand during his 1977 Ann Arbor concert.
“It Was Over”
The show concluded abruptly after Elvis belted out “Can’t Help Falling in Love.” The lights dimmed, the glasses went back on, and Elvis was quickly ushered back to the waiting limousine. An announcement followed: “Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has left the building. Thank you and good night. We’d like to remind you that for a short time the Elvis Super-Souvenir Concession Stand will be open…“
“There were gonna be no encores,” Harbaugh recalled. “He was gone. It was over.” This night in Ann Arbor was a microcosm of Elvis In The End – a fleeting, powerful performance shadowed by an impending conclusion.
Elvis Presley played 35 more concerts that spring and summer, from Duluth, Minnesota, to Mobile, Alabama. Just four months after his appearance at Crisler Arena, on August 16, 1977, the King of Rock and Roll died at his Graceland home in Memphis, bringing his final tour, and an era, to a sudden close.
Sources included Peter Guralnick, Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley (1999).
