On June 26, 1977, Elvis Presley performed his last live concert at Indianapolis’s Market Square Arena. Sadly, he passed away barely 2 months later on August 16, 1977.
The concert immediately became an iconic moment in music history – the last live performance of the King of rock and roll.
The show began with an extended opening act filled with brass bands and soul singers, including comedian Jackie Kahane who admittedly was struggling to hold the audience’s attention. His typical 18-minute set needed to be stretched out to 45 minutes as Elvis took longer than usual to appear on stage.
At around 10:00 pm, Elvis finally walked onstage in his iconic white-and-gold jumpsuit. For the next 80 minutes, the King performed his greatest hits.
The audience cheered loudly as he announced his final song, “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” and it couldn’t have been a better selection for a swan song. Thankfully the moment was captured on film.
Watch Elvis perform his last song in the video below.