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Holistic Aloha: Practicioners in South Hawaii, The Big Island, Hawaii holisticaloha.com |
Aloha from Hawaii is a music concert that was headlined by Elvis Presley, and broadcasted live via satellite on January 14, 1973. It was the most watched broadcast by an individual entertainer in television history.[1] The concert took place at the International Convention Center Arena in Honolulu (now known as the Neal S. Blaisdell Arena) and aired in over 40 countries across Asia and Europe (who received the telecast the next day, also in primetime). Despite the satellite innovation, the United States did not air the concert until April 4, 1973 (the concert took place the same day as Super Bowl VII). The show was the most expensive entertainment special at the time, costing $2.5 million.[2]
[edit] BackgroundOn July 8 1972 Presley's manager, Colonel Tom Parker, announced that there would be a worldwide satellite broadcast from Hawaii to allow the whole world the chance to see a Presley concert "since it is impossible for us to play in every major city".[3] Parker initially stated that it would take place in either October or November 1972[3] but this date was changed to early 1973 after MGM showed concern about it clashing with the release of their documentary film Elvis on Tour.[4] As the show had already been planned prior to this upset, the original shows, now set for November, would still go ahead but without being filmed.[5] Parker held another press conference on September 4 1972 in Las Vegas to confirm that the concert, now titled Aloha From Hawaii, would be broadcast on January 14 1973.[4] The press were told that an audience of 1.4 billion was expected to tune in to see the "first entertainment special to be broadcast live around the world",[4] although Parker had not taken into account the fact that many countries, including parts of Europe and America, would not see the concert live due to the time of the broadcast.[4] Presley performed two shows on November 17 and 18 in Honolulu, the dates originally planned for the satellite broadcast,[5] and gave a press conference on November 20 to once again promote the satellite special.[5] He also announced that it would now be in aide of the Kui Lee Cancer Fund and that donations at the door would be requested in place of regular ticket pricing.[5] Kui Lee was an Hawaiian composer who had written the song I'll Remember You which Presley had recorded in the 1960's and would also perform during the satellite broadcast. Lee had died of cancer in 1966 while still in his thirties. Presley arrived in Hawaii again on January 9 1973 to begin rehearsals.[6] [edit] BroadcastAs the event was the first-ever such performance to be broadcast live via satellite, Presley taped a January 12 rehearsal concert as a fail-safe in case anything went wrong with the satellite during the actual broadcast - however, nothing went wrong during the January 14 broadcast. For both shows, Presley was dressed in a white "American Eagle" jumpsuit designed by Bill Belew. The broadcast was directed by Marty Pasetta, who was then in charge of directing the Oscar ceremonies.  Audience tickets for the January 14 concert and its January 12 pre-broadcast rehearsal show carried no price. Each audience member was asked to pay whatever he or she could afford. The performance and concert merchandise sales raised $75,000 for the Kui Lee Cancer Fund in Hawaii. Presley performed a vast array of old and recent hits like "Steamroller Blues", "See See Rider", "Early Morning Rain", "Burning Love", "Blue Suede Shoes", "A Big Hunk o' Love", "Suspicious Minds", and "Can't Help Falling in Love". He showed his vocal range and strength with ballads like the Beatles' "Something", "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry", "It's Over", "Welcome to my World", "I'll Remember You" and especially during "What Now My Love". After the concert had finished and the audience had left, Presley recorded five songs on stage to be aired during the American airing of the show.[2] [edit] Soundtrack AlbumMain Article Aloha from Hawaii: Via Satellite The album containing the music from the concert was a blockbuster hit, becoming Presley's first chart-topping album in the US since the soundtrack to Roustabout in 1965.[7] Presley was accompanied by:
[edit] DVD releasesIn September of 2004 "Aloha from Hawaii" together with "The '68 Comeback Special" was released on DVD for the first time. The 2-Disc deluxe package includes the original satellite transmission version of the show, as well as the full dress rehearsal and the extended US version with some inserted non-live songs, recorded and filmed after the concert in the empty arena. Additionally, the set contains an uncut 17.5 min. sequence of Elvis arriving in Honolulu and the complete post-concert session. The picture and the sound (in Dolby Digital 5.1) have been digitally remastered from the original master tapes. Early in August 2006 the TV special was also released in a single disc version. This edition contains some new material which was not included in the original deluxe release. The new material consists of some TV news footage shot during the arrival, offering an alternate look on the event and portions of two press conferences held for the upcoming live broadcast in September and November of 1972. Those film clips with an overall length of about 9 minutes are so-called "Easter Eggs" and can be found by pressing a hidden button in the menu. A bronze statue of Elvis was unveiled in front of Neal Blaisdell Center Arena in Honolulu. The statue was sponsored by TV Land channel. [edit] References
[edit] External links
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