LARRY GELLER shares,JUNE 26, 1977
"Elvis and I were in the bedroom of his plane, the Lisa Marie. I was drying his hair in preparation for what turned out to be his very last appearance at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis, IN on June 26, 1977. Elvis was looking intently at his reflection in the mirror. He turned to me with a deeply pained look in his eyes, not saying a word for a few moments as drops of sweat ran down his cheeks. “The spirit is willing, Lawrence, but the flesh is weak. I’m being so damn torn up in so many ways. All I know right now is, a man’s gotta do what he was created for, an’ I was created to entertain people, an’ hopefully to bring some happiness into their lives. Man, my body really hurts, but no matter what I’m going out there tonight and give them everything I have…no matter what.”
As we were getting ready to depart the plane Elvis said to me weakly. “Larry, I need some energy right now; please just lay your hands on me, and use the ol’ blue light. Because the kind of help I need can’t be found in any doctor’s bag. What I need is to return to the real source of healin’, so lay your hands on me.”
That night as the house lights dimmed Elvis closed his eyes and then, bowing his head, he brought his folded hands to his forehead, a salutation to God. When his opening song, A Space Odyssey began, I could feel the anticipation reach a fever pitch. When Elvis appeared, the cheering was wild; the audience stamped its frenzied approval. As hundreds of flashbulbs went off, Elvis pranced back and forth greeting his fans. Breaking into his first song, he began to express everything that was bottled up in him. He was bursting with love and on stage he had a safe way of expressing it, through his music. His face lit up, and within a few minutes Elvis was in his element, his glory. He was reaching out and they saw it; in their reaching back, they met him halfway. It was a love affair from the beginning, and his voice, his magic never left him".
