As of: March 12, 2024, 3:27 p.m
By: Christoph Elzer
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Rock 'n' roll idol Elvis Presley (M) at a performance in Las Vegas (undated archive photo).
© dpa
At the beginning of the year, the King of Rock 'n' Roll, Elvis Presley, would have been 89 years old.
To mark his birthday, a video of his last performance was posted - which has since caused horror around the world.
Graceland - Elvis Aaron Presley revolutionized the 1950s music scene with hits like "Heartbreak Hotel" and "Jailhouse Rock."
His unique voice, the innovative fusion of country, blues and gospel and, last but not least, his good looks captivated millions.
Presley died far too early on August 16, 1977 at Graceland, his estate in Memphis, Tennessee.
The former heartthrob was severely overweight at the time of his death.
A companion wrote about the King as early as 1960: “Elvis loves gigantic breakfasts with sausages, bacon, eggs, fried potatoes, sweet rolls and coffee.” In addition, there was the uncontrolled consumption of numerous different medications.
Video shows Elvis Presley's last performance - more than 40 million views
It later became known that his family doctor had prescribed him more than 10,000 units of tranquilizers, amphetamines and narcotics in the first eight months of 1977 alone.
The dangerous mix of drugs, fat and calories ultimately led to the singer's death at just 42 years old.
Even though these facts have been known for decades, many fans have apparently not been able to get a clear picture of how bad things actually were for the King shortly before his death.
A video of his last appearance is currently going viral on X (formerly Twitter) and has already received more than 40 million views in around three weeks.
The body no longer cooperated - but the voice did
In it, Elvis, the man who became famous for his provocative hip swing, is seen sitting bloated and sweating profusely at the piano for a performance of "Unchained Melody."
But even if Elvis is physically only a shadow of his former self, his voice is still as distinctive, crystal clear and accurate on all notes as it was on the first day.
Elvis Presley two months before his death - song pushes him physically to the limit
The 31-second clip is from Presley's last public appearance, two months before his death.
It is the unplanned encore after a TV recording of his super hit “Are you lonesome tonight”.
This song also contains a spoken passage in which the singer revealed speech problems and the performance clearly pushed him to the limit physically.
Nevertheless, the entertainer gave his audience an encore that would go down in history as his last performance.
56 days later, Elvis Presley died of heart failure in the toilet.
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Below the short X-video there are hundreds of comments about Presley's dire condition.
One user writes: “So incredibly sad what happened to Elvis.”
And another laments: “So sad, he was a slave to his passion.”
But everyone agrees on one thing: even in his last appearance, the King was still able to give “goosebumps”.
Elvis Presley's daughter Lisa Marie, who was only nine years old at the time of his death, also died far too young.
At the beginning of 2023 she succumbed to the effects of a weight-loss operation.