March 6, 1974
Elvis Presley entertained a capacity 16,400 fans in Montgomery’s Garrett Coliseum, including Gov. George C. Wallace and his wife, Cornelia. Wallace had declared it “Elvis Presley Week” in Alabama and met the singer backstage earlier. Ticket receipts surpassed $100,000 for the show. Presley had performed the previous night for only the third sold-out crowd in the history of Auburn’s Memorial Coliseum. When the perspiring King of Rock ‘n’ Roll sang his final song for the Montgomery performance, he was rushed out of the building through a heavily guarded back door in an effort to keep his enthusiastic fans from mobbing him.
Read more at the Garrett Coliseum.
Posed studio portrait of Elvis Presley. (Photo by RB/Redferns)
South side of Garrett Coliseum in Montgomery, 2010. (Chris Pruitt)
For more on Alabama’s Bicentennial, visit Alabama 200.