The concerts continued throughout 1976, although Elvis was tired both physically and mentally. His weight had been going up and down like a yo-yo for some time, but now it was mostly up.
On New Year’s Eve, 1976, Elvis appeared to be a little better than he had been earlier in the year and gave what people said was his best performance for some time at the Pittsburgh Civic Arena, before an audience of 16,400. Lisa Marie, eight, was once again among them and was introduced to the audience. The press reported that he took to the stage thirty-five minutes before midnight to an ear-deafening ovation and that he never lost his iron grip on the audience, saying that he was hitting notes that could cause a mild hernia and that when the crowd responded, he would do a reprise that was tantamount to masochism. The reporter described it as a fine show but did refer to Elvis as no longer a young man.
Included in the set was Elvis playing acoustic guitar on “Reconsider Baby” and piano for “Unchained Melody” and “Rags to Riches”. At midnight, the house lights were turned up, and Elvis led the crowd in singing “Auld Lang Syne”. Elvis performed for 90 minutes, and much of the concert was filmed by an audience member and is available on YouTube in watchable quality, given its source and age.
