Elvis Presley’s NBC-TV charity event for the Kui Lee Cancer Fund concert, “Aloha from Hawaii” on Jan. 14, 1973. Photo from PBS.

By Randal Hill
Guest Columnist

In September 1972, “Colonel” Tom Parker announced at a press conference that his client, Elvis Presley, would star in an NBC-TV charity event for the Kui Lee Cancer Fund in a concert labeled “Aloha from Hawaii.” (Lee, who died at age 34 in December 1966, had written and recorded the hauntingly beautiful “I’ll Remember You,” which Elvis included among the 22 songs he sang on that electrifying Honolulu night.)

Fast-forward to Jan. 14, 1973, and it’s Showtime! Red camera lights blink on. Rainbow-hued stage lights boldly proclaim his first name. (Adding the last name would, of course, have been superfluous.)

A guitar-wielding cartoon-figure backdrop flashes brilliantly. Palpable excitement thrums throughout the cavernous Honolulu International Center.

Suddenly thunderous applause and shouting explode throughout the 8,800-seat arena. Yes! There he is in person, the one and only! And look! Doesn’t he still possess those Adonis-like good looks after nearly two decades on the world stage, back when he was the vanguard of nascent rock ‘n’ rollers everywhere, marching into the hearts, minds, record collections, bedroom walls and diaries of adolescents everywhere!

Grinning broadly, the superstar ambles to center stage, undoubtedly aware that an estimated 1.5 billion people from 40 countries will be watching. On that memorable night, Presley is there to rock the house in the charity concert that will be televised via satellite.

And rock it he does indeed. Resplendent in a sequined white jumpsuit, and with a few recommended tweaks, he essentially recreates his always-sold-out Las Vegas concerts from the International Hotel, his usual performing home for many years.

Elvis’s shows there had featured onstage horseplay, histrionic karate moves and a generous dispensing of souvenir scarves dampened with genuine Elvis Presley sweat. Tonight, though, such show-biz silliness is toned down considerably.

On “Aloha from Hawaii,” which is augmented by a full orchestra and a dynamic gospel backup group, Elvis reprises only a smattering of his classic RCA Victor hits, preferring instead to render a handful of contemporary mainstream works.

However, he does pay homage to a number of fellow rock pioneers, including Chuck Berry (“Johnny B. Goode”), Little Richard (“Long Tall Sally”) and former Sun Records labelmates Carl Perkins (“Blue Suede Shoes”) and Jerry Lee Lewis (“Whole Lot of Shakin’ Going On”). He even tosses in a Beatles track — “Something” — as a nod to his greatest career rivals, who had essentially swept him off the charts during the chaos of Beatlemania. (In 1964, Presley had appealed to Parker to try to block the Fab Four from coming to America.)

Near the evening’s end, the one-time teen idol offers up a jaw-dropping work of majesty and might in a show-stopping medley. His rendition of “An American Trilogy” (“Dixie,” “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” “All My Trials”) is nothing short of amazing. His dynamic, rich baritone/tenor fills the hushed arena as he confidently offers up proof positive that he, 17 years after seizing the popular music world as his own, still wears the crown as the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll.