Is Unchained Melody the last song performed by Elvis?

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When the movie Elvis was released in 2022, young generations had the possibility to get close to the myth of one of the biggest musicians who ever lived. The film does a great job of rendering the passion of an artist who never stopped performing, placing music at the very center of his life, despite the health problems that required attention. That’s why one of the movie’s most touching scenes is when Elvis Presley sings Unchained Melody live: the film presents it as a symbolic moment showing how the artist kept performing until the last days of his life, although his health was worsening. The spectators wonder if that was the last song he performed live in his life: let’s find out the truth about it.

You can watch here the original scene of the movie Elvis where he sings Unchained Melody, whereas here you can see a side-to-side parallel between that scene and Elvis Presley’s real performance.

When did Elvis Presley perform Unchained Melody? Was it his last song live?

The touching performance of Elvis Presley singing Unchained Melody is part of the concert he held in Rapid City, South Dakota, on June 21, 1977, about two months before his death. You can find the high-quality footage below.

Elvis Presley - Unchained Melody (Rapid City June 21, 1977)

You can definitely see how Elvis was in terrible health conditions that day. His health needed care, but he felt he had to keep performing. For many, the way he neglected his health was the cause of his death.

There is also a beautiful official video of Unchained Melody by Elvis Presley, released on his official Youtube channel in 2022. You can find it here. As many know, Unchained Melody is a song originally written in 1955 by Alex North. However, the most known version of that song is the one published by The Righteous Brothers in 1965, which became worldwide famous after the movie Ghost.

The concert above wasn’t the last concert ever held by Elvis Presley. Therefore, Unchained Melody is not the last song he ever performed live. Elvis Presley’s final concert was a few days later, on June 26, 1977, at Indianapolis Market Square Arena. You can watch the whole show here on Youtube.

From that concert, you will discover that the last song ever performed live by Elvis Presley was Can’t Help Falling In Love, initially released in 1961. It was the last song on the setlist of his concert in Indianapolis on June 26, 1977.

Elvis Presley died on August 16, 1977, because of cardiac arrest. Luckily, even the younger generation can understand his importance in the history of music, especially after the movie Elvis.

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