Elvis Presley Timeline: 1975

Here's a handy list of dates and events in Elvis Presley's life during 1975. 

January 1975

• January 8: Distraught over the landmark of his 40th birthday, Elvis spends the day in his bedroom at Graceland without visitors, where he has been since at least Christmas.
• January 10: In an attempt to rouse his dangerously depressed and lethargic client, manager Colonel Tom Parker arranges for a benefit concert to raise funds for the victims' of yesterday's devastating tornado in McComb, MS. The show is to be held on May 5th in nearby Jackson.
• January 20: In the beginning of yet another one of his hobbies, Elvis buys his first jet, a Boeing 707.
• January 29: After girlfriend Linda Thompson wakes up and finds him struggling to catch his breath, Elvis is admitted to Memphis' Baptist Hospital for "a liver problem," which in reality is an attempt by Presley's personal physician "Dr. Nick" to curtail his growing addiction to prescription medication.

February 1975

• February 5: While Elvis is still in the hospital, his father, Vernon, suffers a heart attack and is admitted to the room next to his son's.​
• February 14: Elvis is discharged from the hospital and is sent home, with "Dr. Nick" developing a schedule wherein either he or his nurse bring the singer his prescribed amount of medications to Graceland every day.

March 1975

• March 13: Elvis begins rehearsals for his next Vegas engagement.
• March 16: Full band rehearsals for the new Vegas gig begin, with the singer once again introducing several bluesier, more contemporary, and relatively risky new numbers, most of which will again never see the light of day in the final set list.
• March 18: The Vegas show has its opening night, with the press remarking on the slight return to form of Elvis both physically and musically.
• March 28: Barbra Streisand attends tonight's Vegas gig and meets Elvis backstage to discuss offering him the lead role in her latest film project: a remake of the classic A Star Is Born. Despite the fact that Streisand's boyfriend, stylist Jon Peters, is slated to produce and direct, the King is said to be ecstatic about the project.

April 1975

• April 1: Elvis and the band break into a spontaneous water pistol fight during tonight's closing show, with the Colonel, for some reason, appearing on stage dressed as Santa Claus.
• April 14: The Colonel's counteroffer to United Artists' Star Is Born offer, which he insinuates is "a cheap deal," is as follows: one million dollars salary for Elvis (twice what was offered), in addition to fifty percent of the profits (five times what was offered) and soundtrack rights (which were never offered). UA never responds with another offer, but Elvis, as usual, has by this time lost interest in the idea anyway.
• April 17: Elvis buys yet another jet, this time a Convair that had been in service with Delta Airlines. The final cost of this plane was three-quarter of a million dollars, with most of that number coming from extensive renovations: gold bathroom fixtures, a queen-size bed, and a full audio-visual system. This is the famous plane adorned with Elvis' TCB logo.
• April 21: Elvis buys a home near Graceland for girlfriend Linda Thompson.
• April 24: Bassist Jerry Scheff rejoins the touring band after a two-year hiatus and is visibly appalled by the rapid decline in the singer's health and the equally rapid enervation of the live show.

May 1975

• May 5: The McComb tornado concert nets $100,000 for victims of the storm.
• May 9: Alarmed by his client's exponentially increasing spending, Colonel Parker writes RCA's touring division, cautioning them to keep expenses low on the road.
• May 31: Elvis begins the latest leg of his new tour with a noticeably upbeat show and what the press reports as a slimmer figure.

June 1975

• June 15: Citing the need for "an extensive eye examination," Elvis is admitted to Mid-South Hospital in Memphis to have plastic surgery done on his eyes in an attempt to remove the first sign of wrinkles appearing around them. Although Dr. Nick and the Colonel strongly advise against the operation, Elvis insists.

July 1975

• July 8: On-again, off-again girlfriend Sheila Ryan refuses to join Elvis on his latest tour, effectively ending their relationship.
• July 14: An upset Elvis throws his guitar into the crowd, claiming he doesn't need the "damned thing" anymore.
• July 19: During tonight's show, Elvis performs an impromptu version of the emotional standard "You'll Never Walk Alone," alone at the piano.
• July 20: For the third time on this tour, Elvis publicly humiliates backup singer Kathy Westmoreland on stage, claiming she would "take affection from anybody, anyplace, anytime. In fact, she gets it from the whole band." This was apparently Presley's attempt to get back at Westmoreland, who had dated Elvis a few years previously, for declining his offer to get back together and instead date a member of the backing group. On a roll, Elvis continued, saying that he smelled "green peppers and onions" and claiming the Sweet Inspirations, his Black backup singers must have been eating catfish. When the embarrassed singers looked down at the stage to hide their discomfort, Elvis declared, "If you don't look up, I'm going to kick your ass," and "Sorry for any embarrassment I might have caused, but if you can't take it, get off the pot." The singers walked off one by one. The Inspirations would return the next day, following Elvis' heartfelt apology and gifts of an amazing amount of jewelry; Westmoreland would return in another few days.
• July 23: Enraged at Dr. Nick for refusing to allow him more than his prescribed dosage of medications, Elvis launches into a tirade backstage, waving his Beretta around, which accidentally discharges a bullet that ricochets and strikes (but does not puncture) the doctor's chest.
• July 24: On the last night of the tour, a bored and visibly upset Elvis berates the crowd for not showing enough appreciation, then takes audience requests as a way of smoothing things over. Later, Presley gives one of his rings, worth $6,500, to a female audience member and throws yet another guitar into the crowd.
• July 26: Elvis purchases yet another plane, this time for the Colonel, who, already aghast at his client's spending, refuses to accept it.
• July 27: Elvis purchases no less than fourteen Cadillacs, most of which will be given away as gifts, including one to a stranger who merely happened to be pricing cars at the dealership. In the month to come, he will buy yet another Cadillac, a Pontiac Grand Prix, three more jet planes, and a fleet of three-wheeled motorcycles, and will give Dr. Nick $200,000 for a new home.

August 1975

• August 9: Elvis attends the second home game of the new WFL team the Memphis Southmen (informally known as the Grizzlies), and when Jo Cathy Brownlee (the Grizzlies' press box hostess who Elvis has been seeing behind Linda Thompson's back) refuses to accompany him to Palm Springs, he immediately finds another girl at the stadium and brings her instead.
• August 18: Elvis opens his new Vegas engagement with another tired and dispirited performance that is not lost on the press.
• August 19: During tonight's "dinner show," an apparently exhausted Elvis lies down on the stage while singing. It was to become a too-frequent occurrence.
• August 20: When the Colonel refuses to let the King cancel his last two shows due to "illness," a bored Elvis can be seen repeatedly checking his watch during the gig. The next day he is hospitalized in Memphis for a "fatigue state," ending his latest Vegas engagement prematurely.
• August 30: The recently disgraced President Nixon calls Elvis to wish him well during his stay.

September 1975

• September 29: Upon learning of singer Jackie Wilson's stroke, Elvis immediately sends an undisclosed amount to his family to defray hospital expenses.

October 1975

• October 6: Linda Thompson, aware of Elvis' various infidelities, decides to stay in Los Angeles and pursue her acting career, effectively ending her relationship with Elvis.
• October 14: Construction begins at Graceland on a racquetball court, following the advice of Dr. Nick that Elvis get some exercise between shows.
• October 21: The Colonel agrees to fulfill Elvis' recording contract with RCA by finishing an album of half-studio, half-live content for a December release.

November 1975

• November 25: Elvis puts up Graceland as collateral on a $300,000 loan from the Memphis Bank of Commerce designed to defray his recent wild spending habits and lack of recording sales.

December 1975

• December 2: Elvis makes up for his canceled Vegas dates with what all agree is a spirited and energetic show.
• December 24: Presley awakes from a dream in which his friends all leave him after they discover he is bankrupt. So upset is Elvis about this dream, which he sees as a premonition, that he orders the guests, through others at Graceland, to leave immediately.