A very warm welcome to this special omnibus edition of our series on the pioneering 1973 satellite concert broadcast, Elvis Aloha From Hawaii, with our leading contributor, Gary Wells.
There’s so much to explore; preparations and rehearsals, critically important people behind the scenes, the intense pressure on everyone involved, creative and corporate conflict, a near catastrophe as technical faults threatened to derail the broadcast at the last minute; and finally an entertainment event that would present to an international audience Elvis at the top of his game, dominate television ratings around the world, afford him a number one album – the final in his lifetime – and create the definitive image of his later career.
We hope you enjoy the epic Aloha From Hawaii adventure as much as we did.
Since our original recording, we note the sad passing of a supremely talented musician whose special contribution we highlight; Gabe Baltazar Jnr played the flute solo in American Trilogy, and was rewarded by director Marty Pasetta with a memorable closeup. He was a professional jazz flute and sax player who enjoyed a long and distinguished career on the US mainland and at home in Hawaii. He passed away June 12th, 2022, aged 92.
Corrections, Clarifications and Additional Context
We initially failed to give enough significance to Elvis’ encounter with local DJ and legendary music industry identity, ‘Uncle Tom’ Moffatt, upon Elvis’ arrival by helicopter at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. You can hear their brief conversation during the podcast. We remedied this omission in the 50th anniversary supplement, providing more detail on Tom Moffatt’s special place in Elvis history, expanding on his remarkable career and his unique role in forging the special relationship between Hawaii, Elvis and the Colonel. We also referenced the 1961 USS Arizona benefit concert as a key moment in cementing this special relationship, but thanks to the efforts of Tom Moffatt and an active fan club, the seeds had actually been sown prior to Elvis’ stint in the army.
We also neglected to credit Bill Belew’s design associate, Gene Doucette, for the creation of the American Eagle design of the iconic Aloha jumpsuit.
For the final word on jumpsuit specifications, and general background information, see the dedicated page at elvisconcerts.com.
When talking about Elvis and Colonel Parker’s philanthropy pertaining to the USS Arizona memorial benefit show, we referenced a 1975 benefit for victims of a tornado in McComb, Mississippi, but omitted to mention that the actual concert occurred in Jackson, MS, at the State Fair Coliseum.
Aloha From Hawaii was also broadcast through the Forces Network in Vietnam. For additional context, it’s worth noting that the last US combat unit left Vietnam by the end of March 1973, with military advisers, Marines protecting US installations, and Defense Department civilians remaining.
Although we highlight the contribution of flute soloist Gabe Baltazar Jnr, we perhaps should also have stressed the contribution of other Hawaiian musicians augmenting the Joe Guercio Orchestra, although this is briefly covered in our reading of Wayne Harada’s concert review in the Honolulu Advertiser.
We made a general reference to Elvis’ interpretation of Love Letters, previously sung by Ketty Lester, not Kitty Kallen, as inadvertently stated.
General Content Guide
These timestamps refer to the YouTube version. If you are listening on Spotify or other platforms, you may notice a slight variance.
| 0:00:00 – Introduction, highlighted corrections & clarifications, personal comments; 1972 successes, destination Hawaii, KNBC News reporting; Colonel Parker | ||||
| 0:11:15 – Introducing the heroes of Aloha From Hawaii | ||||
| 0:19:00 – Recapping 1972 including Burning Love, Elvis on Tour & Madison Square Garden; Aloha concept, commissioning & budget | ||||
| 0:27:55 – Rocco Laginestra & Elvis press conference; profiling producer-director Marty Pasetta; Pasetta takes command, defies the Colonel, challenges Elvis & the Memphis Mafia | ||||
| 0:39:40 – Elvis, the Colonel & Hawaii, USS Arizona, feature films; Elvis’ November 1972 Honolulu concerts reviewed by Wayne Harada | ||||
| 0:45:55 – Eddie Sherman & the Kui Lee cancer benefit; Elvis arrives in Honolulu, meets the fans; Tom Moffatt encounter (expanded in end-notes segment) | ||||
| 0:50:00 – Under pressure; arena capacity, stage and equipment, catastrophic technical issues, Don Ho & the US Navy; American Eagle jumpsuits and accessories | ||||
| 1:00:00 – Dress rehearsal show, setlist, Dave Marsh review, mistakes & lessons learned | ||||
| 1:05:50 – The satellite show – Gary’s commentary on the performance, musical & visual highlights; onstage talent; Jack Lord introduction backstory; American Trilogy & Gabe Baltazar Jnr | ||||
| 1:35:10 – Wayne Harada’s review; post-concert recording session, audience stats, Colonel Parker’s letter to Elvis; Gary’s concluding personal thoughts on the show | ||||
| 1:50:10 – Live double album and single releases; domestic US television broadcast & reaction; Marty Pasetta’s vision; some thoughts about the album | ||||
| 2:05:20 – Joan Deary and RCA take control; back-catalogue buyout, royalties & financial manoeuvres, the Colonel fights back; some thoughts on Elvis’ career arc 1974-77; closing comments & thanks; album art | ||||
| 2:38:10 – END-NOTES: Tom Moffatt profile including pivotal role in cementing Elvis & the Colonel’s special relationship with Hawaii, more on the USS Arizona benefit; Elvis, the Colonel & overseas touring; special HIC Arena souvenir tickets (with thanks to Adam) |
Webpage and Reference Guide
More detailed research notes, images, links, and suggested further reference, are to be found at the webpages for our original episodes. The original podcast series predated this website, and companion newsletters were (and remain) on Substack. Those articles have been reproduced here.
Press reviews, concert and tour stats, and jumpsuit information, are thanks to Francesc Lopez and elvisconcerts.com. Read our interview with Francesc here. (To be updated for the pioneering website’s 30th anniversary in early 2026)
For some additional background, including the evolving financial arrangements between RCA, Colonel Parker and Elvis, we referred to the definitive Elvis biography, Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley (1998), by Peter Guralnick.
SoundCloud Playlist
Original episodes are also available on Spotify, Apple, Amazon Music, and all the usual platforms. (Some non-Aloha related content has been removed for our omnibus edition).
Selected clips and shorts are also available on YouTube.
Special thanks to Gary Wells, and to all our readers and listeners.
Please help us to maintain our page quality by reporting any malfunctioning or redundant links.
The DEC4 Podcast by George Fairbrother 