The Last Song Elvis Presley Played Live

In the early morning hours of August 16, 1977, just hours before his death, Elvis Presley did something he had done countless times before—he sat at a piano and sang for his closest friends and family. It wasn’t an Elvis original, but a heartfelt cover that seemed strangely fitting given what was to come.

After calling up his cousin Billy Smith and his wife Jo for a late-night racquetball game, Elvis wrapped up the brief match—cut short after he accidentally hit himself with a racquet—and led the group to the lounge area of the racquetball building. There, he found the piano and played several songs. The last one he sang? “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain.”

“Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain” — A Bittersweet Goodbye

According to Peter Guralnick’s book Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley, Elvis had always loved singing this Willie Nelson-penned tune to his loved ones. It tells the story of lost love and longing—and the final verse, which Elvis sang just hours before his death, carries chilling emotional weight:

“Some day when we meet up yonder / We’ll stroll, hand in hand again / In a land that knows no parting / Blue eyes crying in the rain.”

The lyrics sound like a parting message from someone who knew his time was short.

His Final Recordings at Graceland

Elvis had actually recorded a version of “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain” a year earlier, right at home in Graceland’s famous Jungle Room. With its green shag carpet, wood furniture, and indoor waterfall, it became the site of his final studio sessions in 1976.

Using high-quality equipment brought in by engineers and musicians, Elvis recorded 16 tracks that would appear on his last two albums. These recordings were later released in 2016 on Elvis: Way Down in the Jungle Room, which includes both finished songs and unreleased outtakes from those sessions.

The King’s Final Day

Elvis’s last day was surprisingly full. He woke up in the late afternoon on August 15 and considered heading to the theater to see MacArthur but ended up watching TV at home instead.

Later that night, he and his fiancée Ginger Alden visited the dentist, then returned home for tour planning and a discussion about whether Alden would join him on the road. Though they argued, they made up and even talked about wedding plans.

Before heading to the racquetball court, Elvis called his doctor for medication—he was dealing with tooth pain. After the game and the impromptu performance, his friends brought him the prescriptions. He took them and went to the bathroom to read while Alden slept nearby.

A few hours later, Alden found Elvis unresponsive. He was pronounced dead on the morning of August 16, 1977.

In his final hours, Elvis Presley did what he loved most: played music, surrounded by friends. And with one last song, he unknowingly sang his own farewell.