July 31st in Elvis History

It's July thirty-first, and on this day in 1969... Elvis Presley made his triumphant return to live performance with his first official show at the brand-new Showroom of the International Hotel in Las Vegas. But before he could take the stage, Elvis was hit with a panic attack brought on by stage fright, delaying his entrance by nearly two hours. The Sweet Inspirations opened the show at 8:15 p.m., but Elvis didn’t appear until 10:15. After eight years away from live concerts, this marked not only a high-stakes comeback but the beginning of an iconic Vegas residency that would define the next phase of his career.