For some reason I was thinking about that recording of Elvis singing "Are You Lonesome Tonight" where he completely breaks up laughing. I hadn't heard it in years. But a very quick search in the internet turned it up. If your are intrested, you can hear it here.

http://www.anelvisfan2001.com/AreYouLonesomeTonight.html

LOL That's great! Thanks for sharing. An interesting bit of music history.

I recall hearing a story about this years ago. I can't remember exactly but I think it was something like Elvis said the line and then a guy in the audience pulled a toupe off of his own head. Elvis cracked up. The girl kept singing. Something like that. Maybe someone can track it down and confirm. I'll have a look.

They talk about it a bit on the website I linked. They say that the mood was just one of general goofiness. He may be reacting to someone in the audience.. but I think he's just reacting to his own joke. Then I think he's cracking up because the background singer never loses a beat. And the whole thing becomes so ridiculous. At one point while the singer (Cissy Houston) is really wailing away and the King laughs and says "sing it baby".

I don't know why it makes me laugh so much, but it just kills me.

I read the story at the site you linked. I don't think it's the whole story, Vandy. She never missed a beat- true- which, I think, sealed it for Elvis.

You may be right. I don't know for sure. I will say this. If someone pulled their toupe off, then Elvis must have been using this line in other performances.

I'll tell you why I say this.

In listening to the song, if someone pulled their toupe off they would have had to do it almost immediately upon Elvis delivering the line. There seems to be enough time between the delivery of the line and the first laugh for Elvis to have looked and seen someone do that. But not much time. It dosesn't seem as though there is enough time for someone to hear the line, comprehend it, remove their hairpiece, and have Elvis notice and laugh. If they did do that, they would have almost have been waiting for the line and preparing to remove the hairpiece.

You know what I'm sayin?

I'm not saying it's not possible. I don't know. I'm gonna see if I can find out for sure. I'm gonna call 'Cillia.

Well, I certainly wouldn't put it past Elvis to have uttered that line before.

He may have. According to this site, this was his 53rd of 57 shows after returning to performing. But it also explains that he was definately in a goofy mood and was giggling and making strange comments throughout the show.

http://www.elvisinfonet.com/ftdreview_allshookup.html

I will get to the bottom of this.

Look forward to your report.

http://fwd.jokaroo.org/c.php?i=6459 (Go here!)

Drunk as a skunk you might say.

Either drunk or feeling the effects of the handful of goofballs he scarfed down before the show. Now that was bad, that was clearly much later than the original laughing version.

Elivis?

LOL. Yes, it looks like someone had a few drinks before the typed that video description as well!

That second version is actually kind of brutal to watch. The guy was in big trouble by that time. The "plus tax" thing made me laugh though.

Regarding the toupe on the other version. There are about 100 versions of the story out there. Here is one from someone that was there so I guess that's about a good as it gets.

GANG (Magazine): You were there at 1969 when Elvis did the famous laughing version of Are you lonesome tonight. Which is the right story behind?

JW:(John Wilkinson) You mean the “Are you lonesome tonight laughing version”? There are 2 stories behind this event. I mean that mine are right. There was a man in the audience who was not so fond of Elvis but his wife was and he was a little embarrassed about this, when his wife started to go towards the scene to have a chance to see and come closer to Elvis. The man was a little bit behind his wife and he had a “toupé” on his head that slowly started to fall of his head. The first in the band who notified this was Charlie Hodge who pointed it out to Elvis. When Elvis saw this scene that was rather funny he changed the text to “do you gaze at your bald head and wished you had hair”. Then this song was completely lost when everyone noticed this man and we were all only laughing to the end of the song. At the end of the song the man had got his “toupé” on right but he was rather embarrassed. This is my version and I consider it to be the correct one.

So I have to give it up to Laurie. apparently there was some sort of "hairpiece malfunction" going on.

Whatever it was, once he went up he was toast. LOL

I do wish I had more hair than I really do have. Personally, myself, I do not consider myself to be bald. But one time I was trying on clothes in a JC Penney's, and I looked in those three angled mirrors to see how my new Plain Pockets Jeans were looking, and thought, "Who is that bald guy in the dressing room with me?"

I turned to see, and noticed my movements matched the bald guy's precisely, and that's when it dawned on me that the angled mirrors gave me a view of my own balding scalp.

I've never recovered.

I'm with you.

When I was born I had no hair.
Then it grew for a while.
At 22 it began to fade.
I've not had hair longer than I have.

No longer do I wish for hair.

I haven't heard this version of Elvis' song but sounds funny! Yeah I think from what I've read that some man lost control over his piece.

I talked a friend out of wearing his rug a couple of years ago. He and his wife came to visit one weekend and he said he was wearing a cap as he didn't have his toupe on. I asked him why not make that the last time he ever wore that stupid thing. He slammed the cap down and said "No more"!

He's had many many compliments since. Worked for him and all who encountered him.

Without wanting to come across as a bit of a saddo but isn't this version from his '68 comeback special?