I was 20 when I wrote this article back in 1995 for The Elvis Beat #13, my official Elvis Presley Fan Club newsletter.
Millions are watching live via satellite. It is the closing moment of the final song. Elvis reaches up to his collar, grabs the top of his beautiful American Eagle cape and hurls it into the audience. It is the climax of one of the highest points of his career.
It is January 14, 1973, and the event, of course, is Elvis: Aloha From Hawaii. [. . . .] Elvis gives a final salute to the crowd and leaves the stage. In the audience, the pandemonium is far from over.
Sportswriter Bruce Spinks is clutching most of the jeweled cape, while a fan behind him has a tight grip on a smaller portion of it. A security guard hurries over to settle the dispute, and Spinks ends up with the treasure.
Elvis fan Andrew Kern, 20, is one of those who watches the event on television. Like every fan, he also wants the cape. Eventually, he will buy it from Spinks for over three thousand dollars.
Kern was only ten when he met Elvis during location shooting of Viva Las Vegas, a decade before the Aloha From Hawaii cancer benefit concert. Kern would be a fan for the rest of his life, seeing Elvis in concert dozens of times while amassing an enormous collection.
The American Eagle cape became the most cherished part of that spectacular collection, which included original Sun records and items once owned by Elvis. Kern even turned down an offer of $50,000 for the cape alone.
Sadly, Kern died of cancer earlier this year at the age of 42. Shortly before his death, he asked that the cape be given to Graceland.
The American Eagle cape is now on exhibit alongside the Aloha From Hawaii jumpsuit in the Trophy Room at Graceland for fans from all over the world to enjoy.
It was generosity that caused Elvis to throw his cape into the ecstatic audience that night 22 years ago, and it was generosity that brought it back home. It’s one of the things Elvis taught us all.
The Mystery Train 