Question: In what year did Porter handle the sound duties for Ann-Margret? Passage 1:Large parts of the Middle East became a warground between the Ottomans and the Iranian Safavid dynasty for centuries, starting in the early 16th century. By 1700, the Ottomans had been driven out of the Kingdom of Hungary and the balance of power along the frontier had shifted decisively in favor of the Western world. The British Empire also established effective control of the Persian Gulf, and the French colonial empire extended its influence into Lebanon and Syria. In 1912, the Kingdom of Italy seized Libya and the Dodecanese islands, just off the coast of the Ottoman heartland of Anatolia. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Middle Eastern rulers tried to modernize their states to compete more effectively with the European powers. A turning point in the history of the Middle East came when oil was discovered, first in Persia in 1908 and later in Saudi Arabia (in 1938) and the other Persian Gulf states, and also in Libya and Algeria. A Western dependence on Middle Eastern oil and the decline of British influence led to a growing American interest in the region.
 Passage 2:In December 1969, Presley called Porter to ask him to fix the sound for him in the main showroom at the International Hotel (renamed the Las Vegas Hilton two years later); he said he could not hear himself the last time he sang there, and a new run was scheduled for January. Porter went to see Presley's first rehearsal there, and found three stage monitors hanging high above the stage, with only one working. The hotel's engineers did not get the other two to work, so Porter had some of his own Shure Vocal Master loudspeakers brought over from the recording studio. He laid the column loudspeakers on their sides at the front lip of the stage and propped them up to aim at Presley, who was very happy with the result. Presley insisted upon having Porter mix his live show in January even though he was a recording engineer with no previous experience in live sound. Porter quickly learned about acoustic feedback during the first song, but backstage after the show, film stars and musical artists kept complimenting Presley, telling him that Porter’s concert sound was "just like the album". Porter mixed Presley's live concerts from then on. Presley paid Porter well for a touring sound engineer; a 1974 contract for nearly two weeks of touring during September–October netted Porter $2,600, an amount equivalent to $ in current value. Porter recorded several of these shows in the mid-1970s, released as albums, and witnessed firsthand Presley's physical decline from drug abuse. In 1975, Presley's doctors advised him to exercise more, so he had a racquetball court built at his mansion Graceland. Porter designed and supervised the installation of a powerful high-fidelity Electro-Voice loudspeaker sound system for the racquetball court and an adjoining lounge. On tour, Porter specified the best-sounding, most roadworthy equipment that existed: he used a Midas PRO4 mixing console and UREI equalizers. The tour was supported by Clair Brothers, who supplied all the audio gear and a monitor engineer, Bruce Jackson, who designed a powerful stage monitor system for Presley's show. In August 1977, Porter was changing planes in Boston to fly to Portland, Maine, to mix a Presley concert when he received a phone call informing him that the singer had died. He attended Presley's heavily guarded funeral ceremony at Graceland. Between Presley appearances, Porter also handled sound duties for Ann-Margret in Las Vegas and on the road, under the business name Captain Audio Productions. He consulted on television specials for Ann-Margret and for Bob Hope in 1972–1973.
 Passage 3:The 1998–99 NBA season was the 76ers 50th season in the National Basketball Association, and 36th season in Philadelphia. After a four-month lockout wiped out half the season, the Sixers signed free agents Matt Geiger and George Lynch, while re-signing former 76ers forward Rick Mahorn. At midseason, they traded second-year forward Tim Thomas and Scott Williams to the Milwaukee Bucks for Tyrone Hill. The Sixers recorded their first winning month in five years winning 8 of 13 games in February, on their way to making the playoffs for the first time in eight years with a 28–22 record, third in the Atlantic Division. Allen Iverson led the league in scoring averaging 26.8 points per game, and was selected to the All-NBA First Team. In the first round of the playoffs, the Sixers defeated the 3rd–seeded Orlando Magic in four games, but were swept in the semifinals by the Indiana Pacers in four straight games. Following the season, Mahorn retired after making his second stint with the Sixers.

Output: 2