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Elvis (1968 TV program)

April 27, 2024

Singer Presents  ... Elvis, commonly referred to as the '68 Comeback Special, is an Elvis Presley concert special that aired on NBC on December 3, 1968. It marked Presley's return to live performance after a seven-year period during which he focused on his film appearances.

Elvis
Publicity poster for the special, seen in Singer stores
Also known asSinger Presents ... Elvis
'68 Comeback Special
Written byChris Bearde
Allan Blye
Directed bySteve Binder
StarringElvis Presley
ComposerBilly Goldenberg
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
ProducersSteve Binder
Bones Howe
Production locationBurbank, California
EditorsWayne Kenworthy
Armond Poitras
Camera setupMulti-camera
Running time50 minutes
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseDecember 3, 1968 (1968-12-03)

The concert was initially planned as a Christmas special by the network and Presley's manager, Colonel Tom Parker. Producer Bob Finkel hired director Steve Binder, who, rather than creating a Christmas special, created a concert that would reflect the musical trends of the time and appeal to a younger audience. Filming took place in June 1968 at NBC Studios in Burbank, California. The special included a sit-down session that showcased Presley in an informal setting, surrounded by fans and a small band.

The special received positive reviews and topped the Nielsen television ratings for the week in which it aired. It became the most-watched show of the television season, earning 42% of the television audience. Later known as the Comeback Special, it relaunched Presley's singing career.

Background edit

After he returned from serving in the United States Army in March 1960, Presley enjoyed success with his album releases. G.I. Blues, the soundtrack album to his 1960 film G.I. Blues, topped both the Billboard pop albums chart and the UK Albums Chart in October 1960. On March 25, 1961, Presley played a concert in Hawaii to benefit the construction of the USS Arizona Memorial. It would be his last public performance for seven years. Presley's next number-one album on the Billboard pop albums chart was Something for Everybody, released in June 1961.[1]

 
Presley (left) and Joan Blondell in October 1967, featured on a publicity portrait for Stay Away, Joe. After years of working for the film industry, Presley became unhappy with the quality of his roles.

Presley's manager Colonel Tom Parker shifted the focus of Presley's career to films and stopped him from touring. The films were low-budget, formulaic comedies that were successful at the box office, while the resulting albums sold well. Presley attempted to move into more dramatic roles, trying to reduce the prominence of musical numbers to center on his acting with Flaming Star (1960) and Wild in the Country (1961).[2] Both releases flopped, and by 1964 Parker decided to limit all recordings exclusively to film soundtracks. Parker then set the Presley formula: the films would promote album releases, while album releases would promote the films.[3]

To reduce costs, producer Hal Wallis shortened filming schedules, almost abandoning rehearsals and retakes. He stopped shooting on location; all films were to be shot in the studio, and less-experienced crews were used to reduce labor costs. Scenes were limited to long shots, medium shots and close-ups to speed the process. Meanwhile, studio recordings also declined in quality; session musicians did most of the work as Presley simply didn't have time to focus on recording. He was paid $750,000 and received 50% of the film profits for his appearance in Tickle Me (1965), a sum that consumed most of the film's budget. Because Allied Artists was experiencing financial problems, Parker inserted unused songs from other studio sessions on the soundtrack and instructed the studio to work them into the film. The tight production worked, and Tickle Me was a box-office success.[4]

Girl Happy (1965) marked the first failure of this approach. The soundtrack was Presley's least successful release, while the film barely grossed $2 million.[5] Despite the success of Parker's model, Presley soon grew discontented. With the passage of time, he felt that his connection to the music business was weakening, causing depression and alienation as the quality of his films deteriorated.[6] During a five-year span from 1964 through 1968, Presley had only one top-ten hit, "Crying in the Chapel" (1965), a gospel number recorded in 1960.[7] While the 1964 film Viva Las Vegas enjoyed success, the ensuing films saw a progressive decline. By 1967, the difficulty of negotiating with Parker and the poor performance of the films led Wallis to opt out of his contract with Presley.[8]

NBC deal edit

In October 1967, Parker approached Tom Sarnoff, NBC West Coast vice president, to propose a Christmas television special. The US$1,250,000 package (about $11.4 million in 2023 prices)[9] included the financing of a motion picture (for US$850,000), its soundtrack (for US$25,000), the television special (US$250,000) and US$125,000 reserved for the costs related to a rerun.[10] The special was to be included in the feature Singer Presents ..., sponsored by the Singer Corporation.[11]

Presley's initial reaction to the special was negative. He felt that it was another scheme concocted by Parker and was angered by the idea of singing Christmas carols on national television.[12] However, his opinion changed after he began talks with the special's producer, Bob Finkel, who persuaded Singer, NBC and Parker to alter the show's original concept. Finkel obtained Parker's approval that the show was to be centered only on Presley, while enough material for a soundtrack album and a Christmas single was to be recorded. Presley's enthusiasm for the project grew, and he assured Finkel that he was ready to perform new material, different from anything he had previously done. He had no interest in Parker's opinion of the project.[13]

To reflect the new intended direction of Presley's career, Finkel recruited director Steve Binder, who had directed the concert film T.A.M.I. Show and worked for NBC on Hullabaloo and a Petula Clark special. Finkel felt that hiring Binder would refresh Presley's image and that Binder would be able to introduce Presley to new audiences. Initially reluctant to direct the special, Binder was convinced by his associate Bones Howe, who had met Presley during the 1950s while he worked at Radio Recorders as an audio engineer. He insisted on working with Presley as he thought that Binder had similar production methods. A meeting was arranged during which Parker assured that the team would have full creative control but stressed that the publishing rights must be under Presley's name. Howe and Binder met with Presley later that week and informed him that they would prepare all of the details for the special by the time that Presley would return from his vacation in Hawaii.[14]

Production edit

Binder and Howe hired the production crew, repeating their collaboration with various people whom they had used for past specials. Billy Goldenberg was assigned as the musical director, while the Presley camp chose Billy Strange as the arranger. Chris Bearde and Allan Blye were hired as the writers, and Bill Belew for the costume design. Bearde and Blye proposed an idea based on Maurice Maeterlinck's The Blue Bird that was intended to portray Presley's career through his songs. Singer's representative Alfred Discipio approved the idea, as did Parker. The snippets of the story were connected by a number covering Jerry Reed's "Guitar Man."[15] An informal segment was planned featuring Presley talking to members of his entourage in a scripted conversation that was to show him as self-deprecating while discussing his film performances. A gospel number would be added, as well as a live standup performance. The Christmas song, requested by Parker, would then be played, and the special would close with a spoken statement by Presley. According to Binder, Parker wanted Elvis to "come out in a tux and sing Christmas songs."[16] Binder, however, wanted Presley to express his feelings about the current social climate, as Presley had been moved by the recent assassinations of Senator Robert F. Kennedy and Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. King's assassination deeply touched Presley, who felt that the murder, which occurred in Memphis, Tennessee, "only confirmed everyone's worst feelings about the south."[17]

By June 3, Presley returned to Hollywood to start the rehearsals that would last for two weeks. Howe insisted on the possibility of a soundtrack album from which he would earn royalties as its producer. NBC saw Howe's attitude as a potential danger to the special and ordered Binder to remove him from the staff. The production was further complicated when Goldenberg complained to Binder that Strange had not completed any musical arrangements for the special with only two weeks before the end of preproduction. Strange left the project, alleging that he was too busy with other projects. A week before the end of rehearsals, the production team allowed Howe to return as producer and engineer.[18]

 
Presley performing in the special

On June 4, Senator Robert Kennedy was shot at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles after giving a live television speech; he died two days later. Binder stated in a 2005 interview with Elvis Australia that "One night when we were rehearsing, the television set was on the other room and all of a sudden there was this moment of silence. And I said, 'I think Bobby Kennedys just been shot'. And we all rushed into the other office and that's exactly what happened. They had live at the Ambassador Hotel, Kennedy making his speech. We were in the piano room at the time, but there was just something weird that evening and I just sensed something had gone wrong. Then we spent the whole night basically talking about the Kennedy assassination, of both Bobby and John."[16] According to Binder, this event would further motivate Presley to record "If I Can Dream" as the special's closing number.[16]

On June 17, the team moved to the NBC studios in Burbank, California. Goldenberg asked Finkel to remove Presley's large entourage from the production area, complaining that they interfered with the creative process. Presley worked with choreographer Lance LeGault on the planned numbers, and Belew worked with the costumes.[19]

Binder and Howe developed the concept of the informal section of the show after seeing Presley interacting with his entourage while playing music during breaks. Binder planned to shoot the segment in the locker room to give the public a sense of how Presley's music was developed in an intimate setting, but Parker opposed this concept. Binder settled for a sit-down concert on a small stage that resembled a boxing ring. He called Presley's first backup musicians, Scotty Moore and DJ Fontana, to accentuate the nature of Presley's musical origins (Presley's original bassist Bill Black had died in 1965). They were also joined by two members of Presley's entourage, Charlie Hodge and Alan Fortas. The scripted part was canceled but the writers gave Presley a list of topics to discuss between songs. The topics included mentions of his early career, his Hollywood years and the current music business.[15]

On June 20, Presley started the recording process at United Western Recorders. Howe arranged for the rhythm section, session musicians from Los Angeles. The band was composed of drummer Hal Blaine and guitarists Mike Deasy and Tommy Tedesco. Members of the string and brass sections of the NBC orchestra were also enlisted.[20] All of the special's music, except for that of the live sections, was prerecorded by Presley. It was to be blended with live vocals during the production numbers, which were taped on June 27.[21]

On the same day, Presley taped the first sit-down show. Parker had told the NBC team that he would handle ticket distribution. He assured them that he would recruit fans from across the country to fill the studio. However, by the day of the show, Parker had not distributed the tickets, and only a few people were in line to see the taping. Binder and Finkel invited people from a restaurant across the street and aired a radio announcement to gather an audience. Presley was nervous at the beginning of the first hour-long set. Binder had to convince him to take the stage, but once there, Presley was comfortable. He performed his songs and traded jokes with his companions as the session progressed. By the end of the first show, Belew had to carefully remove the sweat-soaked leather suit that was now stuck to Presley's skin. To prepare the suit for the next show, Belew had to wash it by hand. He was helped by the costume crew, who used hairdryers to hasten the process.[22] During the first show, the producers were concerned about the effects of the toe-tapping on the recordings, so for the 8 p.m. show, rubber mats were placed at the feet of Presley and the band members.[23] The second show found Presley relaxed and running through the set list with ease.[22]

On June 29, Presley recorded both stand-up sessions. As with the first two shows, the cameras that shot Presley from different angles did not have individual taping machines. The director would choose the camera angle that he desired and the cameras would then feed either of the two available taping machines.[24] The arrangements of the songs for the stand-up shows were fast-paced, and Presley accompanied them with shakes, gyrations and facial expressions that he emphasized with fist gestures and knee-drops.[25]

For the show's closer, Binder decided to replace the spoken statement with a song. He instructed Goldenberg and lyricist Walter Earl Brown to write a song that reflected Presley and his beliefs, and Brown wrote "If I Can Dream" that same night. Binder sent it to Parker, who still thought that the show closer was to be "I'll Be Home for Christmas." After Parker's negative response to the song, Binder bypassed him and played the song for Presley. After hearing it three times, Presley was convinced that he should record it. Seeing Presley's determination, Parker demanded 100 percent of the publishing rights. Goldenberg removed his name from the publishing sheet and told Parker that Brown had written the song.[26] For the "If I Can Dream" number, Presley wore a three-piece white suit designed by Belew. A large sign in red letters that read ELVIS was placed on a black background, and Presley performed the song with a hand-held microphone. After finishing the song, Presley closed the special by saying "Thank you, Good night."[27]

Release and reception edit

The special's final running time was fifty minutes, edited from four hours of taping; Presley was satisfied with the result.[28] Singer Presents...Elvis aired five months later on Tuesday, December 3, at 9 p.m. EST.[29][30][31] It placed first in the Nielsen television ratings for the week ending on December 8, displacing Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (also on NBC), which dropped to the second position.[32] Forty-two percent of the total television audience viewed it, making it the most-watched show of the season.[33] The special's soundtrack was released shortly afterward. It reached number eight on Billboard's Top LPs chart,[34] and by July 1969, it was certified gold.[35] The special was shown in the United Kingdom on 31 December 1969 on BBC2 under the title The Fabulous Elvis.[36]

In his review for The New York Times, critic Robert Shelton wrote: "Parts of the hour program were unbelievably stagey, but other parts were believably effective and natural glimpses of one of the pop-culture phenomenons of the century at work where he works best, in music. ... What this special points out is that this charismatic performer was at his best 10 years ago, but he hasn't lost his grip on the best music he had to offer then. Today's rock generation will, more than likely, ask that the real, early Presley stand up."[37]

Despite calling Presley's films "atrocities," a Chicago Tribune reviewer wrote that "it's great to have the old Elvis back" and characterized the performance as "dynamic, compelling, incredibly sensual."[38]

The Los Angeles Times deemed Presley's performance "anticlimactic" in comparison to other rock-and-roll acts of the time. The review assured that Presley "managed to sustain the hour very well" but that "some of the magic was gone, diminished."[39]

The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote: "What separates real from ersatz stars is the quality of excitement, and this Presley generated generously whether singing, swinging, chatting with sidemen and an ecstatic audience or pacing restlessly like a caged animal."[40]

The Associated Press praised the set design as well as Presley's appearance that felt "sort of like old times."[41]

A review by the Newspaper Enterprise Association published in the El Paso Herald-Post held that the special showcased a renewed and "more mature" Presley.[42]

The Daily Tar Heel published a favorable review of the special, remarking on the change since Presley's heyday, declaring: "Elvis still has magic."[43]

The Ottawa Journal praised Presley while noting that he delivered a calmer stage presence compared to that of his early days. The reviewer lamented the editing of the program and the selection of the "cage-like stage" in which Presley appeared to pace "not at ease."[44]

The Guardian defined the performances by Presley as "marvellous stuff, performed with a faint hint of self-mockery" but lamented the inclusion of choreography and "ludicrous choral throbs."[45]

Aftermath edit

 
Presley during a stand-up session. The photo was featured on the cover of Rolling Stone in 1969.

After the taping of the first sit-down session, Presley called Parker to his dressing room to inform him that he wanted to return to touring. During a press conference, Parker announced that Presley would soon embark on a "comeback tour." Parker's choice of words angered Presley, who felt that he was being labeled a "has-been." Presley was also interested in further collaboration with Binder, but Parker avoided it.[28]

By January 1969, propelled by the success of the special and with his renewed enthusiasm, Presley began his return to recording non-soundtrack albums with producer Chips Moman. Recorded at American Sound Studio with the house band known as the Memphis Boys, the resulting single "In the Ghetto" reached #3 and was soon followed by a country-soul album titled From Elvis in Memphis.[46] "Suspicious Minds," a standalone single from the sessions released in late August, also topped the charts and became one of Presley's signature songs.[47] In July 1969, Rolling Stone featured Presley on the cover for the first time, featuring a photo from one of the television special's stand-up performances with the black leather outfit.[48]

Parker arranged Presley's return to live performance. He arranged a deal with Kirk Kerkorian, owner of the Las Vegas International Hotel, for Presley to play the newly built, 2,000-seat showroom for four weeks (two shows per night) for $400,000.[49] For his return to Las Vegas, Presley assembled a core rhythm section later given the moniker the TCB Band: James Burton (lead guitar), John Wilkinson (rhythm guitar), Jerry Scheff (bass), Ron Tutt (drums), Larry Muhoberac (piano) and Charlie Hodge (rhythm guitar, stage assistant). Presley also hired two backing vocal groups, the Sweet Inspirations and the Imperials.[50] His initial Las Vegas booking, 57 shows in July–August 1969, attracted a total audience of 101,500, a Las Vegas attendance record.[49] In 1970, Presley toured the U.S. for the first time since October–November 1957, with every show a sellout.[51]

Media releases edit

Rereleases edit

NBC rebroadcast the special in the summer of 1969. The song "Blue Christmas" was replaced by the number "Tiger Man" at Parker's request.[52] In 1977, the program was aired after Presley's death as a special titled Memories of Elvis, hosted by Ann-Margret. It included a bordello scene that was originally approved by the censors but had been removed at the request of the Singer Corporation to avoid controversy.[53]

In 1985, HBO broadcast the first sit-down session of the show under the title Elvis: One Night with You. Elvis Presley Enterprises' business manager Joe Rascoff sold the channel the broadcasting rights for $1,000,000. A home-video version was later released.[54][55]

In 2004, an Elvis: '68 Comeback Special Deluxe Edition DVD was released. The three-disc set contained all of the known available footage of the special, outtakes included. A single-disc edition was released in 2006 with the program expanded to 94 minutes by adding material from the outtakes to the original broadcast.[56]

Soundtrack edit

Main article: Elvis (1968 album)

The special's first single to be released was "If I Can Dream" by RCA Victor (47–9670) in October 1968. It reached number 12 on the Billboard Singles chart and sold 800,000 copies.[75] In November 1968, the live performance of "Tiger Man" appeared on the RCA Camden compilation album Elvis Sings Flaming Star (PRS-279), which was first released through Singer stores and given wide release in April 1969 (CAS 2304).[76]

An official soundtrack album simply titled Elvis was released in December 1968 by RCA (LPM-4088). In March 1969, RCA released "Memories" as a single (47–9730), a song that would later be reused as the closing credits music for the 1972 concert film Elvis on Tour.

Bootleg albums featuring unissued material began circulating as early as 1978.[77] Over the following decades, additional performances from the special were released in parts, particularly in RCA's A Legendary Performer compilation series,[78] as well as in the 1985 box set A Golden Celebration. In the 1990s and 2000s, RCA issued more complete soundtrack recordings, including Memories in 1998, a 30th-anniversary release that was an expansion of the original album. That same year, RCA released Tiger Man, which consisted of the complete sit-down performances. In 2006, RCA released Let Yourself Go: The Making of Elvis the Comeback Special, which consisted of outtakes and rehearsal recordings from the special.[79]

Various recordings from the special were used as the soundtrack for the Elvis pinball machine, released by Stern in 2004. The version of "A Little Less Conversation" originally recorded for (but not used in) the special was later remixed by Junkie XL and became a worldwide hit in 2002.[80] In the United States, the song peaked at number 50 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart, the first hit for Presley since 1981, and extended his list of charted singles into the 21st century. It also spent four consecutive weeks at number one on the UK Singles Chart.[81]

In popular culture edit

The sit-down sections of the special were a forerunner of MTV Unplugged, showing for the first time an artist in a casual setting.[28] Falco's video for his 1986 single "Emotional" features him standing in front of a logo formed by red light bulbs that spell FALCO, an image also shown on the cover of his Emotional album.[82] In The Simpsons 1993 episode "Krusty Gets Kancelled," the set of Krusty the Clown's television special mimicks Presley's show.[83] In the video for the 2001 single "Inner Smile," Texas lead singer Sharleen Spiteri is dressed as Presley from the special.[84] Robbie Williams' 2002 special The Robbie Williams Show features "Trouble" as the opening song as well as similar set decorations and the letters RW in red.[85] In 2004, Morrissey toured with a stage backdrop that spelled MORRISSEY in large red marquee lights reminiscent of the special's ELVIS sign.[86] The special was portrayed in the 2005 biographical television miniseries Elvis starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers.[87] In 2008, country singer Martina McBride recorded a virtual duet of "Blue Christmas" for the album Christmas Duets. The video for the song features McBride singing with Presley during the sit-down session of the special.[88] Glenn Danzig loosely based his 2013 "Legacy" TV Special on the Presley special.[89] In 2019, Green Day paid tribute to the "Guitar Man" portion of the special's opening number in the video for "Father of All...."[90] Baz Luhrmann's 2022 film Elvis portrays the production of the special, with Billboard indicating "the scenes about the special are considered some of the film's most riveting".[91]

Footnotes edit

  1. ^ Gordon, Robert 2005, pp. 110, 114.
  2. ^ Ponce de Leon 2007, p. 133.
  3. ^ Doll, Susan 2009, p. 113.
  4. ^ Doll, Susan 2009, p. 141.
  5. ^ Neibaur, James 2014, p. 230.
  6. ^ Doll, Susan 2009, p. 137.
  7. ^ Marsh 2004, p. 650.
  8. ^ Doll, Susan 2009, p. 142.
  9. ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  10. ^ Guralnick, Peter 1999, p. 283.
  11. ^ Adelman, Kim 2002, p. 143.
  12. ^ Guralnick, Peter 1999, p. 288.
  13. ^ Guralnick, Peter 1999, p. 293.
  14. ^ Guralnick, Peter 1999, pp. 294–295.
  15. ^ a b Nash, Alanna 2008, p. 236, 238.
  16. ^ a b c Abrams, David (July 8, 2005). "Interview with Steve Binder, director of Elvis Presley's '68 Comeback Special". Elvis Australia. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
  17. ^ Guralnick, Peter 1999, pp. 297.
  18. ^ Guralnick, Peter 1999, pp. 299.
  19. ^ Guralnick, Peter 1999, pp. 300.
  20. ^ Nash, Alanna 2008, p. 236.
  21. ^ Guralnick, Peter 1999, pp. 306.
  22. ^ a b Gaar, Gillian 2010, p. 79.
  23. ^ EPE 2004, p. 8.
  24. ^ EPE 2004, p. 7.
  25. ^ Doll, Susan 2016.
  26. ^ Weingarten, Mark 2000, p. 153.
  27. ^ Dr. Inglis, Ian 2013, p. 46.
  28. ^ a b c Jeansonne, Luhrssen & Sokolovic 2011, p. 181.
  29. ^ NBC 1968.
  30. ^ "TV key previews". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. December 3, 1968. p. 39.
  31. ^ Crosby, Joan (December 3, 1968). "Reptiles and Elvis both wiggle". Pittsburgh Press. p. 63.
  32. ^ Eres, George 1968.
  33. ^ Grow, Kory 2017.
  34. ^ Kennedy, Paul 2011, p. 160.
  35. ^ RIIA 2018.
  36. ^ Evening Standard staff 1969, p. 2.
  37. ^ Shelton, Robert (December 4, 1968). "Rock Star's Explosive Blues Have Vintage Quality". The New York Times. p. 51.
  38. ^ Baker, Rob 1968, p. 30.
  39. ^ Humphrey, Hal 1968, p. 26.
  40. ^ Harris, Harry 1968, p. 28.
  41. ^ Lowry, Cynthia 1968, p. 8D.
  42. ^ Penton, Edgard 1968.
  43. ^ Burch, Mary 1968.
  44. ^ Gardiner, Sandy 1968.
  45. ^ Pritchett, Oliver 1970, p. 8.
  46. ^ Klein & Crisafulli 2011, p. 193.
  47. ^ Collins, Ace 2005, p. 215.
  48. ^ Otterburn-Hall, William 1969.
  49. ^ a b Jeansonne, Luhrssen & Sokolovic 2011, p. 183.
  50. ^ Eder, Mike 2013, p. 173.
  51. ^ Wolff, Kurt 2000, p. 283.
  52. ^ Rowan, Terry 2016, p. 56.
  53. ^ Gaar, Gillian 2010, p. 310.
  54. ^ Gaar, Gillian 2010, p. 311.
  55. ^ Bowker 1999, p. 305.
  56. ^ Gaar, Gillian 2010, p. 312.
  57. ^ ARIA Staff 2011.
  58. ^ Hung Medien staff 2011.
  59. ^ Hung Medien staff 2 2011.
  60. ^ IFPI staff 2004.
  61. ^ Media Control staff 2011.
  62. ^ Oricon staff 2011.
  63. ^ GfK staff 2004.
  64. ^ Rianz staff 2004.
  65. ^ VG-lista staff 2004.
  66. ^ Sverigetopplistan staff 2004.
  67. ^ Ultratop staff 2004.
  68. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2011 DVDs" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association.
  69. ^ "Austrian video certifications – Elvis Presley – 68 Comeback Special" (in German). IFPI Austria.
  70. ^ "Canadian video certifications – Elvis Presley – Elvis: '68 Comeback Special". Music Canada.
  71. ^ (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Archived from the original on September 15, 2012.
  72. ^ . Radioscope. July 3, 2011. Archived from the original on July 28, 2011.
  73. ^ "American video certifications – Presley, Elvis – Elvis '68 Comeback – Special Edition". Recording Industry Association of America.
  74. ^ "American video certifications – Presley, Elvis – Elvis: '68 Comeback Special Deluxe Edition". Recording Industry Association of America.
  75. ^ Williamson, Joel 2014, p. 221.
  76. ^ Moscheo, Joe 2007, p. 126.
  77. ^ Osborne, Jerry 1983, p. 50.
  78. ^ Osborne, Jerry 1983, p. 106.
  79. ^ Gaar, Gillian 2010, p. 309.
  80. ^ Gaar, Gillian 2010, p. 314.
  81. ^ BBC 2002.
  82. ^ Álvarez Gonzales, Alexis Jesús 2016, p. 33.
  83. ^ Rabin, Nathan 2012.
  84. ^ Eismann, Sonja 2008, p. 192.
  85. ^ Heath, Chris 2017, p. 76-77.
  86. ^ Ernill, Dixie 2004.
  87. ^ Flynn, Gillian 2020.
  88. ^ Harvest House Publishers staff 2020, p. 87.
  89. ^ Kajzer, Jackie 2013.
  90. ^ Legaspi, Althea 2019.
  91. ^ Newman, Melinda (August 12, 2022). "Documentary on Elvis Presley's Riveting '68 Comeback Special' Coming From Program's Director Steve Binder: Exclusive". Billboard. Retrieved January 12, 2023.

References edit

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  • Harvest House Publishers staff (2020). 101 Amazing Things About Christmas: A Celebration of God's Gift to Us All. Harvest House Publishers. ISBN 978-0-736-97982-5.
  • Heath, Chris (2017). Reveal: Robbie Williams. Bonnier Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-1-911-60026-8.
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  • Guralnick, Peter (1999). Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley. Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 978-0-316-33222-4.
  • Harris, Harry (December 4, 1968). "Presley, Bardot, Justice Black Enliven Super-Abundant Roster of Specials". Philadelphia Inquirer. Vol. 279, no. 157. Triangle Publications. Retrieved September 14, 2020 – via Newspapers.com. 
  • Hopkins, Jerry (2007). Elvis—The Biography. Plexus. ISBN 978-0-85965-391-6.
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  • Hung Medien staff (2011). . Austrian Charts (in German). Hung Medien. Archived from the original (ASP) on November 6, 2012. Retrieved August 10, 2011.
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  • Kajzer, Jackie (2013). "Glenn Danzig Talks 25th Anniversary of Debut Danzig Album, Upcoming Covers Disc + More". Loudwire. Townsquare Media, Inc. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
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  • NBC (1968). "SINGER presents ... Elvis". The Daily Tar Heel. Vol. 151, no. 133. DTH Media Corp. Retrieved January 2, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. 
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  • Osborne, Jerry (1983). Presleyana: Elvis Presley record price guide. O'Sullivan Woodside. ISBN 978-0-890-19083-8.
  • Otterburn-Hall, William (1969). "Elvis Presley On Set: You Won't ask Elvis Anything Too Deep?". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media, LLC. Retrieved January 31, 2018.
  • Penton, Edgard (1968). "Elvis Tries New Stuff on an Old Audience". El Paso Herald-Post. Vol. 88, no. 287. E. W. Scripps Company. Retrieved January 2, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. 
  • Ponce de Leon, Charles L. (2007). Fortunate Son: The Life of Elvis Presley. Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-8090-1641-9.
  • Pritchett, Oliver (January 1, 1970). The Fabulous Elvis. Manchester. p. 8. Retrieved January 3, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)  
  • Rabin, Nathan (2012). "The Simpsons (Classic): "Krusty Gets Kancelled"". The A.V club. Onion, Inc. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
  • Rianz staff (2004). . Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Archived from the original (ASP) on June 11, 2012. Retrieved August 10, 2011.
  • RIIA (2018). "Gold & Platinum – RIIA". RIIA.com. Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
  • Rowan, Terry (2016). Character-Based Film Series: Part Three. Lulu.com. ISBN 978-1-365-02128-2.[self-published source]
  • Shelton, Robert (December 4, 1968). "Rock Star's Explosive Blues Have Vintage Quality". The New York Times. Vol. 118, no. 40, 492. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
  • Stirling, Geoff (August 15, 2015). "Captain Newfoundland from the Tip of Atlantis". Captain Atlantis Late Night. CJON-DT.
  • Sverigetopplistan staff (2004). (in Swedish). Search for Elvis Presley and click Sök. Archived from the original on December 26, 2015.
  • Ultratop staff (2004). "Ultratop 10 Musicaux" (ASP). Ultratop (in French). Hung Medien. from the original on November 2, 2012. Retrieved August 10, 2011.
  • VG-lista staff (2004). . VG-lista (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on June 3, 2012. Retrieved August 10, 2011.
  • Williamson, Joel (2014). Elvis Presley: A Southern Life. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-199-86318-1.
  • Weingarten, Mark (2000). Station To Station: The Secret History of Rock & Roll on Television. Gallery Books. ISBN 978-0-6710-3444-3.
  • Wolff, Kurt (2000). Country Music: The Rough Guide. Rough Guides. ISBN 978-1-85828-534-4.

External links edit

  • Elvis at IMDb  
  • Elvis: One Night With You at IMDb  

April 27, 2024
elvis, 1968, program, singer, presents, elvis, commonly, referred, comeback, special, elvis, presley, concert, special, that, aired, december, 1968, marked, presley, return, live, performance, after, seven, year, period, during, which, focused, film, appearanc. Singer Presents Elvis commonly referred to as the 68 Comeback Special is an Elvis Presley concert special that aired on NBC on December 3 1968 It marked Presley s return to live performance after a seven year period during which he focused on his film appearances ElvisPublicity poster for the special seen in Singer storesAlso known asSinger Presents Elvis 68 Comeback SpecialWritten byChris BeardeAllan BlyeDirected bySteve BinderStarringElvis PresleyComposerBilly GoldenbergCountry of originUnited StatesOriginal languageEnglishProductionProducersSteve BinderBones HoweProduction locationBurbank CaliforniaEditorsWayne KenworthyArmond PoitrasCamera setupMulti cameraRunning time50 minutesOriginal releaseNetworkNBCReleaseDecember 3 1968 1968 12 03 The concert was initially planned as a Christmas special by the network and Presley s manager Colonel Tom Parker Producer Bob Finkel hired director Steve Binder who rather than creating a Christmas special created a concert that would reflect the musical trends of the time and appeal to a younger audience Filming took place in June 1968 at NBC Studios in Burbank California The special included a sit down session that showcased Presley in an informal setting surrounded by fans and a small band The special received positive reviews and topped the Nielsen television ratings for the week in which it aired It became the most watched show of the television season earning 42 of the television audience Later known as the Comeback Special it relaunched Presley s singing career Contents 1 Background 2 NBC deal 3 Production 4 Release and reception 5 Aftermath 6 Media releases 6 1 Rereleases 6 2 Soundtrack 7 In popular culture 8 Footnotes 9 References 10 External linksBackground editAfter he returned from serving in the United States Army in March 1960 Presley enjoyed success with his album releases G I Blues the soundtrack album to his 1960 film G I Blues topped both the Billboard pop albums chart and the UK Albums Chart in October 1960 On March 25 1961 Presley played a concert in Hawaii to benefit the construction of the USS Arizona Memorial It would be his last public performance for seven years Presley s next number one album on the Billboard pop albums chart was Something for Everybody released in June 1961 1 nbsp Presley left and Joan Blondell in October 1967 featured on a publicity portrait for Stay Away Joe After years of working for the film industry Presley became unhappy with the quality of his roles Presley s manager Colonel Tom Parker shifted the focus of Presley s career to films and stopped him from touring The films were low budget formulaic comedies that were successful at the box office while the resulting albums sold well Presley attempted to move into more dramatic roles trying to reduce the prominence of musical numbers to center on his acting with Flaming Star 1960 and Wild in the Country 1961 2 Both releases flopped and by 1964 Parker decided to limit all recordings exclusively to film soundtracks Parker then set the Presley formula the films would promote album releases while album releases would promote the films 3 To reduce costs producer Hal Wallis shortened filming schedules almost abandoning rehearsals and retakes He stopped shooting on location all films were to be shot in the studio and less experienced crews were used to reduce labor costs Scenes were limited to long shots medium shots and close ups to speed the process Meanwhile studio recordings also declined in quality session musicians did most of the work as Presley simply didn t have time to focus on recording He was paid 750 000 and received 50 of the film profits for his appearance in Tickle Me 1965 a sum that consumed most of the film s budget Because Allied Artists was experiencing financial problems Parker inserted unused songs from other studio sessions on the soundtrack and instructed the studio to work them into the film The tight production worked and Tickle Me was a box office success 4 Girl Happy 1965 marked the first failure of this approach The soundtrack was Presley s least successful release while the film barely grossed 2 million 5 Despite the success of Parker s model Presley soon grew discontented With the passage of time he felt that his connection to the music business was weakening causing depression and alienation as the quality of his films deteriorated 6 During a five year span from 1964 through 1968 Presley had only one top ten hit Crying in the Chapel 1965 a gospel number recorded in 1960 7 While the 1964 film Viva Las Vegas enjoyed success the ensuing films saw a progressive decline By 1967 the difficulty of negotiating with Parker and the poor performance of the films led Wallis to opt out of his contract with Presley 8 NBC deal editIn October 1967 Parker approached Tom Sarnoff NBC West Coast vice president to propose a Christmas television special The US 1 250 000 package about 11 4 million in 2023 prices 9 included the financing of a motion picture for US 850 000 its soundtrack for US 25 000 the television special US 250 000 and US 125 000 reserved for the costs related to a rerun 10 The special was to be included in the feature Singer Presents sponsored by the Singer Corporation 11 Presley s initial reaction to the special was negative He felt that it was another scheme concocted by Parker and was angered by the idea of singing Christmas carols on national television 12 However his opinion changed after he began talks with the special s producer Bob Finkel who persuaded Singer NBC and Parker to alter the show s original concept Finkel obtained Parker s approval that the show was to be centered only on Presley while enough material for a soundtrack album and a Christmas single was to be recorded Presley s enthusiasm for the project grew and he assured Finkel that he was ready to perform new material different from anything he had previously done He had no interest in Parker s opinion of the project 13 To reflect the new intended direction of Presley s career Finkel recruited director Steve Binder who had directed the concert film T A M I Show and worked for NBC on Hullabaloo and a Petula Clark special Finkel felt that hiring Binder would refresh Presley s image and that Binder would be able to introduce Presley to new audiences Initially reluctant to direct the special Binder was convinced by his associate Bones Howe who had met Presley during the 1950s while he worked at Radio Recorders as an audio engineer He insisted on working with Presley as he thought that Binder had similar production methods A meeting was arranged during which Parker assured that the team would have full creative control but stressed that the publishing rights must be under Presley s name Howe and Binder met with Presley later that week and informed him that they would prepare all of the details for the special by the time that Presley would return from his vacation in Hawaii 14 Production editBinder and Howe hired the production crew repeating their collaboration with various people whom they had used for past specials Billy Goldenberg was assigned as the musical director while the Presley camp chose Billy Strange as the arranger Chris Bearde and Allan Blye were hired as the writers and Bill Belew for the costume design Bearde and Blye proposed an idea based on Maurice Maeterlinck s The Blue Bird that was intended to portray Presley s career through his songs Singer s representative Alfred Discipio approved the idea as did Parker The snippets of the story were connected by a number covering Jerry Reed s Guitar Man 15 An informal segment was planned featuring Presley talking to members of his entourage in a scripted conversation that was to show him as self deprecating while discussing his film performances A gospel number would be added as well as a live standup performance The Christmas song requested by Parker would then be played and the special would close with a spoken statement by Presley According to Binder Parker wanted Elvis to come out in a tux and sing Christmas songs 16 Binder however wanted Presley to express his feelings about the current social climate as Presley had been moved by the recent assassinations of Senator Robert F Kennedy and Reverend Martin Luther King Jr King s assassination deeply touched Presley who felt that the murder which occurred in Memphis Tennessee only confirmed everyone s worst feelings about the south 17 By June 3 Presley returned to Hollywood to start the rehearsals that would last for two weeks Howe insisted on the possibility of a soundtrack album from which he would earn royalties as its producer NBC saw Howe s attitude as a potential danger to the special and ordered Binder to remove him from the staff The production was further complicated when Goldenberg complained to Binder that Strange had not completed any musical arrangements for the special with only two weeks before the end of preproduction Strange left the project alleging that he was too busy with other projects A week before the end of rehearsals the production team allowed Howe to return as producer and engineer 18 nbsp Presley performing in the special On June 4 Senator Robert Kennedy was shot at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles after giving a live television speech he died two days later Binder stated in a 2005 interview with Elvis Australia that One night when we were rehearsing the television set was on the other room and all of a sudden there was this moment of silence And I said I think Bobby Kennedys just been shot And we all rushed into the other office and that s exactly what happened They had live at the Ambassador Hotel Kennedy making his speech We were in the piano room at the time but there was just something weird that evening and I just sensed something had gone wrong Then we spent the whole night basically talking about the Kennedy assassination of both Bobby and John 16 According to Binder this event would further motivate Presley to record If I Can Dream as the special s closing number 16 On June 17 the team moved to the NBC studios in Burbank California Goldenberg asked Finkel to remove Presley s large entourage from the production area complaining that they interfered with the creative process Presley worked with choreographer Lance LeGault on the planned numbers and Belew worked with the costumes 19 Binder and Howe developed the concept of the informal section of the show after seeing Presley interacting with his entourage while playing music during breaks Binder planned to shoot the segment in the locker room to give the public a sense of how Presley s music was developed in an intimate setting but Parker opposed this concept Binder settled for a sit down concert on a small stage that resembled a boxing ring He called Presley s first backup musicians Scotty Moore and DJ Fontana to accentuate the nature of Presley s musical origins Presley s original bassist Bill Black had died in 1965 They were also joined by two members of Presley s entourage Charlie Hodge and Alan Fortas The scripted part was canceled but the writers gave Presley a list of topics to discuss between songs The topics included mentions of his early career his Hollywood years and the current music business 15 On June 20 Presley started the recording process at United Western Recorders Howe arranged for the rhythm section session musicians from Los Angeles The band was composed of drummer Hal Blaine and guitarists Mike Deasy and Tommy Tedesco Members of the string and brass sections of the NBC orchestra were also enlisted 20 All of the special s music except for that of the live sections was prerecorded by Presley It was to be blended with live vocals during the production numbers which were taped on June 27 21 On the same day Presley taped the first sit down show Parker had told the NBC team that he would handle ticket distribution He assured them that he would recruit fans from across the country to fill the studio However by the day of the show Parker had not distributed the tickets and only a few people were in line to see the taping Binder and Finkel invited people from a restaurant across the street and aired a radio announcement to gather an audience Presley was nervous at the beginning of the first hour long set Binder had to convince him to take the stage but once there Presley was comfortable He performed his songs and traded jokes with his companions as the session progressed By the end of the first show Belew had to carefully remove the sweat soaked leather suit that was now stuck to Presley s skin To prepare the suit for the next show Belew had to wash it by hand He was helped by the costume crew who used hairdryers to hasten the process 22 During the first show the producers were concerned about the effects of the toe tapping on the recordings so for the 8 p m show rubber mats were placed at the feet of Presley and the band members 23 The second show found Presley relaxed and running through the set list with ease 22 On June 29 Presley recorded both stand up sessions As with the first two shows the cameras that shot Presley from different angles did not have individual taping machines The director would choose the camera angle that he desired and the cameras would then feed either of the two available taping machines 24 The arrangements of the songs for the stand up shows were fast paced and Presley accompanied them with shakes gyrations and facial expressions that he emphasized with fist gestures and knee drops 25 For the show s closer Binder decided to replace the spoken statement with a song He instructed Goldenberg and lyricist Walter Earl Brown to write a song that reflected Presley and his beliefs and Brown wrote If I Can Dream that same night Binder sent it to Parker who still thought that the show closer was to be I ll Be Home for Christmas After Parker s negative response to the song Binder bypassed him and played the song for Presley After hearing it three times Presley was convinced that he should record it Seeing Presley s determination Parker demanded 100 percent of the publishing rights Goldenberg removed his name from the publishing sheet and told Parker that Brown had written the song 26 For the If I Can Dream number Presley wore a three piece white suit designed by Belew A large sign in red letters that read ELVIS was placed on a black background and Presley performed the song with a hand held microphone After finishing the song Presley closed the special by saying Thank you Good night 27 Release and reception editThe special s final running time was fifty minutes edited from four hours of taping Presley was satisfied with the result 28 Singer Presents Elvis aired five months later on Tuesday December 3 at 9 p m EST 29 30 31 It placed first in the Nielsen television ratings for the week ending on December 8 displacing Rowan amp Martin s Laugh In also on NBC which dropped to the second position 32 Forty two percent of the total television audience viewed it making it the most watched show of the season 33 The special s soundtrack was released shortly afterward It reached number eight on Billboard s Top LPs chart 34 and by July 1969 it was certified gold 35 The special was shown in the United Kingdom on 31 December 1969 on BBC2 under the title The Fabulous Elvis 36 In his review for The New York Times critic Robert Shelton wrote Parts of the hour program were unbelievably stagey but other parts were believably effective and natural glimpses of one of the pop culture phenomenons of the century at work where he works best in music What this special points out is that this charismatic performer was at his best 10 years ago but he hasn t lost his grip on the best music he had to offer then Today s rock generation will more than likely ask that the real early Presley stand up 37 Despite calling Presley s films atrocities a Chicago Tribune reviewer wrote that it s great to have the old Elvis back and characterized the performance as dynamic compelling incredibly sensual 38 The Los Angeles Times deemed Presley s performance anticlimactic in comparison to other rock and roll acts of the time The review assured that Presley managed to sustain the hour very well but that some of the magic was gone diminished 39 The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote What separates real from ersatz stars is the quality of excitement and this Presley generated generously whether singing swinging chatting with sidemen and an ecstatic audience or pacing restlessly like a caged animal 40 The Associated Press praised the set design as well as Presley s appearance that felt sort of like old times 41 A review by the Newspaper Enterprise Association published in the El Paso Herald Post held that the special showcased a renewed and more mature Presley 42 The Daily Tar Heel published a favorable review of the special remarking on the change since Presley s heyday declaring Elvis still has magic 43 The Ottawa Journal praised Presley while noting that he delivered a calmer stage presence compared to that of his early days The reviewer lamented the editing of the program and the selection of the cage like stage in which Presley appeared to pace not at ease 44 The Guardian defined the performances by Presley as marvellous stuff performed with a faint hint of self mockery but lamented the inclusion of choreography and ludicrous choral throbs 45 Aftermath edit nbsp Presley during a stand up session The photo was featured on the cover of Rolling Stone in 1969 After the taping of the first sit down session Presley called Parker to his dressing room to inform him that he wanted to return to touring During a press conference Parker announced that Presley would soon embark on a comeback tour Parker s choice of words angered Presley who felt that he was being labeled a has been Presley was also interested in further collaboration with Binder but Parker avoided it 28 By January 1969 propelled by the success of the special and with his renewed enthusiasm Presley began his return to recording non soundtrack albums with producer Chips Moman Recorded at American Sound Studio with the house band known as the Memphis Boys the resulting single In the Ghetto reached 3 and was soon followed by a country soul album titled From Elvis in Memphis 46 Suspicious Minds a standalone single from the sessions released in late August also topped the charts and became one of Presley s signature songs 47 In July 1969 Rolling Stone featured Presley on the cover for the first time featuring a photo from one of the television special s stand up performances with the black leather outfit 48 Parker arranged Presley s return to live performance He arranged a deal with Kirk Kerkorian owner of the Las Vegas International Hotel for Presley to play the newly built 2 000 seat showroom for four weeks two shows per night for 400 000 49 For his return to Las Vegas Presley assembled a core rhythm section later given the moniker the TCB Band James Burton lead guitar John Wilkinson rhythm guitar Jerry Scheff bass Ron Tutt drums Larry Muhoberac piano and Charlie Hodge rhythm guitar stage assistant Presley also hired two backing vocal groups the Sweet Inspirations and the Imperials 50 His initial Las Vegas booking 57 shows in July August 1969 attracted a total audience of 101 500 a Las Vegas attendance record 49 In 1970 Presley toured the U S for the first time since October November 1957 with every show a sellout 51 Media releases editRereleases edit NBC rebroadcast the special in the summer of 1969 The song Blue Christmas was replaced by the number Tiger Man at Parker s request 52 In 1977 the program was aired after Presley s death as a special titled Memories of Elvis hosted by Ann Margret It included a bordello scene that was originally approved by the censors but had been removed at the request of the Singer Corporation to avoid controversy 53 In 1985 HBO broadcast the first sit down session of the show under the title Elvis One Night with You Elvis Presley Enterprises business manager Joe Rascoff sold the channel the broadcasting rights for 1 000 000 A home video version was later released 54 55 In 2004 an Elvis 68 Comeback Special Deluxe Edition DVD was released The three disc set contained all of the known available footage of the special outtakes included A single disc edition was released in 2006 with the program expanded to 94 minutes by adding material from the outtakes to the original broadcast 56 Chart 2004 Peakposition Australian Top 40 Music DVDs 57 1 Austrian Top 10 Music DVDs 58 2 Belgium Flanders Top 10 Music DVDs 59 4 Finnish Top 5 Music DVDs 60 1 German Albums Chart 61 72 Japanese DVDs Chart 62 99 Netherlands Top 30 Music DVDs 63 2 New Zealand Top 10 Music DVDs 64 4 Norwegian Top 10 DVDs 65 1 Swedish Top 20 DVDs 66 1 Chart 2008 Peakposition Belgium Wallonia Top 10 Music DVDs 67 1 Region Certification Certified units sales Australia ARIA 68 6 Platinum 90 000 Austria IFPI Austria 69 Gold 5 000 Canada Music Canada 70 3 Platinum 30 000 France SNEP 71 Platinum 20 000 New Zealand RMNZ 72 Gold 2 500 United States RIAA 73 2006 release 2 Platinum 200 000 United States RIAA 74 2004 release 4 Platinum 133 332 Sales figures based on certification alone Shipments figures based on certification alone Soundtrack edit Main article Elvis 1968 album The special s first single to be released was If I Can Dream by RCA Victor 47 9670 in October 1968 It reached number 12 on the Billboard Singles chart and sold 800 000 copies 75 In November 1968 the live performance of Tiger Man appeared on the RCA Camden compilation album Elvis Sings Flaming Star PRS 279 which was first released through Singer stores and given wide release in April 1969 CAS 2304 76 An official soundtrack album simply titled Elvis was released in December 1968 by RCA LPM 4088 In March 1969 RCA released Memories as a single 47 9730 a song that would later be reused as the closing credits music for the 1972 concert film Elvis on Tour Bootleg albums featuring unissued material began circulating as early as 1978 77 Over the following decades additional performances from the special were released in parts particularly in RCA s A Legendary Performer compilation series 78 as well as in the 1985 box set A Golden Celebration In the 1990s and 2000s RCA issued more complete soundtrack recordings including Memories in 1998 a 30th anniversary release that was an expansion of the original album That same year RCA released Tiger Man which consisted of the complete sit down performances In 2006 RCA released Let Yourself Go The Making of Elvis the Comeback Special which consisted of outtakes and rehearsal recordings from the special 79 Various recordings from the special were used as the soundtrack for the Elvis pinball machine released by Stern in 2004 The version of A Little Less Conversation originally recorded for but not used in the special was later remixed by Junkie XL and became a worldwide hit in 2002 80 In the United States the song peaked at number 50 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart the first hit for Presley since 1981 and extended his list of charted singles into the 21st century It also spent four consecutive weeks at number one on the UK Singles Chart 81 In popular culture editThe sit down sections of the special were a forerunner of MTV Unplugged showing for the first time an artist in a casual setting 28 Falco s video for his 1986 single Emotional features him standing in front of a logo formed by red light bulbs that spell FALCO an image also shown on the cover of his Emotional album 82 In The Simpsons 1993 episode Krusty Gets Kancelled the set of Krusty the Clown s television special mimicks Presley s show 83 In the video for the 2001 single Inner Smile Texas lead singer Sharleen Spiteri is dressed as Presley from the special 84 Robbie Williams 2002 special The Robbie Williams Show features Trouble as the opening song as well as similar set decorations and the letters RW in red 85 In 2004 Morrissey toured with a stage backdrop that spelled MORRISSEY in large red marquee lights reminiscent of the special s ELVIS sign 86 The special was portrayed in the 2005 biographical television miniseries Elvis starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers 87 In 2008 country singer Martina McBride recorded a virtual duet of Blue Christmas for the album Christmas Duets The video for the song features McBride singing with Presley during the sit down session of the special 88 Glenn Danzig loosely based his 2013 Legacy TV Special on the Presley special 89 In 2019 Green Day paid tribute to the Guitar Man portion of the special s opening number in the video for Father of All 90 Baz Luhrmann s 2022 film Elvis portrays the production of the special with Billboard indicating the scenes about the special are considered some of the film s most riveting 91 Footnotes edit Gordon Robert 2005 pp 110 114 Ponce de Leon 2007 p 133 Doll Susan 2009 p 113 Doll Susan 2009 p 141 Neibaur James 2014 p 230 Doll Susan 2009 p 137 Marsh 2004 p 650 Doll Susan 2009 p 142 1634 1699 McCusker J J 1997 How Much Is That in Real Money A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States Addenda et Corrigenda PDF American Antiquarian Society 1700 1799 McCusker J J 1992 How Much Is That in Real Money A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States PDF American Antiquarian Society 1800 present Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Consumer Price Index estimate 1800 Retrieved February 29 2024 Guralnick Peter 1999 p 283 Adelman Kim 2002 p 143 Guralnick Peter 1999 p 288 Guralnick Peter 1999 p 293 Guralnick Peter 1999 pp 294 295 a b Nash Alanna 2008 p 236 238 a b c Abrams David July 8 2005 Interview with Steve Binder director of Elvis Presley s 68 Comeback Special Elvis Australia Retrieved December 16 2023 Guralnick Peter 1999 pp 297 Guralnick Peter 1999 pp 299 Guralnick Peter 1999 pp 300 Nash Alanna 2008 p 236 Guralnick Peter 1999 pp 306 a b Gaar Gillian 2010 p 79 EPE 2004 p 8 EPE 2004 p 7 Doll Susan 2016 Weingarten Mark 2000 p 153 Dr Inglis Ian 2013 p 46 a b c Jeansonne Luhrssen amp Sokolovic 2011 p 181 NBC 1968 TV key previews Pittsburgh Post Gazette December 3 1968 p 39 Crosby Joan December 3 1968 Reptiles and Elvis both wiggle Pittsburgh Press p 63 Eres George 1968 Grow Kory 2017 Kennedy Paul 2011 p 160 RIIA 2018 Evening Standard staff 1969 p 2 Shelton Robert December 4 1968 Rock Star s Explosive Blues Have Vintage Quality The New York Times p 51 Baker Rob 1968 p 30 Humphrey Hal 1968 p 26 Harris Harry 1968 p 28 Lowry Cynthia 1968 p 8D Penton Edgard 1968 Burch Mary 1968 Gardiner Sandy 1968 Pritchett Oliver 1970 p 8 Klein amp Crisafulli 2011 p 193 Collins Ace 2005 p 215 Otterburn Hall William 1969 a b Jeansonne Luhrssen amp Sokolovic 2011 p 183 Eder Mike 2013 p 173 Wolff Kurt 2000 p 283 Rowan Terry 2016 p 56 Gaar Gillian 2010 p 310 Gaar Gillian 2010 p 311 Bowker 1999 p 305 Gaar Gillian 2010 p 312 ARIA Staff 2011 Hung Medien staff 2011 Hung Medien staff 2 2011 IFPI staff 2004 Media Control staff 2011 Oricon staff 2011 GfK staff 2004 Rianz staff 2004 VG lista staff 2004 Sverigetopplistan staff 2004 Ultratop staff 2004 ARIA Charts Accreditations 2011 DVDs PDF Australian Recording Industry Association Austrian video certifications Elvis Presley 68 Comeback Special in German IFPI Austria Canadian video certifications Elvis Presley Elvis 68 Comeback Special Music Canada French video certifications Elvis Presley Elvis 68 Comeback in French Syndicat National de l Edition Phonographique Archived from the original on September 15 2012 Latest Gold Platinum DVDs Radioscope July 3 2011 Archived from the original on July 28 2011 American video certifications Presley Elvis Elvis 68 Comeback Special Edition Recording Industry Association of America American video certifications Presley Elvis Elvis 68 Comeback Special Deluxe Edition Recording Industry Association of America Williamson Joel 2014 p 221 Moscheo Joe 2007 p 126 Osborne Jerry 1983 p 50 Osborne Jerry 1983 p 106 Gaar Gillian 2010 p 309 Gaar Gillian 2010 p 314 BBC 2002 Alvarez Gonzales Alexis Jesus 2016 p 33 Rabin Nathan 2012 Eismann Sonja 2008 p 192 Heath Chris 2017 p 76 77 Ernill Dixie 2004 Flynn Gillian 2020 Harvest House Publishers staff 2020 p 87 Kajzer Jackie 2013 Legaspi Althea 2019 Newman Melinda August 12 2022 Documentary on Elvis Presley s Riveting 68 Comeback Special Coming From Program s Director Steve Binder Exclusive Billboard Retrieved January 12 2023 References editAdelman Kim 2002 The Girls Guide to Elvis The Clothes The Hair The Women and More Crown Archetype ISBN 978 0 767 91189 4 BBC 2002 Elvis and Oasis enjoy chart success BBC News BBC World Service Retrieved August 21 2017 Alvarez Gonzales Alexis Jesus 2016 De la FM a la web in Spanish Vol 1 Top 40 Star ISBN 978 1 326 55656 3 ARIA Staff 2011 The ARIA Report Issue 755 PDF Australian Recording Industry Association Australian Web Archive p 22 Archived from the original PDF on October 19 2004 Retrieved August 10 2011 Baker Rob December 5 1968 The Sound Music and radio for young listeners Chicago Tribune Vol 122 no 340 Retrieved September 14 2020 via Newspapers com nbsp Bowker 1999 Bowker s Complete Video Directory R R Bowker Publishing Burch Mary 1968 Elvis Recalls Memories The Daily Tar Heel Vol 76 no 66 DTH Media Corp Retrieved January 2 2018 via Newspapers com nbsp Collins Ace 2005 Untold Gold The Stories Behind Elvis s 1 Hits Souvenir Press Ltd ISBN 978 0 285 63738 2 Doll Susan 2009 Elvis for Dummies For Dummies ISBN 978 0 470 47202 6 Doll Susan 2016 Understanding Elvis Southern Roots vs Star Image Routledge ISBN 978 1 3177 3297 6 Eder Mike 2013 Elvis Music FAQ All That s Left to Know About the King s Recorded Works Hal Leonard Corporation ISBN 978 1 61713 580 4 Eismann Sonja 2008 Hot Topic Ventil Verlag ISBN 978 3 931 55575 7 EPE 2004 Elvis Presley s 68 Comeback Special Deluxe Edition booklet Elvis Presley BMG Eres George 1968 Presley Show Tops Rating The Independent Vol 21 no 252 Press Telegram Retrieved January 2 2018 via Newspapers com nbsp Ernill Dixie June 16 2004 Morrisey MEN Area Manchester 22 5 2004 pennyblackmusic co uk Archived from the original on September 16 2020 Retrieved September 15 2020 Evening Standard staff December 31 1969 TV Radio Evening Standard London Retrieved January 3 2021 via Newspapers com nbsp Flynn Gillian March 17 2020 Elvis TV Show 2005 Entertainment Weekly Retrieved December 18 2020 nbsp Gaar Gillian 2010 Return of The King Elvis Presley s Great Comeback Jawbone Press ISBN 978 1 906002 28 2 Gambaccini Paul September 12 2008 For One Night Only Elvis Comes Back BBC Radio 4 Radio Broadcast BBC Retrieved September 15 2020 Gardiner Sandy 1968 Elvis Bridges Gap Ottawa Journal Vol 83 no 301 F P Publications Retrieved January 2 2018 via Newspapers com nbsp GfK staff 2004 GfK Dutch DVD Music Top 30 Dutch Charts in Dutch Hung Medien Archived from the original ASP on October 24 2012 Retrieved August 10 2011 Gordon Robert 2005 The King on the Road Bounty Books ISBN 0 7537 1088 9 Grow Kory 2017 Inside Elvis Presley s Legendary 1968 Comeback Special Rolling Stone Wenner Media LLC Retrieved January 3 2018 Harvest House Publishers staff 2020 101 Amazing Things About Christmas A Celebration of God s Gift to Us All Harvest House Publishers ISBN 978 0 736 97982 5 Heath Chris 2017 Reveal Robbie Williams Bonnier Publishing Ltd ISBN 978 1 911 60026 8 Jeansonne Glenn Luhrssen David Sokolovic Dan 2011 Elvis Presley Reluctant Rebel His Life and Our Times ABC Clio ISBN 978 0 313 35904 0 Guralnick Peter 1999 Careless Love The Unmaking of Elvis Presley Little Brown and Company ISBN 978 0 316 33222 4 Harris Harry December 4 1968 Presley Bardot Justice Black Enliven Super Abundant Roster of Specials Philadelphia Inquirer Vol 279 no 157 Triangle Publications Retrieved September 14 2020 via Newspapers com nbsp Hopkins Jerry 2007 Elvis The Biography Plexus ISBN 978 0 85965 391 6 Humphrey Hal December 4 1968 Elvis Skips Gyrations but Still Generates Heat Los Angeles Times Vol 88 Retrieved September 14 2020 via Newspapers com nbsp Hung Medien staff 2011 Austria Top 40 Musik DVD Top 10 Austrian Charts in German Hung Medien Archived from the original ASP on November 6 2012 Retrieved August 10 2011 Hung Medien staff 2 2011 Ultratop 10 Muziek DVD ASP Ultratop in Dutch Hung Medien Archived from the original on November 2 2012 Retrieved August 10 2011 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint numeric names authors list link IFPI staff 2004 Suomen virallinen lista Musiikki DVD t 30 2004 Finland s Official List Music DVDs 30 2004 Musiikkituottajat IFPI Finland in Finnish Archived from the original on August 20 2011 Retrieved August 10 2011 Dr Inglis Ian 2013 Performance and Popular Music History Place and Time Ashgate Publishing Ltd ISBN 978 1 409 49354 9 Kajzer Jackie 2013 Glenn Danzig Talks 25th Anniversary of Debut Danzig Album Upcoming Covers Disc More Loudwire Townsquare Media Inc Retrieved January 3 2018 Kennedy Paul 2011 Warman s Elvis Field Guide Values amp Identification Krause Publications ISBN 978 1 440 22607 6 Klein George Crisafulli Chuck 2011 Elvis My Best Man Random House ISBN 978 1 4481 1262 3 Legaspi Althea September 19 2019 Watch Green Day Flip Off Chaotic World in New Father of All Video Rolling Stone Retrieved September 25 2019 Lowry Cynthia December 4 1968 Past Reptiles Old Stars Reappear on Same Night Vol 88 no 308 Fort Worth Star Telegram Associated Press Retrieved September 14 2020 via Newspapers com nbsp Marsh Dave 2004 Elvis Presley In Marsh Dave Swenson John eds The Rolling Stone Record Guide 2nd ed Virgin ISBN 0 907080 00 6 Media Control staff 2011 Chartverfolgung PRESLEY ELVIS Longplay Music Line in German Media Control Charts Archived from the original on October 17 2012 Retrieved August 10 2011 Moscheo Joe 2007 The Gospel Side of Elvis Hachette UK ISBN 978 1 599 95025 9 Nash Alanna 2008 The Colonel The Extraordinary Story of Colonel Tom Parker and Elvis Presley Simon amp Schuster ISBN 978 1 4391 3695 9 NBC 1968 SINGER presents Elvis The Daily Tar Heel Vol 151 no 133 DTH Media Corp Retrieved January 2 2018 via Newspapers com nbsp Neibaur James 2014 The Elvis Movies Rowman amp Littlefield ISBN 978 1 4422 3074 3 Oricon staff 2011 Artist Ranking DVD Oricon Style in Japanese Archived from the original on October 24 2012 Retrieved August 10 2011 Osborne Jerry 1983 Presleyana Elvis Presley record price guide O Sullivan Woodside ISBN 978 0 890 19083 8 Otterburn Hall William 1969 Elvis Presley On Set You Won t ask Elvis Anything Too Deep Rolling Stone Wenner Media LLC Retrieved January 31 2018 Penton Edgard 1968 Elvis Tries New Stuff on an Old Audience El Paso Herald Post Vol 88 no 287 E W Scripps Company Retrieved January 2 2018 via Newspapers com nbsp Ponce de Leon Charles L 2007 Fortunate Son The Life of Elvis Presley Macmillan ISBN 978 0 8090 1641 9 Pritchett Oliver January 1 1970 The Fabulous Elvis Manchester p 8 Retrieved January 3 2022 via Newspapers com a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a work ignored help CS1 maint location missing publisher link nbsp Rabin Nathan 2012 The Simpsons Classic Krusty Gets Kancelled The A V club Onion Inc Retrieved January 3 2018 Rianz staff 2004 Top 10 Music DVDs Recording Industry Association of New Zealand Archived from the original ASP on June 11 2012 Retrieved August 10 2011 RIIA 2018 Gold amp Platinum RIIA RIIA com Recording Industry Association of America Retrieved January 3 2018 Rowan Terry 2016 Character Based Film Series Part Three Lulu com ISBN 978 1 365 02128 2 self published source Shelton Robert December 4 1968 Rock Star s Explosive Blues Have Vintage Quality The New York Times Vol 118 no 40 492 Retrieved January 6 2018 Stirling Geoff August 15 2015 Captain Newfoundland from the Tip of Atlantis Captain Atlantis Late Night CJON DT Sverigetopplistan staff 2004 Sverigetopplistan in Swedish Search for Elvis Presley and click Sok Archived from the original on December 26 2015 Ultratop staff 2004 Ultratop 10 Musicaux ASP Ultratop in French Hung Medien Archived from the original on November 2 2012 Retrieved August 10 2011 VG lista staff 2004 Topp 10 DVD Audio 2004 Uke 31 VG lista in Norwegian Archived from the original on June 3 2012 Retrieved August 10 2011 Williamson Joel 2014 Elvis Presley A Southern Life Oxford University Press ISBN 978 0 199 86318 1 Weingarten Mark 2000 Station To Station The Secret History of Rock amp Roll on Television Gallery Books ISBN 978 0 6710 3444 3 Wolff Kurt 2000 Country Music The Rough Guide Rough Guides ISBN 978 1 85828 534 4 External links editElvis at IMDb nbsp Elvis One Night With You at IMDb nbsp Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Elvis 1968 TV program amp oldid 1212263899, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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