ELVIS PRESLEY

The Elvis Presley ’68 Comeback Special – NBC edited this Elvis special from four days of performances, with the goal of propping up a flagging career for the King of Rock and Roll. The Beatles and the British Invasion, along with poor film and song choices, made young people consider Elvis “Uncool.” Filmed in the round with an intimate audience and members of his early band including guitarist Scotty Moore, the special was a foreshadow of the “Unplugged” concept used later to emphasize casual, stripped down performances with a small audience. This was Elvis’ first return to television in seven years, the first since the Frank Sinatra “Welcome Home Elvis” Special, also chronicled in this collection. The “Comeback Special” was a brilliant bonanza all around, reinvigorating Elvis’ career and garnering 42 percent of the audience at 9 pm that night, making it the number one show for the season.