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The year of 1968 was mapped
out for Elvis like several of the preceding years. He was committed to three Hollywood
film productions - Live a Little, Love a Little; Charro! and The
Trouble With Girls. He was scheduled to record some non-film songs at Studio
'B' in Nashville in January. What was very different, and came as a surprise
announcement, was the fact that Elvis was to headline his very own Television
Special for the first occasion in his career. He had only appeared as a guest
on other television shows in the past, and a full eight years had elapsed since
his last such appearance - with Frank Sinatra in March 1960. Colonel Parker secured
a deal with NBC Television where Elvis was signed to star in a TV Special and
also commit to a feature film as part of the deal. The film was Change of Habit,
Elvis's final scripted movie role, produced by Universal Studios in an arrangement
with the NBC Company. In late June 1968 Elvis arrived at NBC's Burbank Studios
in California to begin work on what would become a historic television production.
It is now the stuff of legend
that Colonel Parker wanted Elvis to sing nothing but Christmas songs, as the Special
was due to air in the U.S. on December 3rd. Producer/director Steve Binder and
Elvis himself had other ideas and actually it
would have been detrimental to Elvis's career had he gone down this path. Having
been seven long years 'isolated' in Hollywood (his last live concert had actually
taken place in Hawaii in March 1961) he felt starved of audience reaction and
was desperate to return to the stage, where he felt he truly belonged. His involvement
in Hollywood movies was very lucrative for both himself and the Colonel, but Elvis
was clearly unhappy with the material he was being offered, and was keen to leave
films behind him for a while. What he wanted was to perform a mixture of his older
songs and some brand new, especially written, material befitting the theme of
the TV Special. Dressed in a black leather outfit for a segment of the show, Elvis
proved he could still deliver an electrifying performance. Initially nervous,
by the time he had sang a couple of songs, his former confidence returned and
he won over the crowd (and eventually television audiences) with his display of
bristling energy. It was very obvious that he felt in his true element, given
the evidence of the vitality in his performance. With his former band mates Scotty
Moore and D.J. Fontana accompanying him for part of the recording, Elvis was very
comfortable revisiting some of his back catalogue of songs, infusing them with
renewed excitement. The Special of course had a theme running through it, with
Elvis as the 'Guitar Man'. Incorporated into the show was an energetic Gospel
sequence and other production numbers saw Elvis sing in a bordello (cut from the
initial broadcast), at a fairground and in a nightclub. Songwriter W. Earl Brown
was tasked with producing a showstopping finale number for the show and the resulting
song - If I Can Dream - was the perfect contemporary song for Elvis to
close his very own TV Special. His flawless rendition of this powerhouse song
is a truly remarkable moment. Released as a single to promote the show, it was
a moderate success. The soundtrack album reached a high of no.8 in the States
and managed the no.2 position in the British album charts. One year after production
of the TV Special Elvis was back on the live concert circuit, beginning with a
month-long season in Las Vegas. He was back in the public eye with a vengeance.
This information was produced by the Elvis Presley Film Society in July 2004
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