NBC-TV Special (Live) Elvis Presley

• 1 Medley: Trouble / Guitar Man 03:26
• 2 Medley: Lawdy, Miss Clawdy / Baby, What You Want Me to Do / Heartbreak Hotel / Hound Dog / All Shook Up / Can't Help Falling In Love / Jailhouse Rock / Love Me Tender 14:40
• 3 Medley: Dialogue / Where Could I Go but to the Lord / Up Above My Head / Saved 07:36
• 4 Dialogue / Blue Christmas / One Night 05:33
• 5 Memories 03:15
• 6 Medley: Nothingville / Big Boss Man / Guitar Man / Little Egypt / Trouble/Guitar Man 06:41
• 7 If I Can Dream 03:19
• Total Runtime 44:30

Info for NBC-TV Special (Live)

By 1968, Elvis Presley's career appeared to be in irreversible decline, torpedoed by the innumerable inane films he had made throughout the previous decade. While Elvis had wiled away the '60s playing characters named Lucky and Spike, artists like the Beatles and Bob Dylan had altered the pop music scene, making Elvis' previous accomplishments appear quaint but outdated to most young record buyers. Searching for a vehicle to revitalize his career, Elvis and the Colonel decided on a 60-minute television special.

The show, quickly dubbed The Comeback Special, accomplished its goal in spades, reestablishing Presley's artistic validity and preparing the public for a string of great singles that arrived early the following year. NBC-TV Special opens and closes huge, kicking off with Elvis sneering "If you're looking for trouble, you've come to the right place" and ending with one of his most impassioned performances, "If I Can Dream." In between, Presley reunites with original band members Scotty Moore and D.J. Fontana on eight numbers, among them a blistering version of "One Night," and blazes through several production numbers and medleys of his hits. NBC-TV Special documents a defining moment in Presley's career, and is a must for any fan of the King.

Recorded on on June 20–23, 29 1968:
Elvis Presley, vocals
The Blossoms, backing vocals
Tommy Morgan, harmonica
Mike Deasy, electric guitar
Al Casey, electric guitar
Tommy Tedesco, electric guitar
Larry Knechtel, keyboards
Don Randi, piano
Charles Berghofer, double bass
Hal Blaine, drums
John Cyr, percussion
Elliot Franks, percussion
Frank DeVito, bongo
Billy Goldenberg, orchestra conductor

Recorded on June 27, 1968:
Elvis Presley, vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar
Scotty Moore, acoustic guitar, electric guitar
Charlie Hodge, acoustic guitar, backing vocals
D.J. Fontana, percussion
Alan Fortas, percussion
Lance Legault, tambourine

Recorded June 20–29, 1968 at NBC Studios and Western Recorders, Burbank, California
Produced by Bones Howe

Digitally remastered

Elvis Presley
was an American actor and singer, born on January 8, 1935, in Mississippi. He played a key role in popularizing rockabilly and later rock ‘n’ roll, and is considered one of the greatest icons of all time. The King, who died on August 16, 1977, remains the second-biggest album seller in music history.

A talented and precocious artist

Elvis Aaron Presley was born on January 8, 1935, in Tupelo and showed a passion for music even as a child. At the age of ten, he took part in his first singing competition dressed as a cowboy and came fifth at the Mississippi-Alabama Fair and Dairy Show. On his 11th birthday, his family decided to give him his first guitar as a gift. Two of his uncles took the opportunity to give him guitar lessons, while his mother helped him improve his singing.

In 1946, Elvis Presley met Mississippi Slim, a local musician and radio host who helped him perfect his guitar chords. Seeing that Elvis had talent, Mississippi Slim decided to have him perform on his show, giving him his first public performance even though he wasn't even 12 years old! In 1953, after finishing school, he made the final decision to pursue a career in music.

A determined teenager

True to his dream of becoming a musician, Elvis Presley decided to visit the various record companies in Memphis to record his first single. When he arrived at Sun Records, he paid four dollars of his own money for his first recording! At the age of 18, he sang two cover versions: My Happiness and That's When Your Heartaches Begin.

The beginning of a great career

Elvis Presley then recorded several singles with Scotty Moore and Bill Black, who would later become his musicians. On July 5, 1954, in the middle of recording, Elvis Presley began to accompany his songs with body movements that Sam Philips found overwhelming. Considering these gestures to be a real revolution, the producer of Sun Records decided to launch the trio on the road to success.

The three men performed countless times and embarked on a local tour that lasted until 1955 to make themselves known to a wider audience. The success was huge. Elvis Presley's footwork was considered scandalous, but it attracted young audiences. Elvis Presley's sound, a mixture of blues and country music, was heard throughout the southwestern United States and soon became rockabilly. The group then signed with RCA Records, which created the “Elvis Presley Music” label specifically to record the phenomenon's first studio albums.

By 1958, Elvis Presley had become increasingly popular thanks to his albums Elvis Presley (1956) and Elvis (1956) and his film soundtracks: Loving You (1957) and the incredible King Creole (1958). After his appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show on September 9, 1956, he became a national star. That evening, 60 million Americans watched Elvis's rendition of Love Me Tender, and over a million copies of the single were pre-ordered after the show.

The King: the birth of a legend

In 1956, Elvis Presley wanted to try his hand at other things and signed a contract with Paramount Pictures to become an actor. Despite mixed reviews, the first films in which Elvis starred were real commercial successes thanks to his fame. He then made several more films, such as Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1956) and King Creole (1958), before having to complete his military service from 1958 to 1960.

Despite his absence, his producers released the albums For LP Fans Only (1959) and A Date with Elvis (1959), featuring songs recorded years earlier.

In 1960, after returning from the army, he released the albums Something for Everybody (1961) and Pot Luck (1962), before signing an acting contract with Hollywood. The production company was eager to give him the leading roles in the films for which he was to write the soundtrack. He then starred in The Sheriff of These Ladies (1962), The Man for Everything (1964), and Tickle Me (1965).

At the top of the sales charts, despite a career break!

Although he put his music career on hold from 1960 to 1968, Elvis Presley managed to get ten original movie soundtracks to the top of the singles sales charts! These include Girls! Girls! Girls (1962) and Fun in Acapulco (1963).

The year 1968 is also considered symbolic of the King's return to his roots. In the show entitled Elvis, he is celebrated by the audience. The following year, he releases his first album in nine years: From Elvis in Memphis (1969). This album, which features more soul and less rock ‘n’ roll, demonstrates the King's ability to adapt to the musical trends of the time.

Elvis is determined to return to the stage with concerts and signs a contract for 57 dates over several years at the International Hotel in Las Vegas. At the first of these concerts on July 31, 1969, the audience is captivated by his performance and gives him three standing ovations.

In parallel with the contract with the hotel in Las Vegas, Elvis resumes his tours of the USA and releases seven albums between 1970 and 1973, including Elvis Country (I'm 10,000 Years Old) (1971) and Raised on Rock (1973). In the same year, he decided to give the first concert ever to be broadcast via satellite around the world. This took his career to global dimensions. In his white suit with the eagle on the back, Elvis became The King forever and released a double album: Aloha From Hawaii via Satellite (1973).

Due to excessive medication use, he died of a heart attack on August 16, 1977, in Memphis, the city where it all began.

Elvis Presley's awards:

Elvis Presley received an impressive number of awards throughout his career. In 2010, the total number of albums and singles he sold was estimated at over 600 million! His album Elvis' Christmas Album (1957), for example, went platinum nine times. In total, he received 144 awards for his singles and albums during his career, which spanned just over 20 years.

Elvis is also the American singer who has appeared most frequently in the charts of best-selling singles in the US. He placed 38 singles in the Top 10, 18 at No. 1 and 114 in the Top 40! He also spent more than 80 weeks at the top of the singles bestseller list during his career.

His musical awards include three Grammy Awards for Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance in 1968, 1973, and 1975, as well as a Grammy Award in 1971 for his life's work. Today, he has a star on the Walk of Fame on Hollywood Boulevard and belongs to three major music institutions: the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Country Music Hall of Fame, and the Gospel Music Hall of Fame.

On the evening of Elvis Presley's death, US President Jimmy Carter summed up the singer's life in a now famous sentence: “Elvis may be gone, but his legend will live on forever.”

This album contains no booklet.