Elvis (NBC TV Special)

Elvis (NBC-TV Special)
Soundtrack album by Elvis Presley
Released	November 22, 1968 (1968-11-22)
Recorded	June 1968
Genre	Rock and roll
Length	44:27
Label	RCA Records
Producer	Bones Howe
Elvis Presley chronology
Elvis Sings Flaming Star (1968) Elvis (NBC-TV Special) (1968) From Elvis in Memphis (1969)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
This table needs to be expanded using prose. See the guideline for more information.

Elvis (NBC TV Special) is the thirty-fourth album by Elvis Presley, released on RCA Victor Records in mono, LPM 4088, in November 1968. Recording sessions took place in Burbank, California at Western Recorders on June 20, 21, 22, and 23, 1968, and at NBC Studios on June 27 and 29, 1968. It peaked at #8 on the Billboard 200. It was certified Gold on 7/22/1969 and Platinum on 7/15/1999 by the R.I.A.A.

Content

Prior to the videotaping of the Singer Christmas Special, a soundtrack album to be released before the December 3rd broadcast was recorded.^[2] Several initial contract stipulations were obviated by Presley and program producer Steve Binder, notably the one against having a live audience present, but album producer Bones Howe was unable to requisition proper recording equipment, getting the sound feed from the single-channel microphones on the video cameras.^[3] Hence, the album was released in mono only, at a time when the recording industry was switching over to stereophonic records exclusively for both albums and singles. It is hard to know if the "Mono" story is true however since every issue if this album clearly states on the labels and back cover, "recorded in stereo", and at the same time, in large letters the word "MONO" is listed on every issue of both sides of the record label.

Unlike the drudgery of the feature film soundtrack recordings, Presley was genuinely excited by the project.^[4] For the album, the musical format presented Presley in three different settings: production numbers featuring medleys of his material; an informal small band featuring medleys in front of a live audience; and the two original numbers with Presley backed by an orchestra in front of a live audience.^[5] The two ballad tracks from this album were issued as singles, "If I Can Dream" being released earlier in the month, backed on the b-side with a song from his movie currently in theaters, Speedway, making it a double promotion on one record. It peaked at #12 on the Billboard Hot 100, his highest charting single since 1965.^[6] "Memories" was released over two months after the broadcast, backed with the title song to his next film, Charro!.^[6] By making it to the top ten on the album chart after his previous album had charted at a dismal #82, this LP resuscitated his recording career at a time when it seemed practically moribund.^[7]

Several hours of additional music were recorded for the special, and this material has been reissued in many different formats over the years. On August 27, 1991, RCA released an expanded version for compact disc, including unedited versions of the medleys in several cases. Two extensive compact disc releases appeared in 1998, Memories The '68 Comeback Special featuring more comprehensive versions of the production and orchestral numbers, along with the complete first informal small band show of June 27, and Tiger Man featuring the complete evening show of the two informal small band concerts of June 27, 1968.

Personnel

• Elvis Presley - vocals, guitar
• The Blossoms - backing vocals
• Tommy Morgan - harmonica
• Mike Deasy, Al Casey, Tommy Tedesco, Scotty Moore - electric guitar
• Larry Knechtel - keyboards, bass
• Don Randi - piano
• Charles Berghofer - bass
• Hal Blaine - drums
• John Cyr, Elliot Franks, Frank DeVito, D.J. Fontana, Alan Fortas - percussion
• Lance Legault - tambourine
• Billy Goldenberg - orchestra conductor

Track listing

Chart positions from Billboard Hot 100; no times were listed on the original album

Side one

Track	Recorded	Song Title	Writers
1.	6/22/68	Trouble / Guitar Man	Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller / Jerry Reed
2.	6/27/68	Lawdy Miss Clawdy / Baby What You Want Me to Do	Lloyd Price / Jimmy Reed
3.	6/29/68	Heartbreak Hotel / Hound Dog / All Shook Up / Can't Help Falling In Love / Jailhouse Rock / Love Me Tender	Mae Boren Axton, Tommy Durden, Elvis Presley / Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller / Otis Blackwell and Elvis Presley/ George Weiss, Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore / Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller / Vera Matson and Elvis Presley
4.	6/21-22/68	Where Could I Go But To The Lord / Up Above My Head / Saved	J.B. Coats / Walter Earl Brown / Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller

Side two

Track	Recorded	Catalogue	Release Date	Chart Peak	Song Title	Writer(s)
1.	6/27/68				Blue Christmas / One Night	Billy Hayes and Jay W. Johnson / Dave Bartholomew and Pearl King
2.	6/23/68	47-9731	2/25/69	#35	Memories	Billy Strange and Mac Davis
3.	6/20-21/68				Nothingville / Big Boss Man / Guitar Man / Little Egypt / Trouble / Guitar Man	Billy Strange and Mac Davis / Luther Dixon and Al Smith / Jerry Reed / Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
4.	6/23/68	47-9670	11/5/68	#12	If I Can Dream	Walter Earl Brown

1991 expanded track listing

Bonus selections marked with an asterisk

Track	Recorded	Song Title	Writer(s)	Time
1.	6/22/67	Trouble / Guitar Man	Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller / Jerry Reed	3:26
2.	6/27/68	Lawdy Miss Clawdy / Baby What You Want Me to Do	Lloyd Price / Jimmy Reed	3:34
3.	6/29/68	Heartbreak Hotel / Hound Dog / All Shook Up / Can't Help Falling In Love / Jailhouse Rock / Don't Be Cruel* / Blue Suede Shoes* / Love Me Tender	Mae Boren Axton, Tommy Durden, Elvis Presley / Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller / Otis Blackwell and Elvis Presley/ George Weiss, Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore / Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller / Otis Blackwell and Elvis Presley / Carl Perkins / Vera Matson and Elvis Presley	14:14
4.	6/21-22/68	Where Could I Go But To The Lord / Up Above My Head / Saved	J.B. Coats / Walter Earl Brown / Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller	7:31
5.	6/27/68	Baby What You Want Me to Do* / That's Alright Mama* / Blue Christmas / One Night / Tiger Man* / Trying to Get to You*	Jimmy Reed / Arthur Crudup / Billy Hayes and Jay W. Johnson / Dave Bartholomew and Pearl King / Lewis Burns, Al Lewis, Joe Hill Louis / Rose Marie McCoy and Charles Singleton	15:49
6.	6/23/68	Memories	Billy Strange and Mac Davis	3:16
7.	6/20-21/68	Nothingville / Big Boss Man / Let Yourself Go*[disambiguation needed ] / It Hurts Me* / Guitar Man / Little Egypt / Trouble	Billy Strange and Mac Davis / Luther Dixon and Al Smith / Joy Byers / Joy Byers and Charlie Daniels / Jerry Reed / Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller	11:46
8.	6/23/68	If I Can Dream	Walter Earl Brown	3:19

References

• Jorgensen, Ernst. Elvis Presley A Life in Music: The Complete Recording Sessions. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1998;

1. ^ Elvis (NBC TV Special) at Allmusic
2. ^ Jorgensen, pp. 248-250.
3. ^ Jorgensen, pp. 229-230.
4. ^ Jorgensen, p. 248.
5. ^ Jorgensen, pp. 248-259.
6. ^ ^{a b} Jorgensen, pp. 416-418.
7. ^ Jorgensen, p. 262.

External links

• LPM-4088 Elvis (a.k.a. Elvis' TV Special, Elvis' Comeback Special, or Elvis' NBC-TV Special) Guide part of the The Elvis Presley Record Research Database