The Story Of Elvis Presley’s Long, Frustrating Road To His Iconic 1968 Comeback Special

Today would have been Elvis Presley’s 80th birthday. To celebrate, let’s look back on one of the most memorable moments of his career: his 1968 comeback special. At that point, interest in Elvis’s music had stagnated considerably, with his brand of rock ‘n roll seemingly old hat as the music world moved into the psychedelic era. The special, which aired on December 3, 1968, was a reminder to the world that Elvis still mattered, and could still rock with the best of them.

How did Elvis get to the point where he needed such an iconic performance to put him back on the map? From the mid-’50s into the early ’60s, Elvis was the biggest name in music. Albums like Elvis Presley (whose cover art motif was used by The Clash on London Calling), and Something For Everybody topped the charts, where he was a dominant force. But by the time 1964 rolled around, things were rapidly changing. The Beatles played their legendary Ed Sullivan Show performance, and countless other acts like The Rolling Stones, The Who, and The Animals had established their footing. The British invasion had fundamentally changed the sound of rock ‘n roll, and folks like Elvis were having trouble keeping up.

Elvis’s singles began, for the first time, underperforming on the charts. From 1963 to 1969, Elvis had just one top 10 hit: the now-forgotten “Crying In The Chapel.” One thing that influenced this was Elvis’s refusal to release proper albums. He was focusing on his film career, and thus, limited his output to singles and soundtracks. While that didn’t help his cause, the larger reality was that Elvis and his old school brand of rock ‘n roll was becoming increasingly irrelevant to youths who enjoyed the aforementioned British Invasion acts more than the early rock ‘n roll of Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Little Richard.

It is worth noting that some of Elvis’s recordings around this time would go on to receive greater recognition after their release. His 1967 gospel album How Great Thou Art failed to make much of an impact upon its initial release, but would gain a following over time, and its title track is generally regarded as one of the best gospel recordings of its era. Still, at the time, few listeners outside of the gospel world were listening and the stagnation of Elvis’s career continued.


In early 1968, Elvis was growing increasingly disappointed with the state of his career. As Peter Guralnick noted in his 1999 book, Careless Love: The Unmasking Of Elvis Presley, the lack of commercial success made it difficult for Elvis to enjoy the birth of his daughter, Lisa Marie.

As 1968 continued, Elvis began to hatch plans for a comeback. In May of that year, his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, had made a deal with NBC that would have the network fund a theatrical film and broadcast a TV special. That special, called simply Elvis, was filmed in June of 1968 and broadcast six months later. The show featured Elvis jamming in front of a small audience, and was something of a prototype for MTV’s Unplugged series — although this was far more garish, with Elvis wearing several elaborate outfits and all kinds of stuff happening behind him.

The special was an enormous hit, and launched Elvis back into the mainstream. He would return to the top of the charts again in 1969 with “Suspicious Minds,” and the subsequent album From Elvis In Memphis, became one of Elvis’s most enduring releases. In 2003, Rolling Stone put it at #190 on their ranking ofthe 500 greatest albums of all-time.

For the rest of his career, Elvis had his ups and downs, including the embarrassing Fat Elvis period. Still, the 1968 comeback special reminded the world of everything Elvis Presley was capable of, and it remains arguably his most important moment. On the 80th anniversary of his birth, why not enjoy this fantastic performance and remind yourself why Elvis was such a big deal.

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