ELVIS the comeback

Exactly 40 years on, Ken Sharp celebrates a momentous show

By the turn of ’68 Elvis’s career was on life support. His recent slate of films were D.O.A. at the box office and he hadn’t had a hit record in years; 1963’s Good Luck Charm was his last No 1. The one time King of rock’n’roll was slowly becoming a mere mortal. So when the opportunity arose for Elvis to take part in a one-hour NBC-TV show (later commonly referred to as the ’68 Comeback Special), he had nothing to lose.

Enter Steve Binder, a precocious, no-nonsense 20-something director who’d found success behind the camera on such seminal music TV showcases as The T.A.M.I. Show and Hullabaloo. Binder would prove to be the perfect man for the job. But the task wouldn’t be easy and littered with roadblocks at every turn, erected by Presley’s manager Colonel Tom Parker and the network brass. Singer Presents Elvis, premiered on NBC in December 1968, was a ratings blockbuster, garnering glowing accolades from critics and the public alike. And even more importantly, the show’s across the board success restored a long dormant sense of self-worth and creative purpose to the Memphis singing sensation, inspiring him to return to live performance the following year.

In our interview, Binder, who recently penned a terrific new book, …

by Ken Sharp
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