Elvis: The '68 Comeback Special (2018)

Wissenswertes

Singer Presents ... Elvis, commonly referred to as the '68 Comeback Special, is an Elvis Presley concert television special that aired on NBC on December 3, 1968. It marked Presley's return to live performance after a seven-year period during which he focused on his film appearances.

Production

Binder and Howe hired the production crew, repeating their collaboration with various people whom they had used for past specials. Billy Goldenberg was assigned as the musical director, while the Presley camp chose Billy Strange as the arranger. Chris Bearde and Allan Blye were hired as the writers, and Bill Belew for the costume design.

By June 3, Presley returned to Hollywood to start the rehearsals that would last for two weeks. Howe insisted on the possibility of a soundtrack album from which he would earn royalties as its producer. NBC saw Howe's attitude as a potential danger to the special and ordered Binder to remove him from the staff.

On June 4, Senator Robert Kennedy was shot at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles after giving a live television speech; he died two days later. Binder stated in a 2005 interview with Elvis Australia that "One night when we were rehearsing, the television set was on the other room and all of a sudden there was this moment of silence. And I said, 'I think Bobby Kennedy's just been shot'.

On June 17, the team moved to the NBC studios in Burbank, California. Goldenberg asked Finkel to remove Presley's large entourage from the production area, complaining that they interfered with the creative process. Presley worked with choreographer Lance LeGault on the planned numbers, and Belew worked with the costumes.

Binder and Howe developed the concept of the informal section of the show after seeing Presley interacting with his entourage while playing music during breaks. Binder planned to shoot the segment in the locker room to give the public a sense of how Presley's music was developed in an intimate setting, but Parker opposed this concept. Binder settled for a sit-down concert on a small stage that resembled a boxing ring.

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