Recorded June 20–29, 1968 Artist Elvis Presley Producer Bones Howe Genres Rock music, Rock and roll | Length 44:27 Release date 22 November 1968 Label RCA Victor | |
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Released December 1968 (1968-12) Similar Elvis Presley albums, Rock and roll albums | ||
Elvis (NBC-TV Special) is the thirty-fourth album by American singer and musician Elvis Presley, released by RCA Records in December 1968. Recording sessions took place in Burbank, California at Western Recorders on June 20, 21, 22 and 23, 1968, and at NBC Studios (Burbank) on June 27 and 29, 1968. It peaked at #8 on the Billboard 200. It was certified Gold on July 22, 1969 and Platinum on July 15, 1999 by the RIAA.
Contents
Content
The soundtrack album to the Elvis special is the audio-only version of the special, and consists of a mixture of studio and live recordings, the live material itself a mixture of "sit-down" tracks with a small group and "stand-up" tracks with an orchestra.
Unlike the drudgery of the feature film soundtrack recordings, Presley was genuinely excited by the project. For the album, the musical format presented Presley in three different settings: production numbers featuring medleys of his material; an informal small band featuring full songs in front of a live audience; and the two original numbers with Presley backed by an orchestra in front of a live audience. 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 in theaters at the time, Live a Little, Love a Little, making it a double promotion on one record. It peaked at #12 on the Billboard Hot 100, his highest charting single since 1965. "Memories" was released over two months after the broadcast, backed with the title song to his next film, Charro!. 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. Presley insisted the mono mixes for these songs were retained for the album.
Several hours of music were recorded for the special, and the unused 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. On August 5, 2008, Legacy released a 4-CD compilation of the complete recording sessions for the special.
Songs
1Trouble / Guitar Man3:26
2Lawdy - Miss Clawdy / Baby - What You Want Me to Do3:34
3Dialogue - Medley: Heartbreak Hotel / Hound Dog / All Shook Up / Can't Help Falling in Love / Jailhouse Rock / Don't Be Cruel / Blue Suede Shoes / Love Me Tender14:15