1968-69 Television Season 50th Anniversary: Elvis Presley NBC Special (1992: The Great Performances)

Описание: The 1968 - 1969 television season featured some of the very best specials of all-time. The season was very eclectic in nature, with comedies, dramas, westerns, variety shows, TV movies, made-for-TV movies, music/variety specials and news program specials all sharing the Primetime schedule at one time or another during the course of the season.

One of the very big specials of the season (we'll focus on another in late January '19), was the Elvis Presley Special on NBC which premiered on the night of December 3, 1968. The show is often referred to as the '68 Comeback Special, but was entitled 'Singer Presents... Elvis'. The Singer Corporation sponsored the special, and the ratings were the best of any show of the season.

Elvis' '68 Special also provided a key turning point in his career. His career had been centered in the movie business throughout the 1960s, and while his early 1960's movies had been quite successful, they had been running out of steam and out of step with the fast changing times by the mid 1960s. So much so, that Presley was becoming unhappy with what was happening to his career, the way his manager, Colonel Tom Parker was managing it, and the low-quality movie productions he had been involved in during the prior few years. Elvis needed and wanted to get back into live performances, something that he hadn't done since 1961. This Singer special was to change all that, and get Elvis on a new track of performing live with an audience. And it did.

During this coming week, we'll focus on Elvis Presley and how his life and career brought him to this key point in his life in 1968. We'll have a series of video segments from a 1992 Joan River's Show in which actresses who worked with Elvis are interviewed.

But first, to kick off our Elvis retrospective week, we have this video clip from April 29, 1992. This Elvis Presley television special is titled: "Elvis, The Great Performances", is hosted by Priscilla Presley, and provided an inside look at Graceland and Elvis' life. The special includes clips from various television performances over the years by Elvis, including one from his career defining '68 Comeback Special, where he sings 'All Shook Up', with his now iconic black leather jacket and pants. A classic look, and for many fans, Elvis at the very peak of his incredible powers.

This video clip is presented here on YouTube for the entertainment and informational value of the viewer, and no copyright infringement is intended.

Enjoy!

Coming up tomorrow.... the first of a multi-part segment(s) on Elvis Presley from The Joan Rivers Show with interviews from Elvis' leading ladies from his 1960s era movies.