Elvis Presley on Television
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Elvis Presley's Television Appearances: 1956 - 1977
When Elvis Presley's musical career needed a boost in 1968, the NBC-TV Special, in which a leather-suited Elvis went back to his roots and reminded television audiences jaded by almost a decade of Elvis musical movies that he was STILL the King, made such a significant impact that it has been known ever since as the '68 Comeback Special.Five years later, in what we now know was probably Elvis Presley's television swan song, came Aloha from Hawaii - another Colonel Parker brainchild - which gave the whole world the chance to see a live Presley concert via a worldwide satellite broadcast on January 14, 1973. In fact, it turned out to be the most watched broadcast by an individual entertainer in the history of television.
Sadly, when Parker suggested that his star make another TV special in 1977, Elvis was already in terrible physical shape and the resulting show - Elvis In Concert (sometimes known as the CBS Special amongst fans) - is often hard to watch in places. First broadcast on CBS on October 3, 1977, two months after Presley's premature death, it is currently unavailable although fan made copies have been circulating the Internet for years.
Elvis Presley's first EVER nationwide television appearance
Singing Shake Rattle & Roll/Flip Flop & Fly
Focus on the Dorsey Brothers' Stage Show 1956
Elvis Presley's first national television appearances
First Appearance - January 28, 1956
Shake, Rattle and Roll
I Got A Woman
Second Appearance - February 4, 1956
Baby Let's Play House
Tutti Frutti
Third Appearance - February 11, 1956
Blue Suede Shoes
Heartbreak Hotel
Fourth Appearance - February 18, 1956
Tutti Frutti
I Was The One
Fifth Appearance - March 17, 1956
Blue Suede Shoes
Heartbreak Hotel
Sixth Appearance - March 24, 1956
Money Honey
Heartbreak Hotel
I Was the One
On his fourth Dorsey Brothers' Stage Show appearance on February 18, 1956
Elvis in 1956 as photographed by Alfred Wertheimer
...among the most famous photos of anyone ever taken...
Elvis 1956
Amazon Price: $16.31 (as of 05/30/2012)
"Elvis 1956 offers black and white photos by Alfred Wertheimer taken during the year Elvis turned 21, and offer a fine visual record of a defining time for rock and roll. It was the year Elvis released his first record, made his first TV appearance, and more - and it offers a definitive visual portrait unavailable elsewhere. Any music library strong in rock and roll history needs this, which pairs Alfred Wertheimer's photo with essays by E. Warren Perry, Jr. and Amy Henderson."
California Bookwatch
"This book features a beautiful collection of 72 tri-tone shots that expertly capture Presley's dramatic and electrifying journey to stardom."
Foreword Magazine
"Elvis 1956 vividly captures the year Elvis meteorically rose from obscurity to superstardom featuring Alfred Wertheimer's iconic photographs of Elvis - some never-before published or rarely seen - and his recollections...For a new generation of Elvis fans, the book provides an inexpensive edition of Wertheimer's memorable photos with spectacular tritone printing of the king's sensational impact in 1956 on the emerging popularity of rock and roll."
Elvis.com
Focus on The Milton Berle Show 1956
Milton Berle aka Mr. Television at the birth of rock 'n' roll!
First Appearance aboard the U.S.S. Hancock, San Diego, California - April 3, 1956
Heartbreak Hotel
Blue Suede Shoes
(Dialogue)
Blue Suede Shoes
Seconnd Appearance at the NBC Studio Hollywood, California - June 5, 1956
Hound Dog
(Sketch)
I want you, I need you, I love you
Buy Milton Berle "Mr Television" Collector's Edition on DVD!
Featuring Elvis Presley!
Milton Berle "Mr Television" Collector's Edition (Two-pack DVD Set)
Amazon Price: $5.46 (as of 05/30/2012)
Elvis sings 'Hound Dog' on the Milton Berle Show on June 5, 1956
The performance that shocked a nation!
Elvis and Milton Berle memorabilia on eBay
Elvis Presley at the NBC Studio Hollywood, California
The Milton Berle Show - June 5, 1956
“Rock and roll music, if you like it, and you feel it, you can't help but move to it.”
Elvis is interviewed on Hy Gardner Calling
July 1, 1956
Focus on The Steve Allen Show 1956
Elvis sings to a dog in a tux!
I want you, I need you and I love you
Hound Dog
Sketch
A visibly embarrassed Elvis performs in a tuxedo and keeps his moves sedate after the public outcry following his appearance on the Milton Berle Show a month before! The performance of 'Hound Dog' remains excruciating after all these years...
About The Steve Allen Show
Although Allen had a personal disdain for rock and roll, the show featured numerous rock and roll artists in their earliest TV appearances. The show presented Elvis Presley, Fats Domino, Jerry Lee Lewis, Louis Jordan & The Tympany Five, The Treniers, and The Collins Kids. However, the rock 'n' roll stars often did not appear on the show as most fans would have desired. For instance, Allen smirkingly presented Elvis Presley "with a roll that looks exactly like a large roll of toilet paper with, says Allen, the 'signatures of eight thousand fans' and he had him wear a top hat and the white tie and tails of a "high class" musician while singing "Hound Dog" to an actual Basset Hound, who was similarly attired.
Elvis Presley dressed in tuxedo at the Het Hudson Theatre, New York
Steve Allen Show - July 1, 1956
'Range Roundup' comedy sketch on The Steve Allen Show
Elvis on the Steve Allen Show memorabilia on eBay
Elvis sings 'Love Me Tender' on The Ed Sullivan Show on September 9, 1956
Elvis' first appearance on Ed Sullivan...a nation swooned!
Focus on the Ed Sullivan Show 1956 - 1957
Elvis was filmed from the waist up...and a legend was born!
The Ed Sullivan Show 1956
First Appearance at the CBS Studio Hollywood, California - 9 September, 1956
Don't Be Cruel
Love Me Tender
Ready Teddy
Hound Dog
Second Appearance at the CBS Studio, New York - 28 October, 1956
Don't Be Cruel
Love Me Tender
Love Me
Hound Dog
The Ed Sullivan Show 1957
Second Appearance at the CBS Studio, New York - 6 January, 1957
Hound Dog
Love Me Tender
Heartbreak Hotel
Don't Be Cruel
Too Much
When My Blue Moon Turns to Gold Again
Peace in the Valley
TV history has it that Ed Sullivan had vowed never to allow Elvis Presley to perform on his show, but that after the rival TV show hosted by Steve Allen thrashed him in the ratings war when the young star appeared on that show, Sullivan was forced to change his mind. Even then, destiny nearly stepped in when Sullivan was almost killed in a car accident and the actor Charles Laughton had to step into the breach and host the show featuring Elvis' first appearance. Elvis himself was in Hollywood filming his first movie - Love Me Tender - so his segments of the show were transmitted from CBS Television City in Hollywood.
By the time of his third and final appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show in early 1957 Ed Sullivan was full of nothing but praise for Elvis, although this was also the infamous transmission in which it was decided to shoot the singer only from the waist up while he performed!
Buy the Ed Sullivan Shows featuring Elvis on DVD
Elvis Presley - Ed Sullivan Shows
Amazon Price: $18.50 (as of 05/30/2012)
Share the excitement of Elvis Presley's earth shattering introduction to the nation in these three unforgettable episodes from The Ed Sullivan Show, now on DVD for the first time ever, and experience for yourself why Elvis became the legendary King of Rock and Roll! Appearing on the show Sept. 9, 1956, Elvis sent shock waves through a repressed nation with his soulful singing, wild hip gyrations and raw energy, attracting a record-breaking TV audience of more than 60 million people. Presley returned on Oct. 28, 1956, continuing to provoke ecstatic screams with hits such as "Don't Be Cruel," "Love Me Tender" and "Hound Dog." In fact, these exhilarating performances were so explosive that Elvis was filmed above the waist during his final Sullivan show appearance on January 6, 1957.
Elvis sings 'Hound Dog' on The Ed Sullivan Show on 28 October, 1956
Elvis second appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show backed by the Jordanaires
Elvis on the Ed Sullivan Show memorabilia on eBay
“This is a real decent, fine boy. We've never had a pleasanter experience on our show with a big name”
Elvis sings 'Peace in the Valley' on The Ed Sullivan Show on January 6, 1957
His final ever appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show
Focus on 'The Frank Sinatra Timex Special - Welcome Home Elvis' - 1960
Featuring a sublime duet with Frank Sinatra!
Recorded at the Fontainebleau Hotel, Miami on 26 March and screened on May 12, 1960Fame and Fortune
Stuck on You
Love Me Tender/ Witchcraft (duet with Frank Sinatra)
About 'Welcome Home Elvis'
Welcome Home Elvis was a 1960 television special on ABC starring Frank Sinatra and featuring Elvis Presley in his first televised appearance since coming home from his military service in Germany. The special was officially titled It's Nice to Go Traveling, but is more commonly known as Welcome Home Elvis having featured Elvis on his first TV appearance in three years. This was also Frank Sinatra's fourth and final television special that he did for sponsor Timex.
The special also featured Sammy Davis Jr., Joey Bishop, Peter Lawford, and Nancy Sinatra, who later starred with Elvis in his 1968 film Speedway.
Elvis Timex Stand Up
Buy at AllPosters.com
The show was a great success grabbing 41.5 percent of the ratings.
Buy 'Welcome Home Elvis' on DVD
Did Elvis ever look better?
Frank Sinatra Show: Welcome Home Elvis
Amazon Price: $9.26 (as of 05/30/2012)
Elvis sings 'Fame and Fortune', 'Stuck on You' and duets on 'Witchcraft' / 'Love Me Tender' with Frank Sinatra
The Frank Sinatra Timex Special - Welcome Home Elvis
Elvis on the Frank Sinatra Show memorabilia on eBay
Elvis sings 'Trouble' and 'Guitar Man'
The opening sequence of the legendary '68 Comeback Special
Focus on the '68 Comeback Special - 1968
'Elvis' - the NBC-TV Special
If ever Elvis was going to rebel against Colonel Parker, he couldn't have picked a better time than during the NBC TV Special filmed in Hollywood, California between June 20 and 23, 1968 and transmitted on December 3 that year. If the Colonel had had his way Elvis would have been forced to trot out Christmas songs and carols, but luckily the young director Steve Binder had other ideas and saw that this was the perfect occasion for Elvis to effectively relaunch his flagging career and become hip again.Mixing live segments that are similar to today's MTV Unplugged format, which saw Elvis jamming with band stalwarts from his early career such as iconic guitarist Scotty Moore and drummer D J Fontana, with big production choreographed numbers and lavish sets, the final show was a huge success and was the highest-rated television special of the year. Sung only weeks after the assassination of Martin Luther King in Memphis, the closing song - If I Can Dream - was an appeal for world peace from the usually apolitical Presley. It remains one of the most passionate performances of his life and sounds as spine-tingling today as it did back then.
Elvis Presley Comeback Special, 1968 Photographic Print
Buy at AllPosters.com
Show Opener:
Trouble / Guitar Man
Lawdy Miss Clawdy
Baby What You Want Me to Do
Dialogue (Something wrong with my lip... / He's gotta be crazy...)
Heartbreak Hotel / Hound Dog / All Shook Up
Can't Help Falling in Love
Jailhouse Rock
Dialogie (Can I borrow your little whatchacallit? / This leather suit is hot)
Love Me Tender
Are You Lonesome Tonight?
Dialogue (Rock & roll music is ...)
Gospel Production Number:
Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child / Where Could I go But To The Lord / Up Above My Head / Saved
Baby, What You Want Me To Do
Blue Christmas
One Night
Memories
Guitar Man Production Number:
Nothingville / Guitar Man / Let Yourself Go / Guitar Man / Big Boss Man / It Hurts Me / Guitar Man / Little Egypt / Trouble / Guitar Man
Show Closer:
If I Can Dream
Buy 'Elvis: The '68 Comeback Special' on DVD
Three-Disc Deluxe Edition - the definitive version!
Elvis: The '68 Comeback Special (Three-Disc Deluxe Edition)
Amazon Price: $99.00 (as of 05/30/2012)
* Three-disc set featuring all the material shot for Elvis Presley's 1968 television special, including the two complete jam session concerts and the two complete solo concerts, which have never been released in their entirety
* All takes of the material shot for the original broadcast's two big production numbers and for the show's opening and closing segments
* Includes the original broadcast version of the special
* Newly remastered sound and picture
Elvis Presley '68 Comeback Special action figure
Mcfarlane Toys Rock N' Roll Action Figure Elvis #1 '68 Comeback
Amazon Price: $59.95 (as of 05/30/2012)
There can only be one King and that's the real King of Rock 'n' Roll: Elvis Presley. McFarlane Toys is proud to be working in conjunction with Elvis Presley Enterprises to produce a sure-to-be-classic Elvis Presley Super Stage action figure this year. McFarlane Toys' first action figure of Elvis is based on reference from his famous '68 Comeback Special, filmed for television in Burbank, CA, on June 27, 1968, and aired Dec. 3 of that year. Stunningly detailed in black leather, this Super Stage Figure includes custom stage diorama base with chair, guitar, mic with stand and backdrop.
Elvis sings "If I Can Dream'
The phenomenal closing number of the '68 Comeback Special
Elvis Gospel action figure from the '68 Comeback Special
As he appeared when he sang 'If I Can Dream'
McFarlane: Elvis Gospel Figure
Amazon Price: $34.99 (as of 05/31/2012)
You can almost feel the soulful lyrics eminating from this detailed collector's item. From the final song of the '68 Special, this Elvis figure commemorates the King of Rock 'n Roll as he sings his his first televised gospel performance. Figure measures 6" tall.
Listen to and download tracks from the Elvis 68 Comeback Special
30th and 40th Anniversary Editions!
| Track | Artist | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Little Less Conversation | Elvis Presley | Memories (30th Anniversary Edition of NBC-TV '68 Comeback Special) | |
| If I Can Dream | Elvis Presley | The Complete '68 Comeback Special (The 40th Anniversary Edition) | |
| Memories | Elvis Presley | Memories (30th Anniversary Edition of NBC-TV '68 Comeback Special) |
Elvis in the '68 Comeback Special memorabilia on eBay
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Focus on 'Aloha from Hawaii' - 1973
Broadcast live via satellite on January 14, 1973
With his live in concert satellite television transmission Aloha from Hawaii, which was beamed around the planet on January 14, 1973 from the Convention Center in Honolulu, Hawaii, Elvis not only set a world record, but also created yet another milestone in a dazzling career - the image of him in his white rhinestone covered American Eagle jumpsuit is iconic.
The concert also raised $75,000 for the Kui Lee Cancer Fund in Hawaii. Kui Lee composed I'll Remember You which Elvis performs during the show.
Also Sprach Zarathustra
See See Rider
Burning Love
Something
You Gave Me A Mountain
Steamroller Blues
My Way
Love Me
Johnny B. Goode
It's Over
Blue Suede Shoes
I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry
I Can't Stop Loving You
Hound Dog
What Now My Love
Fever
Welcome To My World
Suspicious Minds
[band introductions]
I'll Remember You
Long Tall Sally/Whole Lotta Shakin Going On
An American Trilogy
A Big Hunk O' Love
Can't Help Falling In Love
Buy 'Elvis: Aloha from Hawaii' on DVD
The definitive Deluxe Edition!
Elvis: Aloha from Hawaii (Deluxe Edition)
Amazon Price: $63.00 (as of 05/30/2012)
* Two-disc set featuring all the performance material formally shot in conjunction with Elvis's Aloha from Hawaii television special
* The complete concert that was adapted for that special and the complete rehearsal concert performed two days before, with newly remastered sound and picture and in their complete, uncut form for the first time
* Includes the original American broadcast version of the show
* Raw, uncut footage shot for the "Elvis arrives" sequence of the special's original opening
* Raw, uncut performance footage of songs recorded for the after-show session that Elvis taped as a resource of extra material for the American broadcast
Aloha Elvis action figure
Wearing his renowned American Eagle jumpsuit!
Aloha Elvis Action Figure
Amazon Price: $29.99 (as of 05/30/2012)
With his Elvis, Aloha from Hawaii via-Satellite concert, Elvis Presley made music history yet again. The first-ever concert beamed live via satellite was viewed in 40 countries by 1.5 billion people. The concert was a worldwide smash and features the King of Rock 'n' Roll at his very best. McFarlane Toys showcases Elvis Presley in one of his most famous on-stage performances, wearing one of his most renowned jumpsuits - the American Eagle. Celebrate music's greatest icon in a performance that has never been equaled - or forgotten!
You've seen the concert...now wear the T-shirt!
Listen to and download tracks from the Elvis concert Aloha from Hawaii
Elvis in Aloha from Hawaii memorabilia on eBay
Focus on the CBS TV Special 'Elvis in Concert' - 1977
Elvis Presley's last television appearance, transmitted posthumously
Elvis Presley's last televised concert is often mistakenly thought to have been his last concert ever. This rumour started because of Elvis' father Vernon's moving comments recorded after the singer's untimely death, which were added to the end of the CBS documentary - he thanks the fans for their letters of condolence and support, but mistakenly refers to this as having been Elvis' last performance. In fact, Elvis in Concert was recorded on 19th June in Omaha, NE and 21st June in Rapid City, SD - Elvis' final performance occurred later in the tour on 26 June in Indianapolis.The estate of Elvis Presley seems reluctant at this point to let a wider public see these final performances, however, although fans have been trading footage for years - they are, after all, of enormous historical importance, and there are some genuinely stunning moments that prove that, against all odds, Elvis could still send a shiver down many a spine with his renditions of My Way, How Great Thou Art and Hurt. For the time being, there IS a double CD of the show, which includes pieces of dialogue and fan comments from the CBS tapes.
Elvis Fans' Comments/Opening Riff
Introduction
Also Sprach Zarathustra
See See Rider
That's All Right
Are You Lonesome Tonight?
Teddy Bear/Don't Be Cruel
Elvis Fans' Comments
You Gave Me A Mountain
Jailhouse Rock
Elvis Fans' Comments
How Great Thou Art
Elvis Fans' Comments
I Really Don't Want To Know
Elvis Introduces His Father
Hurt
Hound Dog
My Way
Can't Help Falling in Love
Closing Riff
Message From Vernon Presley
Listen to and download tracks from 'Elvis in Concert'
| Track | Artist | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|
| My Way (Live) | Elvis Presley | Elvis In Concert (Live) | |
| You Gave Me a Mountain (Live) | Elvis Presley | Elvis In Concert (Live) | |
| Hurt (Live) | Elvis Presley | Elvis In Concert (Live) | |
| Closing Riff (Live) / Special Message from Elvis' Father | Elvis Presley | Elvis In Concert (Live) | |
| Elvis Fans' Comments IV | Elvis Presley | Elvis In Concert (Live) |
Elvis sings 'How Great Thou Art'
Recorded for the CBS TV Special 'Elvis in Concert' - June 1977
Buy 'Elvis in Concert' on CD
In Concert
Amazon Price: $5.62 (as of 05/30/2012)
The next best thing to having the full DVD version of this concert!
My other Elvis lenses
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Did you enjoy this lens? Please leave a comment before you go!
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MusicFan57
Nov 14, 2011 @ 8:14 am | delete
- Great Elvis lens! I'm a huge fan as well.
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Joan4
Oct 16, 2010 @ 11:57 am | delete
- I remember many of these TV appearances of Elvis. I appreciate the time and research must have taken. Super job!
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About the author of this lens
by Debs
Web designer, Elvis fan and sometime poet. I live in Rome, Italy and blog about the city and enjoy photographing its lesser known corners. A keen collector... more »
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Elvis on the Ed Sullivan Show
The performances
Elvis Presley: The Ed Sullivan Shows: The Performances
Amazon Price: $12.98 (as of 05/30/2012)
