Colonel Parker and Paramount producer Hal Wallis were having problems. Wallis would say of Colonel Parker that “I would rather try and close a deal with the devil.” The relationship between the two finally broke down in 1967, although Elvis still had contracts with other studios. In October 1967, Parker approached NBC with a package deal that included a festive Christmas TV special, a soundtrack, and a movie, for $1,250,000. A deal was put together with the Singer Corporation acting as a sponsor.
Elvis hated the idea of singing Christmas songs on TV for an hour and was less than enthusiastic about it. However, NBC assigned Bob Finkel as producer. Bob Finkel was not keen on the original Parker concept either and proposed a special that would showcase Elvis. Parker was eventually persuaded but still wanted a Christmas song to close the show.
The new concept was reinforced when Finkel recruited Steve Binder as director, with his associate, Bones Howe, as his music producer. Elvis was now more interested, and when the three met, Binder and Howe told Elvis that by the time he returned from a vacation in Hawaii, they would have the details prepared.
They devised the idea of presenting scenes that fit the song “Guitar Man”, about a travelling guitar player looking for work, mixed with production numbers, live performances, and a gospel sequence. This encapsulated what could have been the plot of a movie with a live concert and demonstrated the influence of gospel music on Elvis and, indeed, rock ‘n’ roll. There would be lots of dancers and a real audience invited at short notice. The sit-down jam session was included when Binder witnessed Elvis interacting with his group during and after rehearsals for the main scenes.
Two weeks of rehearsals began on June 3, 1968, in Hollywood. The next day, Senator Bobby Kennedy was shot and later died on June 6, 1968. His death and the assassination of Dr Martin Luther King in Memphis on April 4, 1968, led to “If I Can Dream”. Composer Billy Goldenberg and lyricist Walter Earl Brown were called in to write the song specifically for Elvis. When Elvis heard a demo that the two had prepared, he told them, “I’m never going to sing another song I don’t believe in. I am never going to make another movie I don’t believe in.”
It was to be the new finale to the special. The Colonel, however, was objecting, saying, “This ain’t Elvis’ kind of song”, worried that it was too political. However, Elvis, who had been upset by the assassinations, was in no mood to agree with Parker this time. Parker was placated to an extent when publishing rights were handed to “Gladys Music”, Elvis’ publishing company, which would mean additional royalties.
When Elvis recorded the song on June 30, 1968, one of the backing singers was moved to tears. Elvis’ friend Jerry Schilling would say later, “I consider Elvis to be a writer on this song. That song was him expressing how he truly felt.” He also considered it “Elvis’s ‘I have a dream’ speech”.
The cast moved to NBC studios in Burbank, California, on June 17, to begin recording the production numbers.
On June 27, 1968, Elvis was to appear in front of a live audience for the first time since Pearl Harbor, over seven years previously. Elvis was extremely nervous, so the first of the live segments filmed were the informal jam segments. Even though this was intended to be informal, Elvis still needed encouragement to walk out to the small square stage. Elvis sat down with Scotty Moore, D.J. Fontana and a couple of friends running through a selection of early recordings and discussing the birth of rock ‘n’ roll. Elvis soon lost his nerves and took over the electric guitar from Scotty Moore and attacked the material with a gusto that had not been seen in years. Bill Belew, the designer of the black leather suit Elvis was wearing, had to carefully cut the seams to get Elvis out of the suit at the end, as the leather had stuck to him. It was then hand-washed before a second session was performed a few hours later.
On June 29, 1968, Elvis performed two stand-up shows for a live audience on the same small stage. The band were positioned to one side, and Elvis was exposed. Once again, Elvis was incredibly nervous. When he starts off with “Well, since my baby left me”, Elvis reaches for the stand-up microphone; his hand is visibly shaking. By the time he sings the second line “I found a new place to dwell”, the audience responds and that famous lip curling smile emerges as the old confidence returns as if it had never left.
Priscilla had never seen Elvis perform live, and later, she said, “You see all the girls lined up, all the fans going nuts, and I’m looking at this going, ‘Wow’”. She was just as mesmerised by this extraordinary performer as everyone else.
The TV special aired in the USA on December 3, 1968. It was the most-watched TV programme of the year, capturing 42% of the television viewing audience. “If I Can Dream” took Elvis back into the top twenty singles chart on both sides of the Atlantic (number 11 in the UK and number 12 in the US), for the first time since “Love Letters” in 1966. The soundtrack to the TV special put him back in the top ten in the album charts (number 2 in the UK and number 8 in the US).
Audiences knew from the opening sequence that the show would be exciting. It starts with a close-up of Elvis looking intently into the camera as he sings “If you’re lookin’ for trouble”.
After completing the special, Elvis told Parker he wanted to go back on the road.
Today, it is widely regarded as the finest rock ‘n’ roll TV special in history.
