Elvis Presley's life from 1960 to 1966. Elvis returns from the Army. He records the LP, Elvis Is Back and classic songs like 'Are You Lonesome Tonight' and 'It's Now or Never' followed by a TV Show with Frank Sinatra and a return to making movies starting with G.I. Blues. Elvis records his first gospel album, His Hand In Mine in October the same year. In 1961 Elvis stars in the Movie Blue Hawaii and records the classic songs, 'His Latest Flame', 'Little Sister' and 'Good Luck Charm', followed by 'Suspicion' and 'She's Not You' in '62. In '63 Priscilla Beaulieu moves to the USA to be with Elvis, Elvis meets Ann-Margret while his co-star in 'Viva Las Vegas'. In 1964 Elvis meets The Beatles. In '66 Elvis records his second gospel album, for which he recieves a Grammy award.
January 5, 1960 - Elvis is granted leave from January 5 to January 17, including permission to travel to Paris. This will be his third and final visit to Paris.
January 8, Dick Clark interviews Elvis by phone on his twenty-fifth birthday for American Bandstand.
January 12, Elvis travels to Paris with Joe Esposito, Cliff Gleaves, Lamar Fike, and his karate instructor, Jurgen Seydel. During the visit they attend five karate classes by Tetsuji Murakami, a Japanese teacher of the ahotokan technique.
January 20, Elvis is promoted to acting Sergeant three days after reporting back for active duty.
January 24, Elvis leaves for 'Operation Winter Shield' maneuvers in Grafenwöhr.
February 11, Elvis gets his full Sergeant stripes and throws a party to celebrate.
March 1, 1960, The Army holds a press conference just before Elvis' departure from Germany for Armed Forces Radio and Television, Elvis was asked about being in the field rather than entertaining in a service club. His response was, '... I was in a funny position. Actually, that's the only way it could be. People were expecting me to mess up (laughs), to goof up in one way or another. They thought I couldn't take it and so forth, and I was determined to go to any limits to prove otherwise, not only to the people who were wondering, but to myself'.
With over 100 reporters and photographers in attendance, Elvis' commanding officer presents him with a certificate of merit citing his 'cheerfulness and drive and continually outstanding leadership ability'.
Also present is Marion Keisker from Sun Records, who as army Captain MacInness (her married name) has been serving her tour of duty in Europe. When Elvis, who has not seen her since since her 1957 enlistment spots her; he reacts excitedly, saying 'I don't know whether to kiss you or salute'. 'In that order', she responds.
March 2, Elvis arrives at Rhine Main airbase with Priscilla Beaulieu. Waiting is a military transport to take Elvis and other GI's home. Priscilla is held back by military policemen as she tries to bid Elvis one last farewell. She is captured by Life magazine waving goodbye, with the photo appearing in the March 14 issue and captioned 'The Girl He Left Behind'.
Rex Mansfield boards the military transport first and selects two seats at the rear of the plane for Elvis and himself. Elvis boards from the rear of the plane to keep a low profile. Only a few people knew that Elvis would be on this flight. The plane takes off at 5.25pm. News that Elvis presley was onboard spread like wildfire. The stewardesses were overjoyed and excited. A lot of them joined a line of passengers, mostly female dependants of other GI's on the plane, for autographs. After about two hours of this Elvis was tired and asked Rex to take over as 'bodyguard and spokesman' while he got some sleep. Elvis needed to be a fresh as possible to greet the press at Fort Dix. Finally the stewardess requested ever passenger to return to their seat. The plane lands to refuel in Prestwick, Scotland, before heading for New Jersey.
March 3, Elvis arrives at McGuire Air Force Base near Fort Dix, New Jersey at 7.42am, in the midst of a snow storm. Rex Mansfield said regarding the landing 'We could not see the runway until just before the plane landed. The pilot came down off-center on the runway and had to quickly go hard left. The plane swerved and the left wing almost touched the runway'. After processing Elvis through customs, the army holds another press conference, with a welcoming party that includes Nancy Sinatra, Colonel Parker, Jean Aberbach, and numerous RCA representatives. Elvis spends the next two days at Fort Dix going through the routine discharge procedure.
March 5, 1960, Elvis is officially discharged from active duty at 9.15am. Although the official date of release was scheduled for March 23. After receiving his mustering out check of $109.54 and his formal honorable discharge (unlike his manager many years earlier), he and Colonel Parker travel by limousine, 'mysteriously vanishing', the press reports, 'from a snow-packed and fan-laden highway'. Their destination is a Trenton, New Jersey, hotel where they are joined by Lamar Fike and Rex Mansfield. That same evening, the group takes a private railroad car to Washington, D.C.
March 6, 1960, in Washington, Elvis and his party board a second private railway car, this time on the 'Tennessean' which leaves for Memphis at 8.05 am. Throughout the trip, Elvis appears on the observation platform in his dress blues and waves to the big crowds gathered at every station, big and small, along the route.
March 7, 1960, The train arrives in Memphis at 7.45 am in the midst of another snow-storm. After greeting fans, Elvis rides out to Graceland, in his friend Police Captain Fred Woodward's squad car.
In the evening Elvis holds a press conference at Graceland in his father's office behind the mansion.
Anita Wood joins him later in the evening after waiting patiently for her summons at his cousin Patsy's house.
March 8, 1960, Elvis visits Forest Hill Cemetery to see for the first time the marker and stone angels that have been placed at his mother's grave.
March 10,Elvis attends the Holiday on Ice Show at Ellis Auditorium and renewed several acquaintances he made the previous year when he saw the show in Frankfurt, Germany. There are four different Holiday companies around the world, but five members of the troupe now in Memphis were in the company Elvis saw in Germany.
March 20, 1960, At noon Elvis, his entourage, Scotty Mooreand D.J. Fontana (But not Bill Black, who never plays with Elvis again) take a charted bus to Nashville for a session at RCA's Studio B, whose recoding facilities have been upgraded with a three track machine. The are joined by all the musicians from the June 1958 session, the Jordanaires, Colonel Parker and RCA's new chief studio engineer, Bill Porter. Elvis records six songs (In true stereo for the first time) including 'Stuck On You' and 'Fame And Fortune' which will be pressed and shipped within two days as an urgently need new single. The other songs will form part of his new album, with more sessions to follow in April.
March 20 1960 RCA - Studio B - Nashville, Tennessee
Make Me Know It L2WB 0081-19 Soldier Boy L2WB 0082-15
March 21 1960 RCA Studio B - Nashville, Tennessee
Stuck On You L2WB 0083-03 Fame & Fortune L2WB 0084-sp A Mess Of Blues L2WB 0085-05 It Feels So Right L2WB 0086-05
Colonel Parker had made the deal with the show's producers months before Elvis was released from active duty. He had hoped that appearing with Frank Sinatra would introduce Elvis as a pop singer to a wide audience made up of adults and pop enthusiasts as well as teenagers and country-western fans.
Never one to take chances, the Colonel made sure Elvis would make a big splash by packing the studio audience with 400 members from one of Elvis' biggest fan clubs. More on the show below.
The Frank Sinatra Timex Special - Welcome Home Elvis Fontainebleau Hotel, Miami – 26.03.1960
Nelson Riddle Orchestra - Screening - May 12, 1960 Fame And Fortune Stuck On You Love Me Tender / Witchcraft (Duet Elvis and Sinatra)
April 3, Just two weeks after his first post army recording session, Elvis again boards a charted bus to return to Nashville. The same group of musicians is this time joined by saxophonist Boots Randolph.
April 3 1960 RCA Studio B - Nashville, Tennessee
Fever L2WB 0098-04 Like A Baby L2WB 0099-06 It's Now Or Never L2WB 0100-sp
April 4 1960 RCA Studio B - Nashville, Tennessee The Girl Of My Best Friend L2WB 0101-10 Dirty Dirty Feeling L2WB 0102-04 Thrill Of Your Love L2WB 0103-03 I Gotta Know L2WB 0104-02 Such A Night L2WB 0105-05 Are You Lonesome Tonight? L2WB 0106-05 Are You Lonesome Tonight? (work Part) ____-02 Are You Lonesome Tonight? (composite) L2WB 0106-sp The Girl Next Door Went A' Walking L2WB 0107-04 I Will Be Home Again L2WB 0108-04 Reconsider Baby L2WB 0109-02
April 5 1960 RCA Studio B - Nashville, Tennessee
It's Now Or Never (overdub) L2WB 0100
Elvis Is Back LP 1960
April 8, Again RCA has rushed the session tapes to the pressing plant, and just four days after the session the LP, Elvis Is Back, is shipped. It's gatefold album of army snapshots has been printed in advance, and the titles of the subsequently recorded songs appear on a sticker on the front cover.
Elvis Is Back represents a peak in Elvis' career, when his maturity and confidence led to a control and focus in his music. Like the pre-army Elvis recordings, this album offered an eclectic collection of musical genres, from a sentimental duet with Charlie Hodge called 'I Will Be Home Again' to the gritty 'Reconsider Baby' with a bluesy sax solo by Boots Randolph. Once again, Elvis' talent for unifying disparate styles of music resulted in an innovative and successful album, and it reached No. 2 on the charts.
Not all the songs that Elvis recorded in Nashville were included on the Elvis Is Back album. RCA held back for later release two of his highly acclaimed ballads: 'It's Now or Never' and 'Are You Lonesome Tonight?' along with the follow-up 'Surrender'. The melancholy tune 'Are You Lonesome Tonight?' was a clear departure from the kind of music that Elvis sang before he went into the army.
In the 1920s, Al Jolson had made this song popular, but Elvis was probably more familiar with a 1959 version of the song that was recorded by pop singer Jaye P. Morgan. She had borrowed her arrangement from a 1950 rendition by the Blue Baron Orchestra. It was Colonel Parker who urged Elvis to record 'Are You Lonesome Tonight?' even though it was unusual for him to interfere with Elvis' choice of music. The song perfectly suited Elvis' new image as a mainstream pop singer.
It's Now Or Never
Who could have guessed that 'It's Now or Never', a reworked version of the 1901 Italian opera-style classic 'O Sole Mio,' would become the King of Rock 'n' Roll's biggest-selling single? But then, in 1956, when Elvis was skewered by most newspapers in the country for thrusting his hips to the bluesy beat of 'Hound Dog,' no one would have known that he would become a press favorite in just four years.
By quietly serving his country in the army from 1958 to 1960, Elvis had won the hearts and minds of the mainstream press and general public. 'It's Now or Never' received airplay on conservative radio stations that previously wouldn't have touched a Presley record, thus exposing Elvis to a wider, adult audience.
'It's Now or Never' featured a new sound that was an international success for Elvis Presley.
Yet Elvis did not record the song just to gain a broader audience. 'O Sole Mio' was written by G. Capurro and Eduardo di Capua at the turn of the twentieth century, but it had been made popular much later by Mario Lanza. Elvis was a fan of Lanza and undoubtedly heard the opera singer's recording, but he had also heard the English version 'There's No Tomorrow' by Tony Martin.
While still in the army, Elvis asked his music publisher, Freddie Bienstock of Hill and Range, to find someone to write new lyrics for the song. The only songwriters available at Hill and Range to do it were Aaron Schroeder and Wally Gold, who jumped at the chance because they knew the royalties on an Elvis Presley song would be enormous. They composed the lyrics in less than 30 minutes. A singer named David Hill (aka David Hess) recorded the demo with a cha-cha arrangement, and Elvis loved it. He was challenged by its operatic style and attracted to its drama.
'It's Now or Never' charted for 20 weeks, holding the No. 1 spot in the U.S.A. for five weeks. Worldwide sales of the tune, according to The Guinness Book of Recorded Sound, eventually exceeded 20 million copies.
Late April, Elvis begins filming and recording for his first post-army movie, his fifth film, GI Blues for Paramount, the first of nine to be produced (not consecutively) by Hal Wallis. 'GI Blues' co-stars dancer/actress Juliet Prowse.
On May 12, The Frank Sinatra-Timex Special, also known as Welcome Home Elvis is broadcast on the ABC network from 9.30 to 10.30 pm and attracts phenomenal ratings, giving ABC-TV a 41.5 share for that evening. Elvis was paid a staggering $125,000 for a total of six minutes on the air.
Sammy Davis, Jr. , Peter Lawford, and Joey Bishop, members of Sinatra's famed 'Rat Pack', also appeared on the television special. In addition, the cast included Sinatra's daughter Nancy Sinatra, whom the gossip columns had recently linked with Elvis and would co-star with Elvis in the movie Speedway in 1968. Elvis sang his two latest hits, then later in the show he joined Sinatra for a short duet.
Dressed in a conservative but stylish tuxedo, the former teen idol sang Sinatra's 'Witchcraft,' while Sinatra crooned Elvis' 'Love Me Tender.' His choice of clothes, shorter hairstyle, and connections with the Rat Pack indicated that Elvis' career was taking a new direction. When Elvis and Sinatra sang each other's songs, it was as though Sinatra was passing on his position as pop idol to the next generation: The Voice, as Sinatra was known in the 1940s, was making way for the King.
InEd Sullivan's syndicated newspaper column in the New York Daily News, May 1960, the crusty show business luminary spoke harshly of Elvis' appearance on the The Frank Sinatra-Timex Special. Lingering bitterness over his dealings with Colonel Parker crept into his account. Sullivan blasted Parker for allowing Elvis to sing only two songs in the special, stating, 'Col. Tom, using the logic of a farmer, is a firm believer in not giving a hungry horse a bale of hay.'
Sullivan seemed to forget that it was Sinatra's special, not Elvis', and there were four other guests to showcase as well. Some jabs at how Elvis looked rounded out the column as Sullivan noted that the young singer, 'minus his sideburns, has substituted what the ladies probably would call a 'high hair-do.' His hair is so high in front that it looks like a ski jump.'
July 8, Elvis takes a spin around McKellar Lake in his new $2000 16-foot boat to water ski boat.
He and four chums were trying it out yester-day afternoon when yours truly arrived on the scene.
July 11, Rock and roll king Elvis Presley hugged singer Anita Wood close early yesterday on a clinging ride called 'The Rocket' at the Fairgrounds Amusement Park in an after-midnight fun spree. Elvis rented the park from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. and invited about 75 friends to help him kick up his heels.
August / September, Elvis records and films for his sixth movie, Flaming Star , a drama with limited music. Elvis plays the son of a white father and a Native American mother, torn between the two cultures in the 1800's. The film co-stars Barbara Eden.
October 16, Elvis breaks his finger playing touch football at Graceland. Elvis was first treated first at Campbell Clinic, where doctors decided to transfer him to the hospital because they didn't have enough space to accommodate the anticipated large number of visitors. His touch football teammates and Anita Wood, disk jockey and Elvis' frequent companion when he is in Memphis, accompanied him to the hospital.
Elvis spends one night in Hospital, declaring 'I don't have any business in a Hospital' and checking out the following morning. Elvis said, 'I don't mind hospitals - this one is really fine - but I don't have any business here. Things like this happen every day. I'm ready to get out of here.'
To prove his point he accommodated a student nurse by signing his autograph with his right hand - the one on which the little finger was broken.
Explaining how he came to break his finger, Elvis said
'I got my man, too - and he was just a step or two away from a touchdown. I dived for him, see, and after tagging him my hand landed in some mud and buried up in it.'
'At first I didn't notice it - it didn't hurt me at all - until one of the fellows told me the little finger was bent all the way over the other fingers. 'No, it won't affect my strumming a guitar. I don't know how long I'll have to wear the cast - just a few days, I think.'
Elvis was dressed and ready to leave the hospital but his doctors were wanting him to stay another 24 hours. Elvis himself was more concerned about a slight cold and a sore throat he had today.
'My ice pack melted and the water spilled on me somehow' he said. 'I'm also still groggy from the sodium pentothal they used when they set my finger. It sure knocked me out.'
Through out the night and morning, a steady procession of registered nurses, student nurses and nurses aides - young and old - filed into Elvis' room to take his temperature, check his pulse, give him a hypo to put him to sleep, ask what he wanted for breakfast - and ask for his autograph
The hospital posted a guard at the door to keep other visitors out.
The rock'n'roll king had a hospital breakfast of oat-meal and bananas while he waited for his doctor's word on whether he could be discharged. Elvis was discharged at 11:30 a.m.
His Hand In Mine LP 1960
His Hand In Mine Sessions - October 1960
October 30 1960 RCA Studio B - Nashville, Tennessee
Milky White Way L2WW 0373-07 His Hand In Mine L2WW 0374-SP I Believe In The Man In The Sky L2WW 0375-04 He Knows Just What I Need L2WW 0376-10 Surrender L2WW 0377-04 Surrender (Work Part) ____-08 Surrender (Composite) L2WW 0377-SP Mansion Over The Hilltop L2WW 0378-03
October 31 1960 RCA Studio B - Nashville, Tennessee
In My Father's House L2WW 0379-08 In My Father's House (Work Part) ____-01 In My Father's House (Composite) L2WW 0379-SP Joshua Fit The Battle L2WW 0380-04 Swing Down Sweet Chariot L2WW 0381-04 I'm Gonna Walk Dem Golden Stairs L2WW 0382-01 If We Never Meet Again L2WW 0383-01 Known Only to Him L2WW 0384-05 Crying In The Chapel L2WW 0385-03 Working On The Building L2WW 5001-05
November, Elvis begins recording and filming for his seventh film, Wild in the Country , which will be completed in January.
November 23, GI Blues opens nationally to warm reviews and big box office sales and is among the fifteen top-grossing films of the year. It is a light comedy melodrama with lots of singing by Elvis, who is seen in uniform for most of the movie.
December 25, Elvis spends his first Christmas at Graceland since the death of hi mother.
Elvis Presley 1961
February 25, Elvis appears in Memphis at a luncheon in his honor, and numerous recent awards Elvis has received are shown to the press and others attending. A press conference follows. 'Elvis Presley Day' is proclaimed by Tennessee Governor Buford Ellington.
Every year after this, Elvis donates money to a list of Memphis-area charities, eventually reaching fifty or more, usually around Christmas time. Within a few years, to show their appreciation the city gives him a massive plaque listing fifty charities
Then, Elvis performs one afternoon show and one evening show at Ellis Auditorium to benefit around thirty-eight Memphis-area charities. Other than the Sinatra television show, these shows are, so far, Elvis' only live performances since his army discharge.
March 8, 1961, Elvis addresses the Tennessee State Legislature, Nashville, Tennessee and accepts the title of 'Honorary Colonel'.
Something For Everybody LP 1961
March 12 1961 RCA Studio B - Nashville, Tennessee
I'm Coming Home M2WW 0567-07 Gently M2WW 0568-05 In Your Arms M2WW 0569-02 Give Me The Right M2WW 0570-04 I Feel So Bad M2WW 0571-02 It's A Sin M2WW 0572-04 I Want You With Me M2WW 0573-02 There's Always Me M2WW 0574-10
March 13 1961 RCA Studio B - Nashville, Tennessee
Starting Today M2WW 0575-03 Sentimental Me M2WW 0576-02 Judy M2WW 0577-08 Put The Blame On Me M2WW 0578-05
Poster for the Pearl Harbor Benefit
March 25, Elvis performed live at the Bloch Arena at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The show was a fundraiser to build a memorial for the USS Arizona, the largest of the eight battleships that had been sunk on December 7, 1941, during the surprise Japanese air attack on Pearl Harbor. Ticket prices for Elvis' performance ranged from $3 to $10 a seat, with 100 ringside seats reserved for people who donated $100.
Elvis and Colonel Parker bought 50 of these special seats and donated them to patients from Tripler Hospital in Hawaii. Elvis' benefit raised more than $52,000 for the memorial fund. On March 30, the Hawaii House of Representatives passed Special Resolution 105 thanking Elvis and the Colonel.
The benefit for the Arizona memorial could be considered a good career move in that it helped Elvis become more acceptable to an adult audience, but his career was not the only reason Elvis agreed to do the concert. He had a sensitive, generous nature, and throughout his entire life, Elvis gave freely to charities and other worthy causes, whether he received publicity for it or not.
Five years after this benefit, while in Hawaii filming Paradise, Hawaiian Style, Elvis visited the completed memorial and placed a wreath there. Photographers and reporters rushed in to record the event, but Elvis sent them away. He did not want his visit to the memorial to become a publicity stunt.
June 25 1961 RCA Studio B - Nashville, Tennessee
Kiss Me Quick M2WW 0857-12 That's Someone You Never Forget M2WW 0858-08
October 15 1961 RCA Studio B - Nashville, Tennessee
For The Millionth & The Last Time M2WW 1002-12 Good Luck Charm M2WW 1003-04 Anything That's Part Of You M2WW 1004-10
October 16 1961 RCA Studio B - Nashville, Tennessee
I Met Her Today M2WW 1005-18 Night Rider M2WW 1006-03
After the success of Elvis Is Back and 'It's Now or Never,' Elvis and the Colonel decided it was time to revive Elvis' film career as well.
Blue Hawaii LP 1961
Elvis Presley and Blue Hawaii
On March 14, 1961, Elvis and assorted friends, assistants, and bodyguards flew to Los Angeles so he could begin production on his next film, Blue Hawaii . Upon his arrival, he spent a few fun-filled days with friends Juliet Prowse, Joan Blackman, and Pat Fackethal, a real-life stewardess selected to play a bit part as a stewardess in the film. Afterward, he buckled down to record the songs that would comprise the soundtrack. Elvis recorded the tunes for the modestly budgeted musical comedy in Hollywood as opposed to Nashville, where much of his non soundtrack music was produced.
While this was business as usual for Presley that year, in retrospect it marks a juncture in his career. His management team, made up of Colonel Parker, Elvis, Hal Wallis, and Abe Lastfogel, Elvis' William Morris agent, had already determined that movies should be the focus of his career, but Blue Hawaii would narrow that focus further. Because it was Elvis' highest-grossing film at the box office, it became the model for the type of musical comedy associated with him during the 1960s. As the decade progressed, all other Elvis recordings took a backseat to the music for the movies.
The soundtrack to Blue Hawaii may have been miles away from rock 'n' roll or rhythm-and-blues, but it gave Elvis the song with which he would close most of his 1970s concerts: 'Can't Help Falling in Love.' Recorded at Radio Recorders in Hollywood in 1961, Blue Hawaii featured 14 songs, more than any other Elvis soundtrack.
March 21 1961 Radio Recorders - Hollywood, California
Hawaiian Sunset M2PB 2994-SP Aloha Oe (Section 2) ____-SP Ku-U-I-Po M2PB 2991-09 No More M2PB 2987-SP Slicin' Sand M2PB 2993-19
March 22 1961 Radio Recorders - Hollywood, California
Blue Hawaii M2PB 2984-07 Ito Eats M2PB 2992-09 Ito Eats (Tag for Movie) ____-01 Hawaiian Wedding Song M2PB 3015-02 Island Of Love M2PB 3000-13 Steppin' Out Of Line M2PB 3038-17 Steppin' Out Of Line (Movie Version) WPA5 2549-SP Almost Always True M2PB 2985-08 Moonlight Swim ____-03
March 23 1961 Radio Recorders - Hollywood, California
Aloha Oe (The Surfers)(Section 1) ____-04 Aloha Oe (Composite) M2PB 2986-SP Can't Help Falling In Love (Movie Version) WPA5 2550-23 Can't Help Falling In Love M2PB 2988-29 Beach Boy Blues M2PB 2995-02 Beach Boy Blues (Movie Version) WPA5 2585-03 Rock A Hula Baby M2PB 2989-05
March 28 1961 Paramount Scoring Stage - Hollywood, California
Moonlight Swim M2PB 2990
Most of the 14 songs on the album are pop-style tunes. Some of these were not written for the film but had been recorded and released previously, including 'Moonlight Swim', 'Blue Hawaii', and 'Hawaiian Wedding Song', 'Aloha Oe' was composed by Queen Liliuokalani of Hawaii in 1878. The title tune and the song 'Aloha Oe' had been recorded in the 1930s by Bing Crosby during a craze for the allure of the tropical isles.
Blue Hawaii became Elvis' biggest-selling movie soundtrack. It topped the Billboard albums chart two months after its October 1961 release. It was the No. 1 album in the country for 20 weeks, which set a record for a rock performer or group that lasted until 1977 when Fleetwood Mac's Rumors broke it. Blue Hawaii remained on the albums chart for 79 weeks and was awarded double platinum status by the RIAA in March 1992.
After the soundtrack was recorded, Elvis and his entourage flew to Honolulu for a month's worth of location shooting. Hawaiian fans were as enthusiastic as those on the mainland, persistently trying to get into Elvis' hotel to see their idol. A few pretended to be mail messengers with special delivery packages that only Elvis could sign for; others managed to climb the fire escape.
The exotic locale was a key element in the promotion of Blue Hawaii and in its success. The scenery provided more than just beautiful cinematography. As a tropical paradise, Hawaii was the perfect setting for romance, and it represented an escape from the mundane everyday world of most viewers. Even the title reinforced the locale, reminding audiences of the beautiful paradise that had become America's 50th state amid much fanfare in 1960.
Lee Majors visited Elvis on the Clambake movie set
Any viewer familiar with Elvis' movies recognizes the prevalence of unique and exotic locations, but not all realize the extent to which these settings affect the whole film. For example, Elvis' characters were independent spirits who worked as race-car drivers, pilots, tour guides, entertainers, or boat captains -- unusual occupations, to say the least. Yet they seem almost appropriate given the exotic settings. In a way, the settings determined the occupations of Elvis' characters, which indirectly helped define them as free souls who reject the conventional, nine-to-five lifestyle.
In addition, exotic and vacation settings convey the idea of slipping off to paradise for romantic escapades. For decades, travel brochures have used this very notion to entice tourists to distant lands. As soon as viewers recognized the setting of an Elvis film as exotic, unique, or a haven for fun-seeking vacationers, the stage was set for romance.
And romance was the main attraction in an Elvis Presley movie. The plot may center around a quest or an adventure, but it parallels the pursuit of a beautiful woman by Elvis' carefree hero. The story concludes when the goal is completed or the quest fulfilled, which is represented by the union of Elvis' character with his leading lady. The complete closure of the film in terms of fulfilling the goal and winning the girl is generally indicated by the final musical number in which the couple are united via song and/or dance.
To learn more about Elvis' Movies continued success in these comedy vehicles, see our website dedicated to Elvis movies - For Elvis Fans Only .
December 25, Elvis and Priscilla spend Christmas in Las Vegas. Elvis wants to avoid Graceland while Vernon and his new wife, Dee are staying at Graceland.
December 28, Vernon and Dee Presley move into their new home qt 3650 Hermatige Drive.
Elvis Presley 1962
March 9, Elvis went backstage at The Auditorium on the night of to say hello to some of his friends in the Holiday on Ice cast, and skating star Dorothy Goos promptly put him to work holding yarn. Elvis had visited Holiday on Ice people here during their last three annual visits.
March 18 1962 RCA Studio B - Nashville, Tennessee
Something Blue N2WW 0685-07 Gonna Get Back Home Somehow N2WW 0686-07 Easy Question N2WW 0687-05 Fountain Of Love N2WW 0688-10 Just For Old Times Sake N2WW 0689-05 Night Rider N2WW 0690-05 You'll Be Gone N2WW 0691-03
March 19 1962 RCA Studio B - Nashville, Tennessee
I Feel That I've Known You Forever N2WW 0692-05 Just Tell Her Jim Said Hello N2WW 0693-06 Suspicion N2WW 0694-05 Suspicion (work Part) ____-03 Suspicion (Composite) N2WW 0694-sp She's Not You N2ww 0695-05 She's Not You (work Part) ____-03 She's Not You (Composite) N2WW 0695-sp
June 17, For the first time since leaving Germany in 1960, Elvis is reunited with Priscilla Beaulieu. She stays for two weeks at the home of Presley friend and custom car designer George Barris after endless assurances from Elvis to her parents that she will be respected and well cared for.
June 19, After two days with Barris, Priscilla moves into Elvis' L.A. Home on Bellagio Drive anyway.
June 20, Elvis, Priscilla, and the Memphis Mafia head to the Sahara in Vegas.
July 1, Priscilla returns to Germany.
July 12, Elvis purchases land directly across Highway 51 from Graceland, using the mansion itself as collateral.
August 6, Longtime girlfriend Anita Wood -- who has been staying at the Graceland mansion since Elvis' return from the Army -- overhears the singer talking to his father about the difficulty of choosing between Anita and Priscilla. She immediately returns to her hometown of Jackson, TN, telling the Memphis Press-Scimitar that Elvis is not ready to settle down. Read our Interview with Anita Wood for the full story.
August 31, California clothier to the stars Sy Devore reveals in an interview that the King does not wear underwear. Elvis is upset but eventually returns to the store -- in underwear.
November 29, Elvis returns to Memphis and is greeted with bad news: his first nationwide tour in three years has fallen through, the result of an inability for the Colonel and RCA to come to terms on the details. The 43-date tour would have netted Elvis one million dollars.
December 19, Having apparently made his decision, Elvis meets Priscilla at his father's house in Memphis, where she has driven in from New York City with father Vernon and stepmother Dee. Priscilla is nervous, and Elvis prescribes some sleeping pills which leave her asleep for the better part of two days.
December 25, At a private Graceland Christmas party, Elvis presents Priscilla with a toy poodle, which she promptly names Honey. Her gift to Elvis is a wooden cigar box that plays his recent hit 'Surrender.'
December 31, After fireworks at Graceland, New Year's Eve 1962 is spent at another private party, held this time at Memphis' Manhattan Club.
Elvis Presley 1963
Elvis & Priscilla 1963
March 2, Priscilla arrives in Los Angeles with her father to meet Elvis and conclude arrangements permitting Priscilla to live in Memphis with Vernon and Dee and complete her senior year at Immaculate Conception High School.
April 1, Elvis buys Priscilla a red Corvair so that she can drive herself to school.
April 1963, It Happened at the World's Fair opens nationally and does relatively well at the box office, though its plot is the most frivolous of any Elvis film so far. The soundtrack album goes top five.
May 26, Elvis goes to RCA's Studio B in Nashville working on what will eventually become 14 recorded masters. The songs are intended to make up an album and a single with 'Devil In Disguise' selected as the A-side. The album however is never released with the songs parceled out over the next few years as singles or soundtrack album 'bonus selections'. (The 'album' was eventually released on CD as 'For The Asking - The Lost Album' in 1990.
May 26 1963 RCA Studio B - Nashville, Tennessee
Echoes Of Love PPA4 0290-10 Please Don't Drag That String Around PPA4 0291-06 Devil In Disguise PPA4 0292-06 Never Ending PPA4 0293-03 What Now What Next Where To PPA4 0294-01 Witchcraft PPA4 0295-03 Finders Keepers Losers Weepers PPA4 0296-03 Love Me Tonight PPA4 0297-08
For The Asking CD 1990
May 27 1963 RCA Studio B - Nashville, Tennessee
Memphis Tennessee PPA4 0302-02 Long Lonely Highway (Single Version) PPA4 0303-01 Long Lonely Highway (Record Version) PPA4 0303-02 Ask Me PPA4 0304-02 Western Union PPA4 0305-04 Slowly But Surely PPA4 0306-05 Blue River PPA4 0307-02 Ask Me (Alternate Master) PPA4 0304-06
July 1963, Elvis records the music, then, on location in Las Vegas and in a Hollywood studio, he films for his fourteenth motion picture, Viva Las Vegas , co-starring Ann-Margret. (It will be his fifteenth movie to be released as Kissin' Cousins, which he is to shoot next, will actually be released before Viva Las Vegas.)
Late November 1963, Fun in Acapulco opens nationally and quickly goes to number five at the box office. The soundtrack goes to the top five on the pop chart.
More than 150 people jammed into the mayor's office Tuesday December 17, 1963 to see Elvis Presley hand out Christmas checks totaling $55,000. The checks benefitted 58 Memphis and Mid-South charities. In appreciation, the organizations presented Elvis with a six-foot plaque. It was warm in the room and when Commmissioner Claude Armour announced Elvis was going to pass out the checks, the singer wiped his brow and said, "Elvis is going to pass out, period."
December 25, Elvis and Priscilla spend Christmas at Graceland.
Elvis Presley 1964
January 12 1964 RCA Studio B - Nashville, Tennessee
Memphis Tennessee RPA4 1004-06 Ask Me RPA4 1005-11 It Hurts Me RPA4 1006-05
After this session Elvis recorded nothing but movie soundtracks, mostly in Hollywood until may 1966. Unsatisfied with his life for complex professional and personal reasons, he did not venture into the Nashville studios to cut any album material. When he did finally decide to record new material, he returned to the studio with new musicians and a new producer, Felton Jarvis .
March 6, Kissin' Cousins opens nationally. One of the poorest quality films of his career, it still quickly hits number eleven at the box office, then quickly falls, and the album goes top ten.
May 17, Viva Las Vegas opens nationally and goes to number eight at the box office. It's one of the better Elvis movies of this period, and the songs are better as well.
November 11, Roustabout opens nationally and hits number eight at the box office. The soundtrack, which represents some of the best Elvis Presley movie music in a while, goes to number one on the Billboard pop album chart.
December 25, Elvis and Priscilla spend Christmas at Graceland.
December 31, Elvis rents out the Memphian for New Years Eve.
Elvis Presley 1965
Above - Elvis Presley posed with one of his cars outside Graceland in this photograph published March 7, 1965 in the first issue of Mid-South, the now-defunct Sunday magazine of The Commercial Appeal. Elvis complained of the long sessions with photographers making movie publicity stills: "I try to cut the time down to three or four hours, but sometimes you have to pose for six or eight. A man only has so many different smiles, and I don't have many."
April, In what would have to be Elvis' worst year in terms of recording nothing but substandard movie songs, Crying In The Chapel is released and is a #3 hit.
May 7, Girl Happy opens nationally and does relatively good business. The soundtrack album goes top ten.
Elvis Presley Hawaii 1965
August. 5, Elvis flew to Hawaii for location shooting for teh movie 'Paradise Hawaiian Style' . Much of the shooting for this film was done on location in Hawaii.
While there, Elvis, his father Vernon Presley and manager Colonel Tom Parker visited the U.S.S.. Arizona Memorial, which Elvis' benefit concert in 1961 had helped to build. Together they laid a bell-saped wreath with 1,177 carnations - one for each serviceman lost there in December 1945 during the attack on Pearl Harbor.
A party was given on August 18, 1965 at the Polynesian Cultural Center in honor of the film. Singer Peter Noone of the group Herman's Hermits interviewed Elvis there. The interview aired on radio the next day.
Production on the film moved back to the mainland and a few days later on August 27, Elvis meets The Beatles at his house on Perugia Way in Bel Air.
Elvis looked so phenomenal that night. He used to wear these bolero shirts and had them in every colour, expect brown. He hated brown! He wearing a blue shirt that night. We all went to the den and all of a sudden we heard screaming, like thunder, as if a bomb went off. The front door opened and outside there were thousands of fans everywhere. The word had got out. What we heard was the front door open as The Beatles walked in! The Beatles came in with Brian Epstein, their manager. They walked up to Elvis and were introduced, and Elvis sits down on the chair. The Beatles all sit down on the floor right in front of Elvis, in a semi-circle, and they look up and they are just gaping & staring at him. There's this dead silence in the room until Elvis says, 'Well, what-the-hell, if you guys aren’t going to talk to me I’m going to my bedroom'. And then everyone started to laugh and that broke the ice.
Elvis Presley meets The Beatles - Elvis and John Lennon can be seen in this photo
In 1965, Bill Black was in hospital three times, at Baptist Memorial in Memphis, between June and October. This was in an effort to treat a brain tumor which had been found. Sadly, he went into a coma on the last visit, which began on Friday, 8th October.
On Thursday, 21st October, Bill Black, Elvis' original bass singer died during an operation to try and remove part or all of the growth. He was only 39, and just weeks short of his 40th birthday. Ironically, twelve years later, Elvis Presley himself would be pronounced dead at the same hospital. Bill was buried in Forest Hill Cemetery, Memphis. Read about Bill Black .
December 25, Elvis and Priscilla spend Christmas at Graceland.
December 31, Elvis holds a New Years Eve party at the Manhattan club.
Run On TPA4 0908-07 How Great Thou Art TPA4 0909-04
May 26 1966 RCA Studio B - Nashville, Tennessee
Stand By Me TPA4 0910-11 Where No One Stands Alone ____-04 Where No One Stands Alone (Work Part) ____-07 Where No One Stands Alone (Composite) TPA4 0911-SP Down In The Alley TPA4 0912-09 Tomorrow Is A Long Time TPA4 0913-03 Love Letters TPA4 0914-09
May 27 1966 RCA Studio B - Nashville, Tennessee
So High TPA4 0915-04 Farther Along TPA4 0916-03 By And By TPA4 0917-10 In The Garden TPA4 0918-03 Beyond The Reef TPA4 0919-02 Somebody Bigger Than You And I ____-16 Somebody Bigger Than You And I (Work Part - Ending) ____-06 Somebody Bigger Than You And I (Composite) TPA4 0920-SP Without Him TPA4 0921-12
May 28 1966 RCA Studio B - Nashville, Tennessee
If The Lord Wasn't Walking By My Side TPA4 0922-05 Where Could I Go But To The Lord? TPA4 0923-02 Come What May TPA4 0924-08 Fools Fall In Love TPA4 0925-05
June 10 1966 RCA Studio B - Nashville, Tennessee
Indescribably Blue (Track) ____-NA I'll Remember You (Track) ____-NA If Every Day Was Like Christmas (Track) ____-NA
June 12 1966 RCA Studio B - Nashville, Tennessee
Indescribably Blue (Vocal Overdub) TPA4 0982-02 I'll Remember You (Vocal Overdub) TPA4 0983-SP If Every Day Was Like Christmas (Vocal Overdub) MWA5 9102-02
December 1966, Elvis formally proposes marriage to Priscilla.
December 25, Elvis and Priscilla spend Christmas at Graceland.
Elvis Day By Day - By Ernst Jorgensen & Peter Guralnick is a complete account of public, private, rare, forgotten, and renowned moments, captured with such detail and immediacy they read like diary entries in a life--from first steps to the first time the young 'hillbilly cat' stepped on stage; from the creation of a revolutionary new sound to the last days of a universally known, tragically misunderstood music legend. No longer in print. Grab one if you find one.
Elvis A Life In Music - The Complete Recording Sessions Book (Ernst Jorgensen) is a superlative book combining beautiful illustrations and searching text. The author, responsible for BMG's modernisation of the Elvis Presley catalogue, has dug well beneath the surface to present the definitive story behind Elvis Presley's recording sessions. In the process the reader is taken into the recording studio to experience the atmosphere: 'Altering the lyrics, laughing as his voice cracked, throwing in the first two lines of "A Little Less Conversation". Elvis was relaxed and energetic as they ran through a series of incomplete takes, finally making it to the end at take ten'. If you are interested in Elvis' recoding sessions you will without doubt consider this your most prized possession - book wise. Read Review
Elvis The Concert Years - 1969-1977 - There are so many good things to say about this book - excellent material deserves praise and any fans of the concert years has to have this book on his shelf. Somehow Mr. Skar realized the impossible and produced the BEST Elvis Presley book ever available on the concert years from 1969 to 1977, this is now the reference on the subject .... Buy it, enjoy it; I am sure you will not regret it! Read Review
A Date With Elvis - Army Days Revisited - Essential. The book is in both English and German which enhances the book and it Being about Elvis in Germany. Filled with 900 rare and previously unpublished photos, original news stories, interviews and pictures of memorabilia over 240 pages,this book is highly recommended. Also Includes the text of interviews such as Graceland 1960, Pat Hernon, Elvis Sails etc. Unbelievable, fascinating, just brilliant! What more could I say? A Date With Elvis - Army Days Revisited is a "must have"! ~ Ger Rijff (Author Inside King Creole)
Private Presley: The Missing Years - Elvis in Germany - By Andreas SchrÖer, part author of the above 'A Date With Elvis'. 'Private Presley' traces the story of Elvis's two years in the army: the trauma of his mother's death just three weeks before he left for Germany; the media circus of his arrival and the constant attention of the press during his stay; his first experiments with drugs; the girls with whom he was and was not involved; his early encounters with his future wife, Priscilla, who was just fourteen when they met; and his triumphant return to America.
Stop, look and listen baby that's our philosophy .... First thing in the morning, last thing at night ... look, stare everywhere and see everything inside .... Stop, look and listen!
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February 11, Elvis gets his full Sergeant stripes and throws a party to celebrate.
March 3, Elvis arrives at McGuire Air Force Base near Fort Dix, New Jersey at 7.42am, in the midst of a snow storm. Rex Mansfield said regarding the landing 'We could not see the runway until just before the plane landed. The pilot came down off-center on the runway and had to quickly go hard left. The plane swerved and the left wing almost touched the runway'. After processing Elvis through customs, the army holds another press conference, with a welcoming party that includes Nancy Sinatra, Colonel Parker, Jean Aberbach, and numerous RCA representatives. Elvis spends the next two days at Fort Dix going through the routine discharge procedure.
. Buses were to leave the Hotel Claridge at 2:30, carrying the entire company to Graceland to spend the afternoon.
(But not Bill Black, who never plays with Elvis again) take a charted bus to Nashville for a session at RCA's Studio B, whose recoding facilities have been upgraded with a three track machine. The are joined by all the musicians from the June 1958 session, the Jordanaires, Colonel Parker and RCA's new chief studio engineer, Bill Porter. Elvis records six songs (In true stereo for the first time) including 'Stuck On You' and 'Fame And Fortune' which will be pressed and shipped within two days as an urgently need new single. The other songs will form part of his new album, with more sessions to follow in April.
who urged Elvis to record 'Are You Lonesome Tonight?' even though it was unusual for him to interfere with Elvis' choice of music. The song perfectly suited Elvis' new image as a mainstream pop singer.
in his new $2000 16-foot boat to water ski boat.
50's Masters
60's Masters
