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From the Introduction - text by Steve Barile. It has been forty years since he made television history with the "Aloha from Hawaii" triumph and to quote Elvis himself (ironically from the press conference to promote the television special), "It's hard to comprehend it." If I may digress and rewind briefly, I shall like us to recall and remind ourselves of television's love affair with Elvis from his very first appearances on The Dorsey Brother's Stage Show, The Steve Allen Show and the classic Ed Sullivan Show stints of 1956 and '57. In hindsight and with viewing these performances today, it is clear that with each appearance Elvis' audience grew exponentially as did his confidence. Therefore, one could safely suggest that it was television alone that catapulted Elvis' rise to superstardom, the likes of which few, if any, have achieved before or since. For fear of overexposing Elvis, it was in 1960 that his management decided to eliminate any further television work focusing solely on the motion pictures that eventually became detrimental to Elvis' art and career. Ironically, after eight long years it would be a television event that would rescue his rapidly fading popularity and artistic significance. In 1968 the stage was set for Elvis to do or die starring in his first TV special, Singer Presents Elvis! As the reader well knows, Elvis exceeded all expectations including his own, launching commercial success of iconic status. Deservingly so, the special ultimately became known as the "'68 Comeback". Through the following year and early '70s, Elvis enjoyed enormous commercial success with million-selling records, won a Grammy for best gospel album in 1972, was honored by the American Jaycees, served as the subject of a Golden Globe award-winning documentary film and sold out concerts throughout the continental United States. Hot off the heels of his now legendary and highly-acclaimed 1972 Madison Square Garden concerts and number one single (Cashbox) "Burning Love," another television special was planned. As of 1973, live, one-man concerts on television were virtually unheard of. Most, if not all celebrities of the day hosting TV specials were obliged to invite "guest stars" to their shows in order to provide a consistent level of interesting entertainment and support. Who on earth could possibly, let alone single-handedly, sustain and captivate the broad audience that television was capable of reaching?
The book features plenty of previously unpublished and alternate shots as well as many well-known images in a stunning quality you will have not seen before. The 3 photos below demonstrate the high quality - even though EIN has had to keep them down to low-res scans for obvious copyright reasons. These are only to give fans a general idea of the close-up detail - so you can imagine them full page in all their glory!
Sensational previously unpublished photograph of Elvis carrying the crown given to him by a female fan at the end of the Aloha performance.
Preview by Boxcar for EIN.
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Elvis Presley, Elvis and Graceland are trademarks of Elvis Presley Enterprises. The Elvis Information Network has been running since 1986 and is an EPE officially recognised Elvis fan club.
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