It is difficult to reflect on Elvis Presley's career during the Elvis Era (1956-1963) without having our viewpoint influenced by what we know of his later years.  We tend to see his records of the mid-sixties as a temporary interruption.  But what if he'd never made the television comeback show (titled simply "Elvis")?  What if he had continued making the tepid movies until his untimely death?  Would he be held in the same regard?  Would he have held on to his title as "The King?"

While there is no doubt that Elvis's production of quality music declined in the early 1960's a closer look at the record shows that he was still very much "The King" during that period.  In a ranking of Billboard top twenty performance* for the eight years of The Elvis Era, Elvis Presley was #1 for five of the years.  He slipped to sixth in 1959 when he was in the army the entire year, and fell to second in 1962 behind Chubby Checker and the twist craze.  In 1963 he dropped to eleventh and that was the beginning of the downward spiral.  (view top ten artists from each year) From 1964 through 1966 Elvis only had nine top twenty records, and only one made the top ten ("Crying in the Chapel; #3 in 1965). There were no Elvis Presley top twenty records in 1967 and 1968. 

Had Elvis not made a comeback it would have been even more disconcerting considering that some of his contemporaries did.  Neil Sedaka had his career rejuvenated in the 1970's with a number of hit records.  Ricky Nelson scored with "Garden Party" and Dion with "Abraham, Martin and John."  Elvis's last record issued in 1968 was "U.S. Male" which peaked at #28.

But there was a comeback.  In 1968, even Colonel Tom Parker had to admit that the record sales and movies weren't going very well and so he relented on his refusal to let Elvis do television and brokered a deal with NBC to do a Christmas special.  Parker's vision was a traditional Christmas show with dancing elves and reindeer.  But Steve Binder was hired by the network to produce the show and he saw things differently.  First, he convinced Elvis that he was no longer being recognized as "The King" – he took him on a walk down Sunset Boulevard where Elvis believed he would be mobbed.  Nobody acknowledged his presence.  Elvis was ready for change and he vetoed the Colonel's concept.  Instead, Binder orchestrated a program that showcased Elvis's energy as a live performer, both in the intimate jam session at the beginning of the show, and later in the big production numbers, ending with the politically charged finale, "If I Can Dream."

The "Elvis" television special re-introduced Elvis Presley to the nation as a performer in stark contrast to the plastic roles they'd been seeing him portray in the movies.  "If I Can Dream" (#12) was released as a single and got Elvis back into the top twenty in 1969.  That was followed by "In the Ghetto" (#3) which got him back into the top ten.  Then "Suspicious Minds" finished the year as his first number one since 1962.  By July, Elvis was booked into the International Hotel in Las Vegas for a four week, fifty-seven show engagement.  His first Vegas appearance since his luke-warm reception in April, 1956 (the audience wanted the rat pack, not the "Hillbilly Cat") broke all existing Las Vegas records and established the blueprint for the latter part of his career.  Elvis became a fixture in Vegas and a continually travelling road show.

If it can be said that the movies killed Elvis's early career, it can also be said that the grueling concert schedule of the early 1970's eventually killed his later career; unfortunately true in a literal sense.  The motivation for the movies was money.  The same can be said for his live performance schedule.  While it would seem that Elvis had plenty of money (that first Vegas run netted him $1 million), his lavish lifestyle has been widely publicized.  And Colonel Parker, with his legendary gambling problems, also needed the money.

During his Hollywood years, Elvis had descended into a decadent life of addiction.  While he publicly decried the drug culture of the late 1960's (he even met with President Nixon to be named a "Federal Drug Agent") he became heavily addicted to pharmaceutical drugs.  Some have speculated that the addiction was the result of his boredom and depression over his movie roles.  As the demands for his performances increased in the early 1970's his dependence on uppers and downers increased.  Partially as a result of his drug usage, his weight ballooned.  By the mid 1970's his public performances were disrupted by his slurred speech and often forgotten lyrics.  But the concert tickets kept selling and making money right up to the end which came on August 16th, 1977.  Elvis officially died of heart failure at Graceland hours before he was to take a plane to Portland, Maine for a concert.  Later investigations showed that massive drug "cocktails" had contributed to his death.

The world mourned the death of Elvis Presley.  He was the acknowledged "King of Rock and Roll."  While his recording career stagnated in the middle 1960's he was still credited as a big influence on the music stars of the decade:  "When we were kids growing up in Liverpool, all we ever wanted to be was Elvis Presley." – Paul McCartney; "Before Elvis, everything was in black and white.  Then came Elvis.  Zoom!  Glorious Technicolor." – Keith Richards; "Hearing him for the first time was like busting out of jail." – Bob Dylan.  Even after his death in 1977, he continues to be an American icon.  Through numerous documentaries, books, cd and dvd compilations, through the proliferation of Elvis impersonators, "legends" shows, etc., Elvis Presley continues to be a living part of American culture.  "The King" is dead …. But long live "The King."

*Each record is given points each week for its rank in the top twenty (from one point for #20 to twenty points for #1), plus five additional points if it is in the top ten and five more additional points if it is #1.