‘Reinventing Elvis: The ‘68 Comeback’ Explains How The King Got His Groove Back

Career comebacks weren’t quite so ubiquitous 55 years ago as they are now. Besides Frank Sinatra, few had figured out how to transition from young heartthrob to respected adult. Rock n’ roll was barely into its second generation and bands still sang about dying before they got old. Elvis Presley might have been called “King of Rock N’ Roll,” but after being drafted and going Hollywood, no one expected much from his first-ever television special, simply titled Elvis. Airing on NBC on December 3, 1968, the 50-minute show would resurrect his music career and set him on the path to reclaiming his kingdom.  

The new Paramount+ documentary Reinventing Elvis: The ‘68 Comeback examines the making of the special and its impact. Using the original performances, candid behind the scenes footage and new interviews with those who worked on the show, it weaves a good versus evil narrative in a high stakes battle for Elvis’ soul. On one side is producer and director Steve Binder, who claims his only goal was to help Presley rediscover himself. On the other is infamous manager Colonel Tom Parker, billed literally as “The Villain,” who the film accuses of no less than murder, not to mention squandering Presley’s talent in his vainglorious pursuit of money and power.  

Newsreel footage reminds us that the United States of 1968 was a very different place than when Presley hit the scene in 1954. The war in Vietnam and the civil rights struggle had exposed societal fissures hidden beneath the surface. Elvis had been irrelevant since entering the Army in 1958. While younger artists stole his musical thunder and a new generation of filmmakers pushed the boundaries of filmmaking, he starred in an endless run of shlock movies like Paradise, Hawaiian Style and Clambake, clips from them intercut with footage of the Beatles arriving in America, urban riots and Vietnamese villages being set ablaze with napalm. 

Part of the problem was Parker. Born Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk, he was an illegal immigrant from Holland and was allegedly a person of interest in a murder case, according to biographer Alanna Nash. Also, for the record, not a colonel. Regardless of his personal failings, he had made Elvis a star and had a hold on his psyche. The other problem was Presley, who loved being a celebrity as much as he loved singing rock n’ roll. His star now on the wane, the special was made after Parker failed to secure funding for a new Elvis movie. Originally intended as a Christmas special, it was to be as banal as any of his recent films. 

Enter Steve Binder, young hotshot television producer and director who made his bones on 1964’s T.A.M.I. Show, effectively the first longform rock concert film. Binder ingratiated himself with Presley by telling him his career was “in the toilet” and pitched a show that would “get back to the raw, the wild.“ Big production numbers were contrasted with intimate performances of Elvis jamming with his ‘50s bandmates Scotty Moore and D.J. Fontana, inspired by the late night jam sessions he witnessed in Presley’s dressing room off-hours. Decades before Beyoncé, Elvis envisioned the special as a visual album and Binder saw his job as putting pictures behind the music. Parker tried to foil them every step of the way, wanting more shlock he could recycle into merchandise dollars.     

On the first night of taping, Presley suffered from stage fright before walking onto the stage  decked head to toe in black leather. Playing an electric guitar while running through his old hits and favorite r&b songs, he seemed to be genuinely enjoying himself. The relaxed intimate setting basically set the template for MTV’s Unplugged. While the staged performances are dated and overproduced, they show Elvis as the performer he would become, his voice now a weapon of soaring power, his stage moves grandiose and theatrical. This wasn’t the nervous manchild of the past, but a fully grown man, now 33, in complete command of his talent and sexuality.

The so-called “‘68 Comeback Special” was a triumphant return to form and critical success. Its mix of rock n’ roll, country, r&b and gospel was Americana before the genre existed and set the sonic template for the rest of his career. Though Reinventing Elvis casts the special as the last gasp of creativity before Parker re-established his rule, the truth is it was the beginning of a 5-year run of hit records and sold out tours as Presley rekindled his musical fortunes and found a new audience which spanned generations. Parker was ultimately a malignant force but Elvis’ personal problems and drug addiction are what ultimately did him in. 

In a little less than 2 hours, Reinventing Elvis covers a lot of ground, so much that it could have been a series. This includes not just Presley’s career, but Binder’s back story and the production of the show itself. Despite this, it never feels long. Though interviews with those who worked on the special offer interesting details, talking heads such as Darius Rucker and historian Douglas Brinkley feel like ballast. After the glut of recent Elvis documentaries and movies, I don’t think we need anyone to explain his greatness to us or why he was important. Watching the footage from 1968, it’s clear as day. 

Benjamin H. Smith is a New York based writer, producer and musician.