It was the Christmas television special that never was. Peter Guralnick explained in his wonderful two-volume biography
By the late 1960’s, Elvis had become largely irrelevant to the current music scene. In recent years he had spent his time in a wasteland of movies of declining quality.
For a change in strategy, Colonel Parker negotiated a deal with NBC for a TV special around the holidays. And Parker envisioned it as a Christmas special.
But Elvis and Steve Binder, the director of the program, had something else in mind. They designed the special in a way to reestablish Elvis as a relevant music artist.
The special featured several big set productions and an outstanding closing number written just for Elvis. But the centerpiece of the special featured Elvis in black leather singing out the raw blues of his early work — both in stand-up and sit-down segments.
Binder recorded two sit-down sessions with Elvis on June 27, 1968 for the December TV special. Both versions of “Blue Christmas” are available on DVD. In one of the sessions, Elvis also sang “Santa Claus Is Back in Town,” but it was not used in the show.
The special, promoted as “Elvis” but now known as The ’68 Comeback Special, was a turning point in Presleys career. It relaunched him as a relevant music artist who would soon record such great songs as “Suspicious Minds.”
“Blue Christmas”
In the special, which was broadcast on December 3, 1968, Binder agreed to allow only one Christmas song in the show. The song was “Blue Christmas,” which Elvis had first recorded in 1957.
Elvis’s 1957 rock and roll performance defined “Blue Christmas.” But the song had been recorded almost a decade earlier in 1948 by Ernest Tubb. One of the most recent covers of the song was released by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band with a horn section on a fun version of “Blue Christmas.”
One can see why Binder allowed this one holiday song in the 1968 special. “Blue Christmas” is steeped in the blues, and Presley knocks it out of the park.
Watching the performance feels like being in the living room jamming with the greatest singer in the world. The King had returned.
Bonus Ranking: See where “Blue Christmas” ranks among the top depressing holiday songs of all time here.
Bonus History Trivia: This week in 1957, Elvis was at Graceland celebrating the holidays when he received his draft notice on December 20, 1957.
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