Elvis Presley: The Searcher Page #13

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Alan Light:

This was a curious

crossroads in his career.

It was open field to see

what was he gonna do

and where was he gonna go.

The work that he had done

during his time in the Army

broadens the scope

of the music

that he was interested in.

Priscilla:

He didn't wanna

do the same music.

He wanted to grow.

He wanted to evolve in a way

that he could offer something

different in his music.

Ernst Jorgensen:
With Elvis,

it was always about

the challenge, the motivation.

He's already in

the recording studio

in Nashville

two weeks after coming home.

He knew what was at stake,

so did the Colonel

and the engineers,

everybody.

There was this

tension in the room:

"What's it gonna be like?"

Man:

You ready?

(guitar plays)

Let's cut one.

LTWB0081, take one.

(train whistling)

Elvis:

I just got

your letter, baby

Too bad you can't

come home

Jorgensen:

They all relaxed after

just a few takes

because he's so on top of it.

He's been longing

for this moment--

both to get his

career started

but also to express

a new range of music,

his new understanding of music.

Everything he could do.

Elvis:

I ain't slept a wink

since Sunday

I can't eat a thing all day

Light:

Since the last Ed Sullivan Show

appearance in 1957,

the Colonel decided to take

Elvis off of television.

He didn't want

to give Elvis away

when you could sell tickets

in a movie theater.

Jorgensen:

But in the relaunch,

he wasn't gonna gamble.

He wanted exposure to make

sure they got a head start.

Now it was time to deliver.

Jackson:

The Colonel's plan was

get Elvis on television

in front of as many

people as possible

with the world's

other most famous singer.

Make it fun and exciting,

so that now the career

can continue.

(women screaming)

I know that I

Held nothing

Waa-ooh-waa-ooh

If you should go away

But to know

That you love me brings

Bruce Springsteen:

The Sinatra show,

it was a very conservative

move at the time.

It was just trying

to find his place

after coming out of the Army.

He simply had to believe

in himself,

and that's what Elvis did.

Fame and fortune

My way

Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh

(women screaming)

Springsteen:

Elvis put himself forth

as somebody who was not

a flash in the pan

but who was in a long line

of a tradition of American

pop singers.

They were saying there's

a life for Elvis after Elvis.

Elvis...

(screaming continues)

I tell ya something,

it was great!

Jon Landau:

I remember when he appeared

on the Frank Sinatra special.

That show was

very much the opposite

of The Steve Allen Show.

There was

a collegial atmosphere.

Frank Sinatra and Elvis

had two different styles

but were in an incredibly

exclusive club.

We work in the same way

only in different areas.

(laughter)

Love me tender

Love me sweet

Never let me go

Jackson:

Trading their own hits

with each other

is the big moment

that the Colonel

engineered for him.

Those fingers

in my hair

(women screaming)

Jackson:

You can hear the women

in the crowd start screaming.

Elvis sexes it up a little bit.

That strips

my conscience bare

It's witchcraft

Love me tender

(women screaming)

Love me true

Jackson:

Sinatra, he's fitting

"Love Me Tender"

into that swing thing.

He's born on the beat.

Oh my darling,

I love you

And I always will

It's such

an ancient pitch

(women screaming)

One I wouldn't switch

'Cause there's

no nicer witch

Than witchcraft

I love you

And I always will

(harmonizing)

For my darling

I love you

Man, that's pretty.

(laughter)

Both:

And I always will

Jackson:

He's embraced

by the community

that had previously

put him down,

and that signaled

he was now ready

to take on this role

of cultural icon.

Jorgensen:

You get this new Elvis,

the Elvis that

Colonel Parker wanted,

the Elvis that had grown up

exactly the same way

that his core audience

had grown older.

They were gone

from being teenagers

to being young adults.

So for him, it was

the perfect launch.

The public widely

accepted that,

but, obviously,

this was a transition.

Elvis:

You gave me love to enjoy

Like a bright shiny toy

to a baby

No matter what

you would do

I depended on you

Like a baby

Priscilla:

He knew that next album

was important.

He gave it a lot of thought.

Light:

The Elvis is Back! album

reveals new influences,

new interests,

new arrangements.

Jackson:

He had been getting

ready for this mentally

while he was in Germany.

There's a little bit of R&B,

there's a little bit of pop,

ballads, country.

Light:

New songs that represented

a different vocal approach

than anything

he had tried before that.

Elvis:

I was blind,

'cause I just

David Briggs:

His voice was very much

in tune always,

and that's because he didn't

have to fight the band.

Those guys were soft

and they didn't push him,

and they weren't too busy.

Jorgensen:

The band had the ability

to play all this music

that came from

so many different sources.

Elvis:

Like a baby

Jorgensen:

That was the true magic

of Elvis combining

with this band.

They perfectly

understood each other.

(Elvis vocalizing)

Red West:

Those musicians

were incredible.

Bobby Moore on bass,

Floyd Cramer on piano.

Man, those guys

heard a demo once

and bam,

they were ready to go.

Briggs:

They were a real tight group.

Nobody played anything

that didn't go

with what the other one

was playing.

Elvis:

I need soul

Briggs:

DJ and Scotty

were still there,

but they began to play

a lesser and lesser role

and that made it

a little more sophisticated.

Elvis:

Then I broke down

and cried

Priscilla:

He liked the way

the music sounded.

Technology, it evolved

while he was gone.

Jackson:

RCA Studios got

a three-track recorder.

That immediately adds

a technical professionalism

as recording technology

is moving into the future.

Elvis:

Like a baby

Priscilla:

He started feeling confidence,

because these were

his song choices.

These were songs that

he was singing in Germany.

That's the freedom

that he wanted.

That's what

he was looking for.

Elvis:

Like a baby

Priscilla:

And that's why

it was so successful.

Just blew people away.

Landau:

Elvis, when he came back,

clearly in finding the songs

and making the records,

was very driven.

His vision was very intact,

and I don't think

he could be distracted.

Zanes:

Elvis was so attuned

to the emotional.

He was always on the search

for emotional music.

Priscilla:

I asked him one day,

"What makes you

pick out your songs?"

He said, "I wanna be able

to reach and feel

what we all go through

as human beings."

Ooh

Zanes:

This is the mysterious

part about music.

How do we know when

we're listening to a song

that someone means it?

We just know.

Elvis:

Are you lonesome tonight

Zanes:

And the people who mean it

are generally the ones

who are processing

some kind of loss

through music,

and we can hear them

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