What: Elvis Presley reasserting control over his musical destiny in 1968, with an NBC television special and the album From Elvis in Memphis and associated singles such as “Suspicious Minds.” This clip from the comeback special features an amazingly unguarded Elvis overcoming a technical gaffe with the help of his longtime friends:
Why: It’s hard to imagine a time when Elvis Presley didn’t matter, but 1963-1968 was just that. Misguided by Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis had thrown away his career on mediocre movies and their irrelevant soundtracks. At some point, having seen the Beatles and Rolling Stones unseat him from the throne, Elvis wrested control from Parker, and appeared in the ’68 Comeback Special. In between sketches, Elvis brought the house down in a live session dressed in the finest leather jacket ever made. Flanked by his longtime sidemen DJ Fontana and Scotty Moore, Elvis performed live for the first time in seven years, and showed no one was finer at controlling a crowd. Following the success of the special and fresh from recording “A Little Less Conversation”, he returned to Memphis in the winter of ’69 to record his greatest album, From Elvis in Memphis. These sessions produced the hit singles “Suspicious Minds”, “Kentucky Rain”, “Don’t Cry Daddy”, “Gentle on my Mind”, and “In the Ghetto”, as well as another dozen great songs like “Long Black Limousine” and “True Love Travels on a Gravel Road”. The King of Rock and Roll was back.
Impact: Not anywhere near enough. After reminding the moptops who ruled rock and roll, Elvis threw his career away again. His next album was recorded in Las Vegas, a place he essentially never left. This new Elvis grew old and fat in a hurry, inflated by hangers-on and an endless supply of drugs. But for about seven months of brilliance, Elvis established his cultural legacy, and the world never thought of him as irrelevant again.
Personal Connection: That guy on stage—the guy in the leather jacket, laughing with his friends as people hang on his every motion—that’s the guy I want to be. If I ever go away, when I come back, I want to come back as that guy.
Other Contenders: the rehabilitation of Jimmy Carter as our most thoughtful statesperson and charitable advocate; Quentin Tarantino’s rescue of John Travolta‘s cool side; the remodel of the Volkswagen Beetle as the epitome of fun; Tina Turner stepping out of Ike’s domineering shadow; Dick Vermeil coming back to the NFL after 15 years and winning Super Bowl XXXIV; a hopelessly biased vote for the 3rd Edition relaunch of Dungeons & Dragons.