Elvis Presley’s Legendary ’68 Comeback Special Turns 57: Hidden Stories Revealed
There was plenty of behind-the-scenes drama during the filming of the NBC special.
Dec 3, 2025 12:09 PM EST
By Lucille Barilla
Entertainment Writer, Parade
Key Points
Elvis’ ’68 Comeback Special marked his return after seven years without live performances.
Behind-the-scenes conflict arose between Elvis, his manager, and producer Steve Binder.
The special revitalized Elvis’ career and included scenes cut from the original broadcast.
Elvis Presley’s ’68 Comeback Special was historic for its ability to resurrect the King of Rock and Roll’s career, but the hidden drama and secrets behind it are even more interesting.
Presley hadn’t performed live for about seven years before taking the stage at NBC Studios in Burbank, California. His last concert had taken place in Hawaii in March 1961, and his previous television appearance dated back to 1960, when he guest-starred on Frank Sinatra’s Welcome Home Party for Elvis Presley.
Presley had a lot riding on this television special. After so many years out of the music spotlight and focusing on making films, he needed to reclaim his place as the King of Rock ’n’ Roll.
Fifty-seven years later, the comeback special was remembered via a post on Presley’s official Instagram. It featured a scene still from Presley’s “If I Can Dream” performance.
As Vanity Fair noted, Presley feared he had lost his relevance. He rejected Colonel Tom Parker’s idea of a lighthearted holiday show, wanting to use the special to reveal his evolution as a performer.
In fact, the only holiday song in the entire special was an acoustic version of “Blue Christmas.” Otherwise, the special gave Presley the chance to close the book on his past (with the ‘sit down” and “stand up” jam sessions in a stage shaped like a boxing ring) and forge forward into the future.
What fans didn’t see was the behind-the-scenes power struggle between Parker, Presley, and producer Steve Binder. Parker wanted control, but Presley was content to let Binder lead. As Vanity Fair revealed, Binder was brutally honest with Elvis, telling him that despite his movie fame, his career was “in the toilet” before the special.
“From that first meeting, I knew he was champing at the bit to prove himself again,” Binder explained. “Elvis asked me, ‘What happens if I bomb?’”
“I said, ‘Elvis, you’ll still be remembered for your movies and all your early hit records. If it’s successful, every door that was closed to you will reopen.’ Which is exactly what happened,” Binder concluded.
The show opened up with a performance of “Trouble” and “Guitar Man.” The key female dancer in the segment, Susan Henning, shared her experiences as a performer in an interview for the documentary Reinventing Elvis: The ’68 Comeback Special, as reported by FOX News.
“I think it was apparent to everybody that we very much enjoyed what we were doing. We had fun dancing and practicing and being silly. … [Binder] allowed free liberty for us to express ourselves.”
Henning continued that Presley was “very sensuous, very masculine, and it elicited the femininity and the flirt and the coy and the tease in me. And I think we played off each other.”
Many fans may also not know that the original NBC special also contained a “bordello scene” which didn’t resurface until after Presley’s 1977 death. Binder said in the documentary, “When it [later] came back in, I guess America had moved on by that time. And it was totally acceptable. So it’s been in ever since.”
Elvis Presley’s ’68 Comeback Special remains a cornerstone of the entertainer’s career. It pushed him forward just when his legacy hung in the balance, proving the King still had plenty of reign left.
Lucille Barilla
Entertainment Writer, Parade
Lucille Barilla is an entertainment writer with almost four decades of experience in the entertainment industry. She has deep industry knowledge and works to create stories that are not only entertaining but also informative. She's interviewed some of the notable musicians in the industry, including Jon Bon Jovi, Dave Matthews, Darius Rucker, and Gene Simmons.