Treasure Chest for January 13, 2013. Join KRFY as we celebrate the birthday of the King, Elvis Aaron Presley. ( January 8, 1935 )
Much of Elvis’ early success stemmed from his electrifying live performances on stages around the world. That all changed with the movie deals, and the filming and recording schedules that left no time for concerts. Eventually, he grew unhappy with the movies, and returned to the stage in a big way – the legendary 1968 Comeback TV Special. As only Elvis can do, he then followed that up with something even bigger — Las Vegas. His string of sold out shows at the International and Hilton Hotels revolutionized the concert business at Vegas casinos, leading to the spectacles that are common today. These events were both large and intimate, and allowed Elvis to explore a unique, emotional repertoire of songs from many genres. Unfortunately, this creative moment was offset by his demons that were certainly not helped by Vegas’ 24-hour casino culture. In addition to those also interviewed for The Early Years, Bill Medley of the Righteous Brothers and Presley’s backup singer, Cissy Houston, also add insightful comments about Elvis’ Las Vegas years..