Today in Music (1968): Elvis Presley’s comeback special aired on NBC

December 3, 1968 Elvis Presley’s comeback special aired on NBC

In the 1950s, there was no artist bigger on the planet than Elvis Presley. By the early ‘60s, however, his career was beginning to wane. He made a series of B-grade movies and largely dismissed soundtracks which showed diminishing chart results. By 1968, he hadn’t released a proper studio album in six years and his image was considered “uncool”. Elvis’ manager, Colonel Parker, was struggling to get the $1,000,000 he demanded for Elvis in a film and turned to NBC to finance a television special. Parker envisioned a Christmas special but Steve Binder, the show’s director, suggested a show built around extravagant musical sequences and lavish set designs. The numbers were recorded from June 20-23. After filming the numbers, Elvis and his band often unwound with improvised blues and rock numbers. Binder suggested some intimate live footage be integrated into the special as well. Elvis was initially reluctant since he hadn’t performed live since 1961, but agreed to tape some performances at the NBC Burbank studios. The final show comprised of mix of the large choreographed numbers and the informal live sessions. The latter have come to be regarded as a forerunner to the Unplugged series launched by MTV in the 1990s. When the show aired, it attracted 42% of the viewing audience. It rated as the top prime time program for the week. Elvis’ career saw a revival which included a four-week stint in Las Vegas, record-breaking sell-out performances across the United States, and a return to the studio. The soundtrack released in support of the special peaked at #8. A 1984 video, Elvis – One Night with You, featured an uncut, unedited look at one of the sit-down sessions. A 2004 DVD release captured all the video footage still in existence. A 1998 album, Memories, was issued as an expanded anniversary edition of the original NBC-TV Special album. The Tiger Man album from that year featured the complete sit-down performances. A 2008 CD box set, Complete ’68 Comeback Special, offered up the complete recording sessions from the special. The special was hugely important in restoring Elvis’ sales clout and cool factor. However, as Ernest Jorgensen says in the book Elvis: A Life in Music, the “real effect was much broader and deeper. It re-established his place as a dominant force in American music and culture.” EH Resources and Related Links: Dave’s Music Database: “History Index” for more important dates in music history DMDB encyclopedia entry for Elvis Presley EH Elvis-history-blog.com Elvis’ 1968 Comeback Special Remains a Spiritual Experience Modernhistorian.blogspot.com On this day in history: Elvis’ comeback special aired on TV, 1968 Wikipedia.org Elvis (1968 TV program) Related Links: Last updated 11/26/2023.

Eric Clapton released From the Cradle, his first blues album

From the Cradle Eric Clapton

Released: September 13, 1994 Peak: 11 US, 11 UK, 2 CN, 6 AU, 11 DF Sales (in millions): 3.0 US, 0.1 UK, 6.5 world (includes US and UK) Genre: blues

Tracks: Song Title (Writers) [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to charts. Blues Before Sunrise (Carr) [2:58] Third Degree (Boyd/Dixon) [5:07] Reconsider Baby (Fulson) [3:20] Hoochie Coochie Man (Dixon) [3:16] Five Long Years (Boyd) [4:47] I’m Tore Down (Thompson) [3:02] (9/10/94, #5 AR) How Long Blues (Carr) [3:09] Goin’ Away Baby (Lane) [4:00] Blues Leave Me Alone (Lane) [3:36] Sinner’s Prayer (Fulson/Glenn) [3:20] Motherless Child (traditional) [2:57] (10/22/94, #23 AR) It Hurts Me Too (James) [3:17] Someday After a While (King/Thompson) [4:27] Standin’ Round Crying (Waters) [3:39] Driftin’ (Brown/Moore/Williams) [3:10] Groaning the Blues (Dixon) [6:05]

Rating: 3.896 out of 5.00 (average of 26 ratings) Quotable: “One of Clapton’s finest moments” – Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: Eric Clapton’s 1992 Unplugged gave him the most successful album of his career. It won the Grammy for Album of the Year and has sold more than 20 million copies. Instead of stressing him, however, Clapton felt free to do whatever he wanted. He opted to record an all-blues cover album, the first in his career, despite long being associated with the genre. Reviews were mixed. All Music Guide’s Stephen Thomas Erlewine said “If it wasn't for Clapton's labored vocals, everything would be perfect.” STE “When he sings, Clapton loses that sense of originality, choosing to mimic the vocals of the original recordings. At times, his overemotive singing is painful; he doesn’t have the strength to pull off Howlin’ Wolf’s growl or the confidence to replicate Muddy Waters’ assured phrasing.” STE Entertainment Weekly’s Tom Sinclair considered the recordings “flawless” but boring, WK but Erlewine said “the album manages to re-create the ambience of postwar electric blues, right down to the bottomless thump of the rhythm section.” STE He asserted it was easy to overlook Clapton’s “vocal shortcomings,” STE saying “as long as he plays his guitar, he can't fail – his solos are white-hot and evocative, original and captivating.” STE Clapton once again received a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year. While he didn’t win that, he did take home the Grammy for Best Traditional Blues Album. He subsequently recorded more blues albums, including Riding with the King with B.B. King, Me and Mr. Johnson (a collection of Robert Johnson covers), and The Road to Escondido with J.J. Cale.

Resources and Related Links: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Eric Clapton STE Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide WK Wikipedia Other Related DMDB Pages: First posted 3/31/2008; last updated 3/19/2024.

Nirvana “All Apologies” charted

All Apologies Nirvana

Writer(s): Kurt Cobain (see lyrics here) Released: December 6, 1993 First Charted: December 4, 1993 Peak: 45a US, 22 GR, 30 RR, 4 AR, 12 MR, 32 UK, 41 CN, 58 AU, 1 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.2 UK Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 128.0 video, 178.23 streaming

Awards (Nirvana): Click on award for more details. Awards (Sinéad O’Connor):

About the Song: Nirvana became not just the poster children for the grunge movement but one of the biggest bands in the world with their major-label debut, Nevermind, and its iconic single “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” The success was daunting for the band’s singer/songwriter and guitarist Kurt Cobain, who never aspired to a life of fame and fortune. Despite the group’s concerted effort at a more underground sound with third album In Utero, Nirvana found themselves at the top of the charts again with a multi-million seller. The album, released in September 1993, was preceded by the single “Heart-Shaped Box.” Its follow-up, “All Apologies,” came out in December. Like its predecessor, it wasn’t given a specific physical release in the United States. Nonetheless, it proved successful at radio, named by BMI as the most played song on American radio from 1994-5. WK Nirvana recorded a performance of the song in December 1993 for MTV’s Unplugged and it became the unofficial video for the song. It also reportedly gained more radio airplay than the studio version. WK Cobain wrote the song in 1990 and the group first recorded it on New Year’s Day in 1991. When Nirvana recorded it again for In Utero, producer Steve Albini said he liked “the sound of the song as a contrast to the more aggressive ones” and that “it sounded lighter, but it didn’t sound conventional.” WK The song was remixed by Scott Litt (who’d worked with R.E.M.) to boost the volume on the vocals. WK Cobain’s song“of regret and apology” TC took on even greater weight in light of his suicide on April 8, 1994. He “seems lost in a fog of other people’s expectations and his own low self-steem. He was sorry to his fans that he had abandoned them by being successful, he was sorry to his family, but mostly he was sorry for himself.” TC It became “a pointed look at the manner in which the media can so easily forget (or, more appropriately, ignore) the fact that its quarry might have feelings.” DT Sinéad O’Connor, best known for her #1 hit “Nothing Compares 2 U” in 1990, recorded the song on her 1994 album Universal Mother. Resources: TC Toby Creswell (2005). 1001 Songs: The Great Songs of All Time. Thunder’s Mouth Press: New York, NY. Page 164. DT Dave Thompson (2011). 1000 Songs That Rock Your World. Krause Publications: Iola, WI. Page 115. WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 7/12/2023.

Eric Clapton reached #2 with “Tears in Heaven”

Tears in Heaven Eric Clapton

Writer(s): Eric Clapton, Will Jennings (see lyrics here) Released: January 8, 1992 First Charted: January 11, 1992 Peak: 2 US, 11 CB, 13 GR, 3 RR, 13 AC, 9 AR, 5 UK, 12 CN, 37 AU, 1 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): 3.3 US, 0.4 UK, 4.91 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 4.0 radio, 198.95 video, 378.52 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Eric Clapton launched his career in the 1960s, making a name for himself with the Yardbirds, John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, Cream, and Blind Faith before launching his solo career in the ‘70s (and making an album under the Derek + the Dominoes banner). On the charts, he reached #1 in 1974 with his version of Bob Marley’s “I Shot the Sheriff.” His biggest selling song, however, came nearly two decades later with 1992’s “Tears in Heaven.” WK The song peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and won Grammys for Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. It was originally featured on the Rush soundtrack, but then appeared on Clapton’s Unplugged album. The later is the best-selling album of Clapton’s career, selling over 25 million worldwide and winning the Grammy for Album of the Year. Clapton had seen plenty of tragedy in his life, but the one-two punch of late 1990 and early 1991 might have been the most devastating. In August 1990, his friend and fellow musician Stevie Ray Vaughan and Clapton’s manager and two of his roadies were killed in a helipcoter accident. On March 20, 1991, his four-year-old son Conor died when he fell from a 53rd-floor window of a New York City apartment. WK Clapton poured his grief into “Tears in Heaven.” The song was ambiguous enough that it worked in the context of the score he was crafting for the movie Rush about a narcotics agent who becomes an addict. He asked Will Jennings for help on the song. Jennings had worked with Steve Winwood and written the #1 movie songs “Up Where We Belong” for An Officer and a Gentleman and “My Heart Will Go On” for Titanitc. Jennings thought it was too personal and that Clapton should write it alone, but he relented. Clapton wasn’t sure he wanted to release the song, but was convinced by the Lili Zanuck, the director of Rush, that the song might help others cope with grief. SF Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Eric Clapton AMG All Music Guide review by Matthew Greenwald SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 1/28/2021; last updated 12/24/2022.