Where was Lisa Marie born? Where was Elvis's 1968 New Year's Eve party held? We visit the sites.
TIMESTAMP
0:00 Jan 1968 - RCA Studio B, Nashville
0:29 Baptist Memorial Hospital
1:30 Elvis greets fans in Graceland grounds
1:56 Late Feb - May overview
2:30 June 1968 NBC TV Special
3:11 July - August 1968 overview
3:25 Sept - Oct 1968 overview
3:55 December 1968 overview
4:41 Site of Thunderbird Lounge, Memphis
5:23 Outro
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Elvis Presley 1968 - Elvis daughter Lisa Marie born, Elvis NBC TV Special - Comeback Special & Hollywood career draws to an end. This is the latest in my potted history of Elvis - an Elvis biography - concentrating on areas we have videoed in and around Memphis on our trips of 2017 and 2019. Elvis in 1968. This starts in Nashville and RCA Studio B recording studio, in February Priscilla and Elvis's daughter Lisa Marie Presley was born at the Memphis Baptist Hospital. The time Elvis was in Memphis was spent at Memphian and Crosstown theaters. Elvis was soon back out to California, and this year saw the production of 3 Elvis movies - Live A Little Love A Little, Charro! and The Trouble With Girls (And How To Get Into It). Much more significant was the taping of the Elvis NBC TV special at the Burbank studios in June - the Elvis Comeback Special. It was shown on TV at the end of the year and was a huge success, helping Col Tom Parker make a deal with Kirk Kerkorian for Elvis to appear at the yet to open International Hotel in Las Vegas the following summer. Just like the year before, Elvis New Years Eve party was at Ernie Barrasso's Thunderbird Lounge on Adams Avenue in Memphis.
Sources of information include books by Peter Guralnick, Ernst Jorgensen, Pal Granlund, David English, Erik Lorentzen, Alan Hanson, Paul Richardson and Keith Flynn. Websites include elvisinfonet.com, elvis.com/au, historic-memphis.com, and the fascinating stories and information contributed by so many to the sites, and magazines Elvis The Man and His Music and Essential Elvis. Also the Memphis locations books Elvis - Memphis Style by Mike Freeman and Follow Me To Memphis by Andrew Hearn.
15 January 1968 A week after his 33rd birthday (which he spent at the Memphian), Elvis arrives in Nashville for 2 nights of recording at RCA Studio B.
Elvis records 'Too Much Monkey Business' and 'US Male'. The latter is, like 'Guitar Man', a Jerry Reed song and the songwriter is again on hand to provide guitar backing.
Baptist Memorial Hospital stood right here in front where this mound is really. Right across there was the Baptist Memorial Hospital.
February 1 1968 of course was a happier time as Lisa Marie was born here
February 1968 Elvis is photographed riding horses around the grounds of Graceland.
25 February 1968 Elvis leaves for California and the Presley's new home on Hillcrest Drive,
The soundtrack will include 'A Little Less Conversation' which will become a worldwide no.1 hit in 2002 in remixed form.
18 May 1968 To prepare physically for the special Elvis, along with Priscilla and several of the entourage and their partners head for a 2-week holiday in Hawaii.
June 1968 Elvis is on the TV special which will just be called 'Elvis'.
This culminates in his first live appearance in front of an audience on 26th June (2 sit-down 1 hour shows).
Elvis 2 stand-up shows on the 29 June 1968.
The production is completed on 30th June with Elvis standing on stage in an all-white outfit singing 'If I Can Dream'.
8 July 1968 Elvis reports today for filming of his latest movie, 'Charro!'.
Elvis spends most evenings watching movies, alternating between the Memphian and the Crosstown Theatre.
13 October - He flies back to LA ahead of reporting for soundtrack recording and filming of his penultimate acting role in
'The Trouble With Girls (And How To Get Into It) - the film is better than the title!
On 3rd December 1968 the Elvis NBC TV Special aired to great critical acclaim and high viewing figures.
Shortly after that, on Thursday 19th of December, the day after Elvis completed work on the film 'The Trouble With Girls', Colonel Parker agreed a deal with Kirk Kerkorian,
the owner of the International Hotel in Vegas which hadn't yet been completed but
he completed a deal with him for Elvis to make appearances there in the following summer
25 December - He has arrived back in Memphis on the 20th and spent most nights, as usual, at the Memphian.
Today is Lisa Marie's first Christmas and Elvis's father, Vernon, dresses up as Santa.
In the basement of this building here on Adams was the Thunderbird Lounge.
Thunderbird Lounge was started by Ernie Barrasso who worked at Hulls-Dobbs Ford Thunderbird car dealership hence the name the Thunderbird Lounge He met Elvis first of all when he sold him the car and he had aspirations to be a nightclub owner so he opened the lounge here in the basement in 1965 and Elvis held his New Year's Eve party here in 1968.