The Life And Career Of Elvis Aron Presley: 1960

Before Elvis returned to the US, RCA issued a third part of the "A Touch Of Gold" series. But the sales of 50,000 copies made clear, that the fans were tired of the old stuff and new material was needed as soon as possible. Taking account of increasing the number of movies, Colonel Parker and RCA agreed to consider the soundtracks as regular Presley records and therefore to make it easier to met the contract. Besides that, the label would stop to deduct the production costs of the records from the royalties. On top of that Colonel Parker demanded a veto right, so no record of his client could be released without his approval. The management of the label agreed and therefore enabled the Colonel to orchestrate every detail of his client's career. Parker even was bold and clever enough to make RCA pay him an annual fee of 27,000 USD for his promotional acitvities and the supply of photos.

On March 3rd Elvis was welcomed to the States by Parker, Nancy Sinatra and some business associates. Three days later the singer was officially released from the Army. A private train brought him to Memphis, of course the Colonel had made sure, that his client was greeted by fans at each and every station. At Graceland Mansion Elvis held a press conference and spoke about his future projects. When he was asked about Priscilla, the king talked the relationship down. His official liason with Anita Wood was the slightest of his problems. If he had admitted to be in love with a girl at the age of 14, his career and maybe even his life as a free man would have been over.

A few days after meeting the press, Elvis once again dyed his hair black. But he left it  comparatively short and didn't grow sideburns again. In total he looked more conservative and more mature. On March 20th the singer returned to Nashville to record new songs. His singing technique had improved and the new Stereo sound emphasized his vocal abilities. Like he had done in 1958, Elvis once again booked the a-team of Nashville. Scotty Moore and DJ Fontana still were around, but more or less for old times sake. They simply were not as good as people like Hank Garland and Buddy Harman. Just three days after the sessions, RCA shipped "Stuck On You" / "Fame And Fortune". As expected the single reached the top of the charts and sold several million copies. On March 26th Presley appeared on Frank Sinatra's recent tv show. For his eight minutes in front of the cameras he received 125,000 USD, at the time an outrageous payment. The show was seen by 41.5% of the television audience and therefore was a major success. On April 3rd Elvis continued the recording sessions, four days later he was able to deliver a new album. "Elvis Is Back!" peaked at number 2 of the Billboard Charts and sold 300,000 copies during its initial sales period. Commercially it was a success, but not the mega hit everyone had hoped for.

From April 21st to June 24th Elvis was busy with the production of "GI Blues". To capitalize on his Army stint, the king played a singing soldier, who was stationed in West-Germany (from 1949 to 1990 Germany was devided in the "Federal Republic Of Germany" / "West Germany" and the "German Democratic Republic" / "East Germany"). The king neither liked the lightweight story, nor the accordant movie tunes. Elvis also didn't appreciate the mix of "It's Now Or Never", the a-side of his forthcoming single. The sound engineers had to remix the track, which delayed the release for several weeks. But when "It's Now Or Never" / "A Mess Of Blues" finally hit the market, it soon became not just a number one hit, but the best sold single of the whole decade. Therefore Elvis had managed the stunt to come across with the best selling singles of the 1950s and the 1960s!

On July 3rd Vernon married his girlfriend Dee Stanley. Elvis was so disgusted by the relationship, that he didn't even attend his father's wedding. Also in the summer he rented a house at Perugia Way in Bel Air, which he would keep for the next five years. He also continued his karate training and was given a black belt. During the same period Elvis hired Charlie Hodge and Joe Esposito, who he had met during his Army stint. Togehter with Red West, Lamar Fike and several others the group soon became known as the Memphis Mafia. Colonel Parker wasn't fond of his client employing friends and relatives. He wrote a letter to Elvis in which he made clear, that he regarded these people as nothing but useless parasites. To avoid the impression, he was badmouthing anyone behind their backs, all members of the group received a copy.

Also in July Elvis started to work on "Black Star", a western movie produced by 20th Century Fox. A few weeks later it was decided to name the film "Flaming Star", so the title song had to be adjusted and recorded again. In October RCA released the soundtrack album "GI Blues". In contrast to Elvis, his fans loved the songs and turned the record into his best selling longplayer so far. A month later "Are You Lonesome Tonight" / "I Gotta Know" hit the stores and instantly became a number one hit. The gospel album "His Hand In Mine" didn't make it past number 13, but for Elvis it was an affair of the heart and the religious songs certainly catered to his new, mature image.

The production of "Wild In The Country" began on November 6th. Interrupted by a short break on Christmas the work continued until January 20, 1961. While Elvis was working on the project for 20th Century Fox, Paramount released "GI Blues".  Just like the album the musical became an instant success and both products promoted each other. The Army flick soon turned out to be the most successful Presley film so far. Even though "GI Blues" still was shown in many cinemas, 20th Century Fox released "Flaming Star" on December 22nd. On the Box Office Survey the western appeared just once and it didn't earn even half of the money, "GI Blues" made.

Meanwhile Colonel Parker had gotten aware of the plan, to build a memorial for the vicims of Japan's attack of Pearl Habor during World War II. Instantly he began to organize a benefit show, which he announced for February 25, 1961. At the time his client would be filming "Blue Hawaii" and therefore would be on the islands anyway. So it was easy to do the show and establish Elvis' new image as a benevolent, patriotic young man.