The Life And Career Of Elvis Aron Presley: 1966
Even though just one out of three pictures of Elvis' current contract with MGM had been made, the studio offered a further contract of another four movies to the king. In total the singer would receive guaranteed payments of 3.4 million USD as well as a share in the profits (reduced by the guaranteed fees) of 50%. It was the best offer Elvis had ever received and so he accepted.
Meanwhile there were rumors in the press, that Colonel Parker wanted to sell his contract with Elvis. As usual neither Parker, nor Presley commented on the situation. Also in February the king rented a mansion at Rocca Place, Bel Air.
To repeat the success of previous year's easter release, RCA issued "Joshua Fit The Battle" / "Known Only To Him" as well as "Milky White Way" / "Swing Down Sweet Chariot". Because all four songs were available on the album "His Hand In Mine" ever since 1960, the sales were so low, that none of the songs came even near the charts. In March RCA released the next string of records. This time it was the soundtrack album "Frankie And Johnny" and a single featuring the songs "Frankie And Johnny" and "Please Don't Stop Loving Me". The single peaked at number 25 of the hitparade and sold 400,000 units. The longplayer charted at number 20 and moved 250,000 copies. It turned out to be the lowest selling Presley album to date. The movie also fell short of expectations. On the domestic market it barely earned 2 million USD in rental fees and was listed at number 48 of the annual Box Office Survey. Because his client had gained a few pounds, Colonel Parker used older photos to promote the flick.
On May 25th Elvis travelled to Nashville. For the first time since January 1964 he was about to record something else than movie tunes. The sessions were produced by Felton Jarvis, who was a long-term admirer of the king. On June 12th the singer returned and recorded more songs for future single releases.
The first output of these sessions was the single "Come What May" / "Love Letters". This one, too, didn't make it past the top20 and didn't sell more than 400,000 copies. The soundtrack album "Paradise, Hawaiian Style" charted five positions above "Frankie And Johnny", but solely due to the market environment. In fact it sold 25,000 units less. However, the movie performed better than "Frankie And Johnny" and earned rental fees of 2.5 million USD. Because of his clients weight, Colonel Parker once again used older promo photos.
Between June 27th and September 2nd Elvis worked on "Spinout", another film for MGM. Compared to the currently shown Paramount release the singer had lost some weight and also appeared to be more motivated. To stay up-to-date RCA also wanted to distribute the king's music via the new 8track format. On August 16th Elvis signed the agreement and received prepayed royalties of 100,000 USD in return. Two weeks later the executives of the label made use of their right to opt and prolonged their contract with Elvis until 1974. There was also a new deal with Paramount. This time it was for one picture only. The king was to receive 500,000 USD and a profit share of 20%. Compared to his contracts with MGM the payment and the profit share were low. But a time slot had to be filled and Presley and Parker might have thought it would be better to work and earn half a million than to stay at home and earn nothing. The production of "Easy Come, Easy Go" went from September 27th to November 7th. Because Hal Wallis, the producer of the Paramount picture, wasn't happy with the king's appearance in "Paradiese, Hawaiian Style" and "Frankie And Johnny", he wrote a letter to Parker and asked him to make sure, that his client was in shape.
On September 13th RCA released "Spinout" / "All That I Am". Once again the single sold 400,000 copies, but it charted just at number 40. For Elvis this was another low-point. The soundtrack album "Spinout" reached number 18 and sold 300,000 units. Therefore it outsold the two previous longplayers, but still wasn't a hit by any means. The movie itself generated rental fees of 1.77 million USD and was ranked at number 57. In late November RCA released "If Every Day Was Like Christmas" / "How Would You Like To Be". Everyone was hoping for a seasonal hit, but the single was just picked up 200,000 times during its initial sales period.
Also in December Elvis and Priscilla officially got engagend. To the outside world it all was presented as a fairytale of true love, but in fact the king had no choice but to marry her. They had met when she was just 14 years old and she lived with him since she was 18. Her father insisted on Elvis' promise to marry her as soon as she was coming of age and this very date was May 24, 1967. To make it short: If the king had refused to marry Priscilla, the story about his behavior had been given to the press and the lolita-scandal would have torn Elvis' clean-cut image and most of his business connections in pieces. Colonel Parker saw the positive sides of the procedures. His client was 31 years old and the marriage was a great tool to create a more mature image. It was time to turn the free-wheeling bachelor into a more serious husband. Elvis' fans had grown up and he had to follow, if he didn't want to loose them. Besides that Parker hoped, that a marriage -and maybe some children- would ground his client, get him away from his pills and religious kicks and turn his focus to his career again.
Even though Elvis' drawing power at the box office had weakened, the movies made him 2.5 million USD. Therfore he was number 10 on the list of the best paid stars of Hollywood. Additionally the music business generated 644,000 USD. Financially his situation was better than ever.