Box set and digital reissue to celebrate Elvis’ triumphant 1969
Elvis Presley’s famed December ’68 Comeback Special was just the beginning of a period that would find the King’s career fully revived in 1969. Now, 50 years later, Sony/legacy is celebrating Elvis’ annus mirabilis with a new box set and deluxe digital reissue chronicling his studio and stage work.
On Aug. 9, the label will release “Live 1969,” an 11-disc set documenting multiple shows from Presley’s August 1969 engagement at Las Vegas’ International Hotel — his first concert performances in eight years.
The box set will include four shows being released in full for the first time ever — as well as two concerts from the run that have remained unheard for a half century. The package also includes a 52-page booklet with rare photos, memorabilia and an oral history by author Ken Sharp. In addition, there will be a separate vinyl release, a 2-LP set titled “Live at the International Hotel, Las Vegas, NV August 26, 1969,” documenting Presley’s midnight show.
While the summer of ’69 saw Elvis flourishing on stage, he actually kicked off the year with a return to serious music making in the studio. As it happened, the hottest band, producer and recording facility in the world were right in Presley’s backyard of Memphis.
Over the years, producer Lincoln “Chips” Moman and his American Sound Studio — located on Thomas Street in North Memphis — had grown into a monster. Moman had recruited a crack unit of players from the house bands at Hi Records and Phillips Records to form the American Studio group, known as The Memphis Boys: guitarist Reggie Young, drummer Gene Chrisman, pianist Bobby Wood, organist Bobby Emmons and bassists Mike Leech and Tommy Cogbill.
The lineup, mostly with Moman behind the board, would become a hitmaking machine in the latter half of the ‘60s, working up a series of chart smashes for artists like the Box Tops (“The Letter”), Dusty Springfield (“Son of a Preacher Man”), Neil Diamond (“Sweet Caroline”), B.J. Thomas (“Hooked on a Feeling”) and Bobby Womack (“Fly Me To The Moon”). Earlier this week, The Memphis Boys, were named among the 2019 class for the Memphis Music Hall of Fame.
The collaboration between Elvis, Moman and The Memphis Boys would result in Presley’s return to the charts, as “Suspicious Minds” reached No. 1, and the resulting album, “From Elvis in Memphis,” would become a gold-selling global smash hit.
On Aug. 23, Sony/legacy will put out a comprehensive digital collection of the sessions called “American Sound 1969.” According to the label, the set features “over 90 tracks of rare and unreleased material” from Elvis’ American Sound Studio sessions. Both “Live 1969” and “American Sound 1969” are available for pre-order at Elvis.com.