For fans of The King, today is an historic day. Today is the 40th anniversary of the original airing of Elvis Presley's 1968 Comeback Special. Officially, NBC titled the show "Elvis" but it's more commonly referred to as Elvis' 68 Comeback Special.

Elvis' manager Colonel Tom Parker wanted the show to be basically an Elvis Christmas special, but the producers of the show convinced him that the show was an opportunity to re-establish the singer's reputation after years of cookie cutter movies and mediocre records. The broadcast combined big, choreographed numbers, lavish sets and informal "live" sessions, and was a huge success. The show was the highest rated television special of the year, and was the first one-man TV special to appear on commercial American television.

The reviews of the special said that the informal live jam session was the most popular part of the show. It showed Elvis wearing the awesome black leather jumpsuit, jamming with just a few musicians in front of a small audience is regarded as a forerunner of the "Unplugged" concert concept, later made popular on MTV. The structured portions of the speical were filmed on June 24 and 25. On June 27 and 29 Elvis taped the informal jam sessions, performing two sets on each day; he took a one hour break in between sets to shower and have his leather jumpsuit drycleaned .

Two versions of the Comeback Special were initially aired by NBC. The first included Elvis singing "Blue Christmas" - the only Christmas song the producers agreed to use. When the special was rebroadcast the following summer, it was replaced by "Tiger Man."

The Comeback Special did in deed start Elvis' big comeback. After the special he began his stint in Las Vegas and toured across the country. The hit records returned, including one of my favorites "Suspiscious Minds" in 1969.