Sinatra Welcomes Elvis Back From The Army…
At the link above is a very memorable duet…Frank is singing “Love Me Tender” and Elvis is singing “Witchcraft” and they merge beautifully!
On March 26, at 6.15pm, taping for the ‘Frank Sinatra Timex Special…Welcome Home Elvis’ took place at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami. It was Presley’s first appearance on television in over three years, and his first serious performance since 1957, making Presley nervous about how he would be received.
Colonel Parker, perhaps due to nerves of his own, had arranged for as many Presley fans as possible to fill the audience, although at least half of it was still made up of middle-aged Sinatra fans. For the occasion, to fit in with Sinatra’s “rat pack” persona, Presley wore a tuxedo.
On July 15, 1959 it was announced that Presley, upon his release from the Army, would be making his first television appearance on Frank Sinatra’s fourth and final Timex-sponsored variety show. For the special, Presley would receive $125,000, an unheard of sum at the time for a single television appearance. Sinatra was not happy about the amount, knowing full well that even he was not being paid that much for the show, but he played along knowing that Presley’s appearance would attract huge ratings for his show… something that his three previous specials had failed to do.
The show aired nationally on ABC-TV on the evening of May 12, 1960 between 9.30 and 10.30pm and drew approximately 68% of the overall television audience. To put that into perspective, the second rated show in that timeslot, NBC’s ‘Ernie Ford Show’, featuring Johnny Cash and Groucho Marx, pulled in an audience share of just 21%. Enjoy and share! – Bobby Ellerbee
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