Tne Year Elvis Listened

From the moment he began to taping his 68 Special to the moment he stepped on stage in Las Vegas for the first time in nearly a decade, Elvis let people outside his inner circle make his decisions. Had it been up to the Colonel the 68 Special would've been an all Christmas affair. Had it been up to Elvis' song handlers, his post Special recordings would've been his usual late 60's fluff. But Elvis let Producer Chips Moman pick the musicians and most of the songs. And he let the TV producers do their thing without the Colonel's meddling. Sadly, one year is not long and it couldn't last. If you look at Elvis' set list in 69 and early 70 it's strong, but by late 70 the rut had settled in, both on stage and on record. Moman only got through the 69 Memphis sessions to be replaced by overmatched Felton Jarvis. Elvis got less interested in concerts and phoned it in until he died. But for one year at least, Elvis was back where he started. Surrounded by people who saw his potential, wanted to guide him and in the end held his hand as long as they could, until he left home again.