Elvis Presley wears a leather jacket and stands in front of an audience. He stands with his back to the camera but has his head turned.

Music

Glenn Danzig Felt Elvis’ ’68 Comeback Special’ Was a Response to Hippies

Glenn Danzig discussed Elvis Presley’s mindset when he made the ‘68 Comeback Special’. He contrasted Elvis with The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.

by Matthew Trzcinski

Published on February 10, 2024

2 min read

Glenn Danzig felt Elvis Presley’s ’68 Comeback Special’ was a response to the British Invasion

During a 2020 interview with Rolling Stone, the “Mother” singer was asked what he thought of Elvis’ ’68 Comeback Special. “I remember watching it as a kid and thinking, ‘Wow. This is pretty cool,'” he recalled. “He basically hadn’t done any live performing.

“He came back from the Army and was just doing movies,” he said. “Then all this stuff was happening like the British Invasion and the Mod thing and hippies. I think he was like, ‘Where’s my place?’ So he went, ‘I’m Elvis. This is my place.'”

The ’68 Comeback Special’ broke a slump for the King that lasted over half a decade

The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits contains an interesting breakdown of Elvis’ temporary fall from grace. It was a slow decline rather. Elvis’ “Good Luck Charm” reached No. 1 in April 1962, and it would be his final No. 1 single for a while. In 1962 and 1963, he reached the top 10 again with the songs “She’s Not You,” “Return to Sender,” “(You’re the) Devil in Disguise,” and “Bossa Nova Baby.” For the following five-and-a-half years, the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll only had one top 10: his cover of Darrell Glenn’s “Crying in the Chapel.”

The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits cites The Beatles, The Monkees, The Doors, and Simon and Garfunkel as some of the acts that overshadowed Elvis during that time period. All of those bands were, to some degree, associated with the hippie subculture. The ’68 Comeback Special broke the “All Shook Up” singer’s losing streak and helped cement his status as a legend.

Glenn Danzig contrasted Elvis Presley with The Beatles and The Rolling Stones

In his Rolling Stone interview, Danzig interestingly contrasted the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll with The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. “There are so many great Elvis songs,” he opined. “If you think about the short time that he was recording, and how many records he did, it’s a lot. He was probably averaging three or four records a year, which is crazy.

“What other artist can you think about that does three or four records a year?” he added. “I think it was different back then. I think other bands were working at a similar pace — bands like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones were probably putting out two records a year.” Perhaps Elvis would have stayed on top during the mid-1960s if he slowed down his output so he could have made his albums better and more hip. Maybe he could’ve found a way to bridge his sound with hippie trends.