The special included a sit-down session that showcased Presley in an informal setting, surrounded by fans and a small band.

Presley attempted to move into more dramatic roles, trying to reduce the prominence of musical numbers to center on his acting with Flaming Star (1960) and Wild in the Country (1961).

With the passage of time, he felt that his connection to the music business was weakening, causing depression and alienation as the quality of his films deteriorated.

[8] In October 1967, Parker approached Tom Sarnoff, NBC West Coast vice president, to propose a Christmas television special.

The US$1,250,000 package (about $11.4 million in 2023 prices)[9] included the financing of a motion picture (for US$850,000), its soundtrack (for US$25,000), the television special (US$250,000) and US$125,000 reserved for the costs related to a rerun.

[12] However, his opinion changed after he began talks with the special's producer, Bob Finkel, who persuaded Singer, NBC and Parker to alter the show's original concept.

Finkel obtained Parker's approval that the show was to be centered only on Presley, while enough material for a soundtrack album and a Christmas single was to be recorded.

Initially reluctant to direct the special, Binder was convinced by his associate Bones Howe, who had met Presley during the 1950s while he worked at Radio Recorders as an audio engineer.

Bearde and Blye proposed an idea based on Maurice Maeterlinck's The Blue Bird that was intended to portray Presley's career through his songs.

"[15] An informal segment was planned featuring Presley talking to members of his entourage in a scripted conversation that was to show him as self-deprecating while discussing his film performances.

The production was further complicated when Goldenberg complained to Binder that Strange had not completed any musical arrangements for the special with only two weeks before the end of preproduction.

[18] On June 4, Senator Robert Kennedy was shot at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles after giving a live television speech; he died two days later.

Binder stated in a 2005 interview with Elvis Australia that "One night when we were rehearsing, the television set was on the other room and all of a sudden there was this moment of silence.

Goldenberg asked Finkel to remove Presley's large entourage from the production area, complaining that they interfered with the creative process.

[19] Binder and Howe developed the concept of the informal section of the show after seeing Presley interacting with his entourage while playing music during breaks.

Binder planned to shoot the segment in the locker room to give the public a sense of how Presley's music was developed in an intimate setting, but Parker opposed this concept.

[24] The arrangements of the songs for the stand-up shows were fast-paced, and Presley accompanied them with shakes, gyrations and facial expressions that he emphasized with fist gestures and knee-drops.

A large sign in red letters that read ELVIS was placed on a black background, and Presley performed the song with a hand-held microphone.

[29][30][31] It placed first in the Nielsen television ratings for the week ending on December 8, displacing Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (also on NBC), which dropped to the second position.

"[37] Despite calling Presley's films "atrocities," a Chicago Tribune reviewer wrote that "it's great to have the old Elvis back" and characterized the performance as "dynamic, compelling, incredibly sensual.

"[39] The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote: "What separates real from ersatz stars is the quality of excitement, and this Presley generated generously whether singing, swinging, chatting with sidemen and an ecstatic audience or pacing restlessly like a caged animal.

"[41] A review by the Newspaper Enterprise Association published in the El Paso Herald-Post held that the special showcased a renewed and "more mature" Presley.

[42] The Daily Tar Heel published a favorable review of the special, remarking on the change since Presley's heyday, declaring: "Elvis still has magic.

"[45] After the taping of the first sit-down session, Presley called Parker to his dressing room to inform him that he wanted to return to touring.

[28] By January 1969, propelled by the success of the special and with his renewed enthusiasm, Presley began his return to recording non-soundtrack albums with producer Chips Moman.

[46] "Suspicious Minds," a standalone single from the sessions released in late August, also topped the charts and became one of Presley's signature songs.

He arranged a deal with Kirk Kerkorian, owner of the Las Vegas International Hotel, for Presley to play the newly built, 2,000-seat showroom for four weeks (two shows per night) for $400,000.

[56] In 2023, a documentary which focused primarily on Steve Binder's exprience while producing the special, titled Reinventing Elvis: The '68 Comeback, was released on Paramount Plus.

[57] In 2024, a documentary film about the special was released on Netflix titled Return of the King: The Fall and Rise of Elvis Presley.

In March 1969, RCA released "Memories" as a single (47–9730), a song that would later be reused as the closing credits music for the 1972 concert film Elvis on Tour.