Elvis '56 - In the Beginning

Starring:Elvis Presley
Studio: Lightyear Video
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
This 1987 documentary is distinguished by both its smart narrative premise and wonderful performance footage of Elvis Presley at the dawn of his remarkable career. With the King's melodramatic life already a familiar subject for film and print biographies, producer-directors Alan and Susan Raymond instead shaped this hour-long profile around the year that saw the charismatic Memphis singer's eruption as a pop sensation. By taking that selective path, and focusing tightly on Presley's crucial transition to a major record deal, national media exposure, and the first decisive steps in his subsequent movie career, Elvis '56 achieves a unique cohesion while legitimately celebrating a remarkable period of growth.

Amazon.com

This 1987 documentary is distinguished by both its smart narrative premise and wonderful performance footage of Elvis Presley at the dawn of his remarkable career. With the King's melodramatic life already a familiar subject for film and print biographies, producer-directors Alan and Susan Raymond instead shaped this hour-long profile around the year that saw the charismatic Memphis singer's eruption as a pop sensation. By taking that selective path, and focusing tightly on Presley's crucial transition to a major record deal, national media exposure, and the first decisive steps in his subsequent movie career, Elvis '56 achieves a unique cohesion while legitimately celebrating a remarkable period of growth.

Description

1956 was Elvis Presley's breakthrough year, and this program takes you back, including his early television performances on the Dorsey Brothers Show and the Ed Sullivan Show, and an entire hour of rare footage and performances captured during the amazing year when Elvis Presley became not only a star, but a phenomenon.

Customer Reviews:

Takes me back!.......2007-07-02

The first time I heard Elvis they were playing his hit song over the pa system at the PX in Turkey and I was probably [...] I think it was Hound Dog...I didn't get to hear him again until the following year when Love Me Tender came to the Base Theater in Athens, Greece, and then he went into the Army and I became a teenager...and the rest is history! I was too busy putting myself through college and life after high school, so I missed out on those years too! Now I'm 62, retired, and reliving my youth!
This filled me in on his earlier hits and his beginnings. I never saw him on TV as we didn't have that overseas at the time. I really love this DVD; well done!

An excellent way to learn about Elvis.......2006-12-03

The first record I ever bought was the 78-rpm version of 'Heartbreak Hotel', so 1956 is a special year for me. This documentary does a great job of bringing back the feeling of what it was like in this early era of Rock 'N' Roll. This really shows Elvis at his peak. I would highly reccomend it.

Old Fart.......2006-08-22

I remember watching E on a B&W telly in a drug store while 10 of
us shared a coke as a reason for being there. Who had a name
like "ELVIS" in 1955. Nobody I know and certainly not in Canada.
I watched the Dorsey Brothers Show and E and the hair on the back of my neck stood up. The number 1 song on the "Hit Parade" was
Doris Day, "How Much is that Doggie In the Window"

As John Lennon says during the intro to ELVIS'56- "before
Elvis, there was nothing"

Old fans will love this DVD. New fans will appreciate the changes.

Old and new will get to know the world shaking change E made.

One of the very best E early years docu/dvds

Interesting early Elvis.......2005-07-10

I had never seen any early Elvis before. It was a treat!! Quality is not the greatest, but then it's old technology. Certainly worth the price if you want to "know" who Elvis is/was.

Elvis Presley's Early Years - A Terrific Video.......2005-02-17

This video of Presley's early career is wonderful. It may be the best of all the Presley videos. Don't miss it. You will be there for the early music and the meteoric rise of this rock n roll legend. The quality of the reproduction is excellent for the time period 1956. On this video you will see Elvis Presley at his best before he was spoiled by all the fame and money that came later in his life.

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