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Blake Shelton to Host NBC Elvis Tribute for 50th Anniversary of the King’s ‘Comeback Special’

”Music superstars“ will squeeze into leather jumpsuits for February airing

Jennifer Maas | December 3, 2018 @ 2:45 PM
Elvis All Star Tribute

NBC

The King has entered the building — er, he will on Feb. 17, as NBC announced Monday they’ve set a 50th anniversary tribute to Elvis Presley’s famous “Comeback Special,” which aired on the broadcaster in 1968.

Blake Shelton will host “Elvis All-Star Tribute,” a 2-hour affair which will see “music superstars” — lineup to be announced in early 2019 — “recreating the spectacle – even the staging – of that legendary night,” which is known for relaunching the late Presley’s career.

The ’68 broadcast was Presley’s first live TV performance since 196o on “The Frank Sinatra Timex Show: Welcome Home Elvis.” The legendary rocker came on stage dressed in a black leather jumpsuit, accompanied by a full band in front of a small audience.

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The February special will also include “rare Elvis footage” and interviews with The King’s ex-wife Priscilla Presley and director Steve Binder, both of whom were involved in the original event.

“The 50th Anniversary of the Elvis Comeback Special” is being produced by longtime Grammy Awards producer Ken Ehrlich.

“I can remember sitting in front of my television set and watching the Elvis special,” Ehrlich said. “I already knew that I could never do what he did as an artist, but seeing that show had a great deal to do with my dreams of having a career in television production. To this day, I’ve been grateful to Elvis and producer/director Steve Binder for inspiring me to be able to revisit that event 50 years later and pay our own homage to what an iconic moment that was in both music and television.”

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See the key art for the special below.

“Elvis All-Star Tribute” will air Sunday, Feb. 17, 2019 from 9-11 p.m. on NBC.

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