FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did the comprehensive '68 and Aloha DVDs not happen before 2004? What is the ownership history?

All three of Elvis’s TV specials originally were owned in equal shares by Elvis Presley, his manager Colonel Tom Parker and RCA Records. In the early 1980’s, RCA sold its third to Arnie Holland, owner of Lightyear Entertainment. In 1983, as part of a settlement with Colonel Parker regarding various legal issues, Elvis Presley Enterprises gained ownership of Colonel’s third.

EPE and Lightyear issued adapted editions the original American broadcast versions of ’68 and Aloha on home video in 1985. There has not been an official release of the 1977 television Elvis in Concert to date. See the explanation in our separate FAQ item on that topic.

Original ’68 producer/director Steve Binder was commissioned to put together for EPE and Lightyear a second ’68 program called Elvis, One Night With You, which was a full-length presentation of Black Leather Sit-Down Show #1. It aired on HBO in 198? and was released on home video that same year.

In 1999, the Aloha rehearsal concert was released on home video as The Alternate Aloha Concert.

In 1996, EPE bought out Lightyear’s share of ownership in all the footage for the 1968, 1973 and 1977 TV specials and became sole owner. Part of the purchase agreement was that Lightyear could continue as the North American home video distributor for the two ’68 videos and the two Aloha videos for several more years.

In 1999, Lightyear exercised its contractual right to issue the four ’68 and Aloha home video programs on DVD. Meanwhile, EPE started making plans for comprehensive DVD releases to come after its contract with Lightyear ended and a global distributor could be secured.

EPE started work on the comprehensive DVDs in 2001, engaging the services of a producer and editor. Work did not progress very far and that relationship ended after a long production delay. EPE was also still looking for the right global distributor.

In 2002, the historically “up and down” relationship between EPE and BMG, a global multi-media company and owner of RCA Records and Elvis’s recording catalog, reached a new level of “up” with BMG’s then new Elvis team and a collaborative effort to promote the ELV1S 30 #1 HITS CD, which became a global smash. With the great new relationship, it became clear that BMG should be the distributor for the ’68 and Aloha comprehensive DVD sets. BMG was enthusiastic about EPE’s invitation to be the DVD distributor, but their Elvis calendar was very full in 2002 with the 30 #1 HITS project and more. It was also very full in 2003 with, among other things, the follow-up CD entitled ELVIS 2ND TO NONE. A 2004 release of the DVD sets was scheduled. Meanwhile the work of planning the content of the DVD sets resumed.

Any work that had been done by the previously hired producer and editor on the ’68 and Aloha material was set aside and the project of putting all the material together began again from scratch in the latter half of 2003. EPE’s Gary Hovey and Todd Morgan took a total hands-on approach as producers and went into the studio with producer/editor Ray Miller of Technicolor Creative Services (a.k.a. Complete Post) in Hollywood and, together, they assembled all the material. A scroll through the 2004 DVD credits gives you some indication of the level of time, care and expertise that went into these DVD sets through the efforts of a lot of great people who became part of the project along the way.

All previous home video and DVD releases of ’68 and Aloha material were discontinued in 2004 and replaced by the new, comprehensive DVD sets.

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