Timeline:
January 6: During a meeting between producer Felton Jarvis and Elvis, Memphis Mafiosi Marty Lacker proposes -- not for the first time -- working with producer Chips Moman at American Recording Studios, just across Memphis in a poor (and some say, dangerous) part of town. Elvis finally agrees: Moman, a former Stax producer, has opened American in order to produce a more country version of the soul he oversaw at his old label. The mixture would seem a perfect fit for Elvis; Moman immediately reschedules a Neil Diamond session to give Elvis an in.January 13: Elvis appears at American Sound for his first session, and though the band is skeptical, due to his status and entourage, Presley removes all doubt with the first cut, a song called "Long Black Limousine." Chips would later remember actually sensing Elvis' presence when he arrived in the parking lot. Ending at four a.m., the sessions clearly reinvigorate the King, and he tells the Mafia "that felt really great... I just want to see if I can have a Number One record one more time." He does, with "Suspicious Minds," a song Chips specifically sets aside for Elvis to record on the 22nd.
January 14: Elvis' cold, present from the beginning of the sessions, worsens, forcing eventual vocal retakes of "I'm Movin' On" and "Gentle On My Mind."
January 22: Elvis meets singer Roy Hamilton, who has been recording during the day at American Sound, and offers him the song "Angelica," slated for Elvis' session. Friction develops between the Colonel's representatives and Moman when they attempt to get the usual songwriting royalties off "Suspicious Minds," a song not owned by Hill and Range, the Colonel's usual publishing outlet. (Chips adamantly refuses.) Parker's boys call the Colonel at home to complain, and his decision is to let Elvis learn his lesson and "fall on his ass." Later, Elvis asks Chips, "We have some hits, don't we, Chips?" To which the producer replies, "Maybe some of your biggest."
February 1: Elvis and his family fly to Aspen, CO, and celebrate Lisa Marie's first birthday there.
February 20: Elvis purchases a Kodak microfilm reader which he will use to microfilm over four thousand personal items.
February 26: In what is largely a staged photo op, Elvis signs his contract to appear at the International Hotel in Las Vegas, making it valid right there on the casino's construction site.
March 12: Elvis begins filming his thirty-first and last fictional film, Change Of Habit, in which, as a ghetto doctor, he accidentally seduces a nun played by Mary Tyler Moore. Only four songs appear in the film, one of which is a American Sound session recording, "Rubberneckin'."
April 9: A sore throat derails filming for a week as Elvis recuperates in Palm Springs.
April 29: Elvis finishes work on Change Of Habit, ending his movie career.
May 4: Elvis, along with his family and the family of various Memphis Mafiosi, vacations in Hawaii for three weeks.
May 20: The Circle G Ranch Elvis purchased for horse riding in Mississippi is sold.
May 28: At the behest of the Colonel, Elvis begins hanging out at the gates of Graceland in the late afternoons, signing autographs for lucky fans.
Next... Elvis 1969 timeline (continued)
