It’s 1960, and Elvis is out of the Army and busy reclaiming his throne as the King of Rock ’n’ Roll. We look at his post-army recording sessions, his famous appearance on Frank Sinatra’s Welcome Back Elvis TV special, his attempts to become a serious actor and how they were thwarted. We examine his impact on pre-Beatles England and Europe, particularly in the form of early English and European Rock ’n’ Rollers. Finally, we explore the emergence and increasing popularity of both the Twist phenomenon and the Girl Group sound—the pioneers, writers and producers, with special attention to the role played by Phil Spector and the Brill Building in the development (and exploitation) of these artists.Week 1: Rock ’n’ roll in pre-Beatles England: Tommy Steele and Cliff Richard
- Week 2: England’s Billy Fury and France’s Vince Taylor and Johnny Hallyday
- Week 3: Sinatra’s Welcome Back Elvis Special
- Week 4: Elvis’s great post-army recording sessions
- Week 5: Elvis back in Hollywood and his last live concert appearance in seven years
- Week 6: The Twist: Hank Ballard ,Chubby Checker, Sam Cooke, the Beatles
- Week 7: Other dance crazes of the early 60’s
- Week 8: Girl Group Sound— Chantels and Shirelles, to The Supremes and Shangri-Las
“Gary is so knowledgeable, animated, fun and interesting”.