Elvis Presley's appearance
on the Frank Sinatra "Welcome
Back" Show is saved for the
third act. Padding out the
moments till his
appearance are several
shudder-inducing ‘Dancing
For Dummies’ numbers
performed by the Tommy
Hansen Dancers,
appearances by Sammy Davis
Jnr & Peter Lawford (do
a little hoofing)
Joey Bishop (who did most
of the writing for the Rat
Pack) and Nancy. It’s
shocking to think that
they’re all gone but Nancy
and Joey. Bishop, with his
Tony Curtis voice, the
last of the Rat Pack, is
now 86.
And of course there’s
Sinatra himself, singing a
few standards using a
‘time machine’
through-line to illustrate
the period of time Elvis
was gone. His numbers,
backed by the Nelson
Riddle Orchestra, and his
patter with his buddies,
have an improvisatory feel
( barely rehearsed) To
some extent this is the
kind of casual mood the
Rat Pack always tried for.
Frank Sinatra seems pretty
warm towards his daughter,
Nancy, in this, his first
TV appearance with her,
and he reflects on her
engagement to Tommy Sands.
The subsequent marriage
lasted five years
(’60-’65).
Then came Elvis. Presley,
as always on pre-"68
Comeback Special" TV,
looks both uncomfortable
and great. His sideburns
may not have grown back,
but his pompadour
certainly had. And he
practically towers over
his host. What’s more,
he’s in better voice than
either Sinatra or Sammy
Davis Jr. This disc
belongs in the Elvis
collection rather than the
Sinatra collection: Elvis sings
"Fame and
Fortune" and "Stuck on
You" and the "Witchcraft"
duet with Frank Sinatra
ends the show.
