(54) GEORGE HAMILTON THE IVth and ME Watch THE WELCOME HOME ELVIS TV SPECIAL - FRANK SINATRA

Would Elvis would put on a suit and become a crooner like Bobby Darin and Fabian, Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra?

Well, the answer to that seemed to be yes - and no. The American public did get to see Elvis on TV suited up. Frank Sinatra had a television special that introduced this new mature Elvis, a man who, I knew, was continuing to exercise his voice and singing capabilities to sound like the American tenor Mario Lanza. (His inspiration for the way he sang on "It's Now or Never.") Elvis's facial expressions and restrained but ever-Elvis body language communicated that beneath that straight suit he was still nothin but a hound dog!

To be sure Colonel Parker had as many members of the Elvis Presley Fan Club in the audience as he could get, and they out did the applause Frank got too.

Interestingly, the Rat Pack (Frank Sinatra's entourage) was there, all but for Dean Martin, the one Elvis liked the most.

Frank Sinatra's daughter Nancy, looking like a prom queen, not yet hip, and with her naturally not yet blonde blonde hair, made an appearance on the show, which had the highest ratings for the evening.

After being there for Elvis return to Memphis, I got back on the Buddy Knox tour, and was in New York City watching the show with a friend of mine, the country boy George Hamilton the IV. He was in our home state of North Carolina and we stayed on the telephone long distance with each other, comparing notes about Elvis' performance and the entire show. We agreed, Elvis sounded better than ever.

Here's a couple You Tube videos of Elvis on the "Frank Sinatra Special" which also got called the "Welcome Home Elvis" special which was broadcast live from Miami Beach, Florida, and sponsored by Timex, the watch company.

In this first You Tube video, Frank performs a tune - written for the show - about the army. This video includes Nancy Sinatra, Joey Bishop (he just died a day or so ago at 89!), and Sammy Davis Jr. Elvis walks onto the stage in his army uniform. This may just be the set up Colonel Parker needed to route Elvis Presley back to Las Vegas eventually but at this point Parker is going to use Elvis' military background to his advantage. And my friend Elvis was always a patriotic American, proud of his military service, and one for the veterans of this great country, so believe me, Elvis didn't mind one iota.

Elvis and Frank share songs but who are the girls screaming for? You can put Elvis is a suit but you can't take the Elvis out of him!