With the passing of Elvis Presley’s only child in 2023, Graceland’s “Elvis Week” festivities will undoubtedly contain an extra somber tone this year — but this annual celebration of Elvis’ life also has particular reason to revel. The year 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of perhaps the King of Rock ’n’ Roll’s greatest single artistic accomplishment.

In January 1973, Elvis’ Aloha From Hawaii Via Satellite special was watched live simultaneously around the world, marking a previously unimaginable technological and cultural milestone. It was claimed at the time when over 1.5 billion people tuned in, and when, including tape-delayed broadcast, that total rose even higher (for perspective, the 2023 Super Bowl — the most watched in history — was viewed by 115 million).

The Last and Best Phase of Elvis’ Career

Though he would die a mere four years later in 1977, Elvis was at the top of his game. Having famously returned to the concert stage in 1968 after a seven-year hiatus, he had honed his craft by selling out shows touring the United States and performing twice-a-night gigs for months at a time at the International Hotel in Las Vegas.

Few musical performers have distinct stages to their careers, but Elvis did. First came his rebellious youth and the birth of rock ’n’ roll, next his Army days, then the movies period. Finally, in his Vegas concert era, a mature Elvis hand-selected his all-star “TCB” (Taking Care of Business) band, complete with a 30-piece orchestra and two top gospel groups to delight sold-out audiences with the best of Americana music. Although his unhealthy years and untimely death at 42 sadly awaited just off stage, in 1973, the best of American technology was ready to broadcast the best of American popular culture to a waiting world — and Elvis delivered. (READ MORE: Tony Bennett: The Last American Songbook Megastar)

For an academic, evaluating the importance of popular culture remains a tricky consideration. John Stuart Mill, among others, have suggested that those who write a country’s ballads are more significant than those who write the laws. Technically Elvis wrote neither, but he is the preeminent musical performer of the 20th century, and he invented a level of fame and celebrity that mercifully may never be duplicated. As such, he and his most prominent performance are more than worthy of serious consideration and remembrance. 

Aloha: A Night in Hawaii

Though perhaps seen now only as a caricature, Elvis’ iconic Aloha jumpsuit was made per his special request to represent the United States to the world. His life itself, though, literally embodied both the American dream and the country’s own trajectory. Beginning in tragedy with the stillborn death of his identical twin brother, Elvis started life in abject poverty, but through hard work in the land of opportunity, Elvis rose to unfathomable wealth and prominence.

Obviously, the Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame included Elvis in its inaugural class, but he has been immortalized as well in the halls of fame for country, gospel, rockabilly, honky tonk, rhythm & blues, Christian, and pop. In other words, he is American music, and almost all of it appeared that hot night in Honolulu. 

Elvis noted that he would try to get through all the songs one would want to hear, and, to an extent, he did that impossible task, but a notable exception was a common concert highlight, his rendition of “How Great Thou Art.” For both Elvis’ and the nation’s souls, one might reasonably lament that in 1973 he opted to include “My Way” but not the gospel classic that marked many of his concerts right up until the end. Nevertheless, it speaks to the current American culture that it is hard to imagine any mainstream artist ever including any gospel in his repertoire — but Elvis’ only Grammy awards came in this genre, which he consistently identified as his favorite. (READ MORE: Resistance and Resurrection: Lessons from the Warsaw Uprising)

Elvis’ love of gospel directly sings to the reality that Elvis’ story, while representing the United States, is also quintessentially southern. In Flannery O’Conner’s turn of phrase, Elvis may not have been Christ-centered, but he was most certainly Christ-haunted. Indeed, both his faith and patriotism led him just a few years earlier to make an impromptu visit to the White House in order to volunteer his services to the president to combat the growing threat to America’s youth from godless communism and illicit drug use. This meeting between Richard Nixon and Elvis may not have solved either problem, but it did lead to the taking of the most requested photograph in the history of the National Archives. 

The Aloha concert’s show-stopping number also speaks to American and regional culture both then and now. Elvis’ “American Trilogy” addresses America’s pivotal event — the Civil War. Its blending of both regions’ anthems provides honor for both and then combines with a lullaby tribute to common human frailty. This artistically brilliant treatment of history puts contemporary culture’s crippling refusal to understand the past with any nuance or respect in stark contrast.

Even putting a love of Americana aside, it behooves one to visit, or revisit, Elvis’ Aloha special, for, in whatever endeavor one considers, it is inspiring to watch the GOAT — the Greatest of All Time — perform. On this night in Honolulu, through the newest technology, the greatest musical entertainer of all time performed on perhaps the biggest stage ever created — and the results were timeless.

So, 50 years later, Aloha to Elvis.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Jason R. Edwards is a professor of history at Grove City College and a fellow for popular culture with the Institute for Faith & Freedom. He co-authored the book Ask the Professor: What Freshmen Need to Know and has published writings on history, culture, and education in a variety of newspapers and journals, including the Washington Times, University Bookman, and Touchstone.