The Frank Sinatra Show: Welcome Home Elvis

Given that they were, until the arrival of the Beatles, unquestionably the two biggest pop music icons of the 20th century, this 1960 summit meeting between Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra was genuinely historic. After Elvis, who was recently discharged from the Army, does a couple of solo numbers (“Fame and Fortune” and “Stuck on You”), Ol' Blue Eyes comes on to sing a swingin' “Love Me Tender” while the King counters with the Sinatra standard “Witchcraft.” Granted, this bit has been seen many times before, but what's interesting about this program is that it contains the entire TV broadcast, placing the two stars in a context that might best be described as Rat Pack Lite. Dino's nowhere to be seen, but daughter Nancy and Sammy Davis, Jr. are on hand to bolster the Chairman, as are quasi-Packers Peter Lawford (who had some genuine charm and talent) and the egregious Joey Bishop (who had absolutely none of either), and the Rat Pack vibe is in full effect, with everyone kissing up to Frank and casting thinly-veiled racial aspersions at Davis, who just happened to be the most gifted of the whole lot. The black-and-white video quality is pretty awful, and the audio track is beleaguered by loud tape hiss, but all is forgiven when Sinatra does a simply beautiful version of the ballad “Gone with the Wind,” with backing arranged and conducted by the great Nelson Riddle. Recommended. Aud: P. (S. Graham)