Many songs have been written in tribute to Martin Luther King Jr., all of them heartfelt, many of them touching. But no other calls forth King’s message with the passion and intensity Elvis Presley poured into “If I Can Dream,” the finale of what’s now known as his ’68 Comeback Special.
Those who saw Baz Luhrmann’s 2022 biopic know how the song came about. Presley’s manager, Tom Parker – he made up the “Colonel” part – wanted a show full of Christmas tunes, because the special would air in December. Presley and the special’s producer had other ideas for what would be Elvis’ first live show in seven years. They put together a playlist that covered the highlights of the singer’s career.
Presley, often derided for standing on the shoulders of the black artists who first recorded many of his ’50s hits, sat out the civil rights struggles of the early ’60s, so he was eager to show his support for equality. Multiple sources say the King assassination affected him deeply, and he was originally supposed to close the show with a speech about race relations. Director Steve Binder thought a song would work better, so he asked musical director Billy Goldenberg and lyricist W. Earl Brown to write something that would reflect Presley’s beliefs.
Brown drew his inspiration, and some of his lines, from King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. Binder played the demo tape for Parker, who said, “This ain’t Elvis’ kind of song.” So Binder took it directly to Presley, who listened to it three times, then gave his assent. Parker relented, but insisted on 100% of the publishing rights, so Goldenberg, best known for scoring dozens of films and TV shows, withdrew his composing credit.
Goldenberg’s tune owes an obvious debt to gospel music, the only category Elvis ever won a Grammy in, and it drew out what might be the most soulful performance of Presley’s career. He starts out in a soft baritone but by the middle eight he’s emoting like a tent-show preacher, summoning a primal growl that emerges more and more toward the song’s climax. He is singing with all his considerable might, and if it doesn’t give you goosebumps you might want to check yourself for a pulse.
Released as a single, “If I Can Dream” reached No. 12 on the Hot 100. You might think that a song that powerful would attract lots of covers, but a performance that powerful scared off anyone with any sense. That didn’t stop Barry Manilow from using it as a closing number that I won’t post it because, while I’m no fan, I don’t want to embarrass the man. Let’s just say it could be tackier, but not much.
The version used on the special was the fourth take filmed that day. One YouTuber has compiled a video of the previous takes (Elvis ends the first after just a couple of lines) and runs them side by side with the final one for comparison. The camera shots are identical from take to take because the producers didn’t follow the usual practice of filming the entire performance on each camera and splicing together the final product, so Binder had to map out the camera cuts and fades beforehand. The camera work is arguably as good as the music.
