In his third appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show, Elvis chose to close out his set with the beloved gospel hymn “Peace in the Valley.” Nobody wanted him to sing a gospel hymn. Of course they didn’t. He was the newest hottest thing, singing controversial music, and even though the powers that be decided to film him from the waist up – to avoid his bumps and grinds – they still weren’t looking for him to go THAT white-bread. But Elvis wasn’t white-bread. He didn’t choose this song to calm down his critics. Or to further enrage them. He chose this song because he loved it so and gospel was a huge part of his life and he wanted to share it. He had to fight to perform “Peace in the Valley” on the show. He fought. And he won. And the single shot to the top of the charts. A gospel song at the top of the POP charts. This is what he did.
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You MUST already be aware of the HBO documentary on Elvis airing this month, but I felt the need to give you a heads up just in case…
https://www.spin.com/2018/02/elvis-presley-hbo-searcher-documentary-trailer/
Oh of course. I’m reviewing it! The editors at Ebert had no choice. hahaha I demanded that I review it. I’ve been looking forward to this for months! Advance word has been amazing.
I thought you’d want to know that there actually really wasn’t a “fight” for Elvis to sing Peace in the Valley. Although that is a long held legend, archival documents prove that it was Mr. Ed Sullivan himself who made the recommendation that Elvis sing a gospel song. Sullivan, in fact, added a third selection to Elvis’s performance in order to add a sacred song.