“If it felt like punk speed freaks, so much the better. Elvis never came up to us saying, ‘Suspicious Minds was too fast tonight’”: At the suggestion of guitar picker James Burton, Elvis set up an audition with an unlikely bass candidate – Jerry Scheff

Elvis Presley during a live performance at Honolulu International Center in Honolulu, Hawaii on January 14, 1973 for his NBC special .

From 1956-1958, Elvis Presley ruled the pop charts, scoring No. 1 hits like they were going out of style. But following a stint in the Army and a shift in focus to acting, the King's cachet in the music world was pretty much kaput by the time the Summer of Love had come and gone.

Presley's 1968 television special, Elvis, resuscitated his slumping career, but he needed more. He needed a new band – a new sound.