Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite made a new kind of broadcast history as the first full-length concert by any musician to be beamed around the world over communications satellites. The shows were recorded live on January 12 and 14, 1973 at the Honolulu International Center Arena (capacity approximately 6000) and beamed into an estimated billion-plus television sets around the world.
Initially, Elvis’ January 14th concert was telecast live via satellite to viewers in Asia and Oceania and presented with a delay in January in Europe. NBC decided to air their ninety-minute version of Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite (featuring bonus performances recorded for the stateside broadcast) on April 4, 1973. Aloha from Hawaii became NBC’s highest-rated program of the year.
Feeling the heat from the Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite global telecast, RCA Records fast-tracked a companion double album soundtrack into production with first pressings hitting US stores on February 4, 1973. The album was Elvis’ first #1 in years, peaking at #1 on the Billboard pop and country charts, becoming the fastest-selling chart-topping album of Elvis’ career.
The 50th anniversary edition of Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite presents, for the first time in one authorized package, the entirety of the original January 14, 1973 performance, the previous night’s dress rehearsal with a live audience (recorded in case of technical mishaps during the satellite transmission), several bonus tracks inserted into the US broadcast of the event and a Blu-ray transfer of the concert film. Unique after-show recordings and rehearsals include “Blue Hawaii,” “Hawaiian Wedding Song,” “No More,” and “Early Morning Rain.”
Archival producer Ernst Mikael Jørgensen and Memphis-based recording engineer Matt Ross-Spang have fully remixed the album from the original 16-track live recordings—first captured on tape by esteemed mobile engineer Wally Heider and newly digitized for this release with audiophile 24-bit, 192 KHz transfers–to bring fans a fresh listen.
The deluxe set includes a 28-page booklet featuring in-depth liner notes penned by lifelong Elvis fan/respected music critic Randy Lewis, rare photos and memorabilia from the event, and the first-ever visual release of Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite on Blu-ray.