The Gospel According to Elvis

There is such a reverential tone to this 90-minute video survey of Presley’s gospel music roots that someone on the production staff must have at least toyed with the alternate title of “St. Elvis.”

In a rapid series of sound bites, gospel singers and other former associates don’t just tell us about Presley’s lifelong love of gospel music--they also describe numerous acts of kindness and generosity. There’s even one suggestion (not entirely serious) that the singer might have had healing powers.

If this “pilgrimage,” as narrator Sander Vanocur calls the video project, is often excessive, it is still revealing, because there has been so little emphasis over the years on the influence of gospel music on Presley’s rock ‘n’ roll style.

Besides identifying early gospel stars who inspired Elvis, “He Touched Me” documents how Presley would sing gospel songs for hours at a time--both in his hotel suite after his concerts and when he was at home between tours. One theory, shared by several of the singers, is that Presley used gospel as a form of prayer. Indeed, he did inject “How Great Thou Art”--a staple of his ‘70s concerts--with such passion that it was easy to view the performances as personal testimonies of faith.

On even his worst nights, Presley sang that song with such feeling that many of his fans hoped he would do a whole gospel concert some day. But he didn’t, and the glimpses in the video of Presley actually singing traditional gospel music are disappointingly few. The gospel footage here is taken from TV shows, movie clips or rehearsal breaks--and several of the songs are more gospel-flavored pop or rock than traditional gospel.

(RCA Records has just released a two-disc companion piece to the video series. Also titled “He Touched Me: The Gospel Music of Elvis Presley,” the album features 40 recordings, including such pop-oriented material as “Bridge Over Troubled Water” and “In the Ghetto.” A more traditional gospel overview is contained in RCA’s earlier two-disc set, the 55-song “Amazing Grace--His Greatest Sacred Performances.”)

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** “He Touched Me: The Gospel Music of Elvis Presley, Vol. 2,” (Coming Home Music/EMI). The production team must have liked the first volume so much that they thought it’d be a good idea to do the whole thing again, which is basically what they did here. This volume--which can be bought separately or in a package with Vol. 1--doesn’t break enough new ground to make it essential except for the most avid fans.

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