disappointed with the quality of his work. From 1964 to 1968, Presley had just one top-ten hit: "Crying in the Chapel" (1965), a gospel song recorded in 1960. Only one LP of new material by Presley was issued: the gospel album How Great Thou Art (1967), which won him his first Grammy Award for Best Sacred Performance. In 1968, Parker arranged a deal with NBC for a Christmas television special starring Presley in front of a live audience. Parker originally planned to have Presley sing Christmas carols only, but the producer, Steve Binder, convinced Presley to perform songs from his original repertoire. The high ratings received by the special and the success of its attendant LP re-established Presley's popularity. During the making of the special, Presley said to Binder: "I'll never sing another song that I don't believe in, I'm never going to make another movie that I don't believe in." As part of his decision to refocus on music rather than film, Presley decided to record a new album. Recording Presley left his usual musicians and studios (Radio Recorders in Hollywood, California and RCA Studio B in Nashville, Tennessee), recording new material in Memphis. After the special he approached Scotty Moore and D. J. Fontana, who had played with Presley during his early hit-making career, and who rejoined him on the television show. Presley asked Moore about using Music City Recorders in Nashville, but that suggestion never came to fruition. During a January 1969 meeting at Graceland, Presley told his usual producer, Felton Jarvis, that he did not want to record his next album at RCA Studios. Two of Presley's friends, DJ George Klein and Marty Lacker, suggested that he use American Sound Studio, an up-and-coming studio with which Lacker was involved. RCA contacted the studio's producer Chips Moman. Willing to work with Presley, Moman postponed a session with Neil Diamond after being asked to produce the sessions with Felton Jarvis as second producer. It was agreed that Presley's recordings would take ten days and cost $25,000. He would be backed by the studio's house band, the 827 Thomas Street Band (informally known as the Memphis Boys), which consisted of Reggie Young on guitar, Tommy Cogbill and Mike Leech on bass, Gene Chrisman on drums, Bobby Wood on piano, and Bobby Emmons on organ. Although RCA Records oversaw their company policy to record only in their own studios, the