Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite
“Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite” is a landmark concert starring Elvis Presley, which took place at the Honolulu International Center on January 14, 1973. This concert was a significant event as it was broadcast live via satellite to audiences in Asia and Oceania. Due to the time zone differences, the show was presented with a delay in Europe. To address a programming conflict with Super Bowl VII and the fact that “Elvis on Tour” was playing in cinemas, NBC opted to air a ninety-minute television special of the concert on April 4 in the United States.
Elvis Presley had returned to performing tours throughout the United States in 1970, and Colonel Tom Parker, Presley’s manager, was inspired by Richard Nixon’s 1972 visit to China to promote a live broadcast concert featuring Presley. Parker arranged a deal with RCA Records and the NBC network to produce the concert, and the show aimed to benefit the Kui Lee Cancer Fund.
Marty Pasetta produced the program, and a filmed rehearsal concert took place on January 12. The live broadcast earned high ratings in the countries targeted, showcasing Presley’s global popularity. In the United States, the television special became NBC’s highest-rated program of the year and received positive reviews from critics.
The soundtrack album of “Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite” became Elvis Presley’s last chart-topper on Billboard’s album chart. The concert and its associated album are remembered as significant moments in Presley’s career, reflecting his continued influence and popularity on a global scale.
About the Song
“You Gave Me a Mountain” (sometimes credited as “Lord, You Gave Me a Mountain”) is a poignant country song written by Marty Robbins in the 1960s. Although Robbins recorded his version, the highest-charting rendition was by Frankie Laine in 1969, featured on his album of the same name.
Laine revealed in his autobiography, “That Lucky Old Son,” that Robbins had tried for years to bring the song to his attention before succeeding in November 1968. Laine expressed regret for not discovering the song sooner, as he felt it had the quality he longed for in the mid-60s.
The lyrics of the song narrate a series of hardships faced by the singer, such as the loss of his mother during childbirth, the absence of paternal love, and his wife leaving with their child. The singer compares these challenges to hills he has overcome in the past but acknowledges that the current trial is like a mountain that may be insurmountable. Notably, Laine requested a change in one line from Robbins’ original lyrics, substituting “despised and disliked from my father” with “deprived of the love of my father” to reflect his own experience after his father’s recent passing.
When released as a single in early 1969, Laine’s version became a hit, peaking at #24 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in March of that year. It remained in the Top 40 for seven weeks and topped the Billboard Easy Listening chart for two weeks. This rendition marked the final Top 40 hit in Laine’s illustrious career.
Marty Robbins also recorded his version, included in the 1969 album “It’s a Sin” and various “greatest hits” compilations. Johnny Bush recorded a version that reached #7 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in 1969. Elvis Presley performed the song at his 1973 Honolulu concert, “Aloha from Hawaii,” and included it in the subsequent live album “Aloha from Hawaii: Via Satellite.” Presley’s version appeared in many of his releases throughout the 1970s.
Video
Lyrics
Born in the heat of the desert
My mother died giving me life
Deprived of the love of a father
Blamed for the loss of his wife
You know Lord I’ve been in a prison
For something that I never done
It’s been one hill after another
I’ve climbed them all one by one
But this time, Lord you gave me a mountain
A mountain you know I may never climb
It isn’t just a hill any longer
You gave me a mountain this time
My woman got tired of heartaches
Tired of the grief and the strife
So tired of working for nothing
Just tired of being my wife
She took my one ray of sunshine
She took my pride and my joy
She took my reason for living
She took my small baby boy
But this time, Lord you gave me a mountain
A mountain you know I may never climb
It isn’t just a hill any longer
You gave me a mountain this time.