During the Civil Rights Movement, the United States was already experiencing a major shift, but things changed drastically on April 4, 1968. Activist and famed speaker credited as a leader among the Civil Rights Movement, Martin Luther King Jr., was shot and killed in Memphis, Tennessee, while staying at the Lorraine Motel, according to the King Institute. His death shook the United States to the core and set Elvis himself down a path of deep thought regarding the state of the country.

The events following King's assassination weighed even heavier on the rock star when U.S. Senator Robert Kennedy was killed two months later, on June 6, 1968, in Los Angeles, California. According to Graceland, Elvis was busy working on his latest special, "Elvis," when he heard the news of Kennedy's death, and it resulted in a long night of deep conversation with the show's director, Steve Binder, and several others. The conversation between them was heartfelt, and Elvis let his feelings out during the discussion, describing the world as he hoped it could be. The lengthy close-knit chat led Binder to change direction regarding the ending of the special. The program was scheduled to air in December. A finishing number that was initially meant to be a Christmas song began to take a completely different route.

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