Elvis Presley Songs | HowStuffWorks

From "Jailhouse Rock" to "Love Me Tender," Elvis Presley's songs have become an integral part of American culture. They are played at parties, weddings, and proms, and can be heard in the background at grocery stores and shopping malls. The song catalog contains an impressive range: some were composed for fun but forgettable summer movies, while others trace their roots back to Italian operas; some tell stories of heartfelt love, while others are simply made for dancing. All were interpreted and recorded by one of the most successful performers American popular music has ever seen.

Elvis Presley Image Gallery

Elvis Presley was one of the most successful performers in the history of American popular music. See more Elvis pictures.

In the following pages, you'll find the stories behind some of Elvis' most celebrated tunes. There are highlights from his early career, such as "Baby Let's Play House," in which Presley first found his signature "rockabilly" sound -- the fusion of country and R&B that would make him famous. These early songs were recorded on Sam Phillips' Memphis-based label, Sun Records, and are widely considered essential listening among fans of blues, R&B, and country music alike.

You'll also learn about the smash hits that turned Elvis into a household name: "Heartbreak Hotel," Elvis' first single on the major label RCA, became a number one hit, but was originally inspired by a tragic death in Miami. "Hound Dog" created opportunities for numerous tongue-in-cheek television appearances (on the Steve Allen Show, Presley good-naturedly performed the song for a basset hound). When paired with "Don't Be Cruel" on the B-Side, the "Hound Dog" record became one of the most successful singles the music industry had yet seen. "Now or Never," a rock 'n' roll reworking of a classic Italian opera tune, shows Presley interacting with age-old traditions and making them his own.

Many critics feel that Presley's early songs are among his finest; but later efforts reveal a fascinating intersection between the music and Elvis' rapidly growing fame. "If I Can Dream," recorded in 1968, showed Presley at the center of a troubled nation. The song, written by W. Earl Brown, Elvis' musical director, was crafted as a somber but hopeful response to the recent assassinations of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. By this time, Presley had his own television Christmas special (called simply Elvis), and, after an evening of holidays standards, "If I Can Dream" closed the program on a moving and personal note.

In the later pages of this article, you'll find a few "best of" lists that can help any Elvis novice navigate his intimidating song catalog. You'll learn more about some of Presley's songwriters, many of whom were accomplished artists in their own right, and you'll also find information on some of Elvis' most famous covers. The article's final section contains a complete list of Elvis Presley's recorded work, arranged in alphabetical order for easy browsing.

Go on to the next page to read about one of Elvis' most popular song topics -- falling in (and out) of love.

To learn more about Elvis Presley, see:

• Elvis Presley
• Elvis Presley Pictures
• Elvis Presley Quotes
• Elvis Presley Collectibles
• Elvis Presley Biography

Elvis Presley's Best Love Songs

Elvis Presley's love songs are some of the most famous tunes of his career. Presley recorded "I Want You, I Need You, I Love You," written by Maurice Mysels and Ira Kosloff, in Nashville on April 11, 1956. The song reached the top ten of the pop, country, and rhythm and blues charts. It was the first ballad recorded by Elvis for RCA that was released on a single as the A-side.

Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller composed the torchy "Love Me" in 1954 as a spoof of country ballads. On September 1, 1956, Elvis recorded it straight and with feeling, turning it into a serious love song.

Elvis recorded "Love Me Tender" in Hollywood in the late summer of 1956 as the closing song for his first film, Love Me Tender.

George Weiss, Hugo Peretti, and Luigi Creatore wrote "Can't Help Falling in Love" for Blue Hawaii. Elvis recorded it in Hollywood on March 23, 1961.

Elvis recorded "It Hurts Me" in Nashville on January 12, 1964. The song was written by Joy Byers and Charlie Daniels, though Daniels is not always credited. Elvis recorded this song again for his 1968 TV special, Elvis, but it was not used.

"Until It's Time for You to Go" was written and originally recorded by Buffy Sainte-Marie in 1965 and was released by several artists before Elvis. Others who recorded it included Michael Nesmith (as Michael Blessing), the Four Pennies, and Neil Diamond. Elvis recorded this beautiful love song in Nashville in the early summer of 1971, and he sang it in the documentary Elvis on Tour.

Recorded on March 27, 1972, "Separate Ways" was biographical in that Elvis and Priscilla had just separated. Fans and biographers have often interpreted the song as a reflection of Elvis' feelings. It was composed for him by Richard Mainegra and Elvis' longtime friend and bodyguard Red West.

Mark James, Wayne Carson, and Johnny Christopher composed "Always on My Mind" especially for Elvis, though other singers have had success with it. Elvis was the first to record it, on March 29, 1972, but Brenda Lee's version was released first. In 1982, Willie Nelson scored a number-one country hit with it, while the Pet Shop Boys recorded a version in 1988.

Elvis recorded "It's Midnight" at legendary Stax Records in Memphis on December 10, 1973. It was written by Billy Edd Wheeler and Jerry Chestnut.

The most well-known version of "Unchained Melody" was released by the Righteous Brothers in 1965, though it was written in 1955 for the movie Unchained. Several performers recorded it in the 1950s, including Les Baxter, Roy Hamilton, Al Hibbler, and June Valli. Elvis sang this earnest love song in concert during the 1970s, and he recorded performing it live in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on April 24, 1977. It was released posthumously.

"Love Me Tender"

Elvis was credited as coauthor of this love ballad, though it was actually composed by Ken Darby, who served as the vocal supervisor on the film. Darby's wife, Vera Matson, also received credit. The song was based on a ballad from the Civil War era called "Aura Lee" (sometimes spelled "Aura Lea"), which was written by W.W Fosdick and George R. Poulton. "Aura Lee" became a favorite of the Union Army.

Almost 100 years later, the song became a favorite again with the public, this time reincarnated as Elvis' "Love Me Tender." Elvis' single release of the song achieved a first in music history when it received advance sales of over 1 million copies. The movie version of the song had slightly different lyrics and contained an additional verse. Elvis had always admired pop crooners such as Dean Martin, and "Love Me Tender" afforded him the opportunity to affect their gentle tones.

To learn more about Elvis Presley, see:

• Elvis Presley
• Elvis Presley Pictures
• Elvis Presley Quotes
• Elvis Presley Collectibles
• Elvis Presley Biography

That's All Right

Elvis Presley's first recording for Sun Records, "That's All Right," seemed to come about almost by accident. When Sun's owner and operator Sam Phillips, needed a singer to record a ballad called "Without You," he remembered a young kid named Elvis Presley. Elvis had cut a couple of acetates at Phillips' Memphis Recording Service, and Phillips' assistant, Marion Keisker, had taped him for future reference. Phillips decided to let Elvis record "Without You," but the inexperienced singer wasn't able to master the new song.

Elvis sang several other tunes for Phillips, who was sufficiently impressed to put him together with guitarist Scotty Moore for some seasoning. Moore, Elvis, and bass player Bill Black were working together at Sun on the evening of July 5,1954, trying to find a sound that clicked. Nothing seemed to be working. During a break, Elvis began fooling around with Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup's country blues tune "That's All Right," singing it in a fast-paced, almost casual style. When Moore and Black jumped in, Phillips' voice boomed out from the control booth, "What are you doing?"

“That’s All Right,” was Elvis Presley’s first recording for Sun Records. Though it did not reach the charts, it sent Elvis on his way to become a recording legend.

Phillips was excited by the trio's sound and recognized its potential. He recorded "That's All Right" that night and backed it a few days later with the bluegrass classic "Blue Moon of Kentucky." Elvis' approach to both songs differed from the originals. He used a more relaxed vocal style and higher key for "That's All Right" than Crudup had. He sped up the tempo for "Blue Moon of Kentucky" and omitted the high-pitched bluegrass singing style. Two elements were added to both songs that would make Elvis famous -- syncopation and a "slapback" (electronically delayed) echo effect. Elvis' Sun style became the epitome of rockabilly.

"That's All Right" received extended airplay on Dewey Phillips' Red Hot and Blue radio program on WHBQ, and it was released as a single on July 19, 1954.The single did not chart nationally, but it launched the recording career of the most famous singer of the 20th century.

Sam Phillips, The Producer of "That's All Right"

Born and raised just outside Florence, Alabama in 1923, Sam Cornelius Phillips was greatly influenced by his rural Southern roots. Working in the cotton fields with African-Americans, Phillips was exposed to gospel and blues music, and he experienced the poverty and hard life of many Depression-era Southern families. As a record producer, he would draw on those experiences to shape a new musical aesthetic -- a purely Southern sound that combined black rhythm and blues and white country-western with a hardscrabble philosophy born of bad times. The new music that emerged -- a Dixie-fried sound called rockabilly -- would emanate from Phillips' Sun Records in the mid-1950s and Influence all of rock 'n' roll.

Phillips' genius was recognizing talented singers and musicians -- black and white -- who could convey the aesthetic he envisioned. Of his desire to record Southern based music, Phillips mused, "I just knew this was culture, and it was so embedded in these people because of hardship...Generation after generation, these [Southern] people have been overlooked -- black and white!" For his contributions in shaping modern music, Phillips was one of the first to be inducted into the Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame.

To learn more about Elvis Presley, see:

• Elvis Presley
• Elvis Presley Pictures
• Elvis Presley Quotes
• Elvis Presley Collectibles
• Elvis Presley Biography

Baby Let's Play House

"Baby Let's Play House," Elvis Presley's fourth single for Sun Records, recorded on February 5, 1955, was Presley’s effort to chart nationally. Backed by "I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone" on the flip side, the song stayed on Billboard's country chart for ten weeks, reaching number ten.

Rhythm-and-blues singer Arthur Gunter had written and recorded the song in 1954, basing it on country singer Eddy Arnold's 1951 hit, "I Want to Play House with You." Being a rhythm-and-blues reworking of a country-western song, "Baby Let's Play House" was perfect for Elvis' rockabilly repertoire. Gunter himself had been influenced by rockabilly artists, and he made a good model for Elvis, who had purchased a copy of Gunter's version the previous December at the House of Records in Memphis.

Elvis made the song his own with the inclusion of the syncopated phrasing "babe-babe-baby" in the verse. He also tinkered with the lyrics, changing "You may have religion" to "You may drive a pink Cadillac" -- a humorous foretelling of the car that he would come to be identified with.

Sam Phillips added drums to the recording session for the song, marking the first time drums were used on a Presley single. As the song received national exposure, it was called a country song in trade publications, and few connected it with the relatively unknown rhythm-and-blues artist who had inspired Elvis.

Elvis added "Baby Let's Play House" and "I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone" to his act in the spring of 1955. About this time, his popularity was rapidly increasing because of his appearances on the Louisiana Hayride radio show and because of touring across the South with ever-larger country-western shows. Elvis sang "Baby Let's Play House" on his second appearance on Stage Show on February 4, 1956, just as his sensual performing style was beginning to create a national controversy.

If his hip-swinging performance on Stage Show raised eyebrows, then the lyrics to "Baby Let's Play House” added to the provocative connotation. Basically a proposition, the song is a plea from the singer to his girlfriend to return to him because he wants to "play house" with her, a slang term for an unmarried couple living or sleeping together. Despite the singer's plea, he takes a confrontational stance, telling his girl, "I'd rather see you dead than with another man."

Sun Records

Aside from 3764 Elvis Presley Boulevard, 706 Union Avenue is probably the most famous address in Memphis. There, Sam Phillips opened the doors to Sun Records in February 1952, along with the Memphis Recording Service.

Phillips had been recording such blues artists as Howlin' Wolf, B.B. King, Little Walter, Ike Turner, Little Junior Parker, and Bobby Blue Bland since 1950, but he leased those recordings to other labels, including Chess Records and RPM Records. Until Sun was established, there was no major place in the South for artists to record. After Phillips established Sun, he could release his artists on his own label.

Many know that the legendary producer recorded blues and R&B performers, but less familiar are the country singers that he began recording in 1953. He started out with the Ripley Cotton Choppers, then moved on to Doug Poindexter, Slim Rhodes, and Warren Smith.

After Elvis experienced success on the Sun label, others who would become rockabilly legends signed with Phillips, Including Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Charlie Rich, Conway Twitty, and Charlie Feathers. Phillips sold Sun in 1969.

To learn more about Elvis Presley, see:

• Elvis Presley
• Elvis Presley Pictures
• Elvis Presley Quotes
• Elvis Presley Collectibles
• Elvis Presley Biography

Presley's 1955 recording of "Baby Let's Play House" stayed on the Billboard Top Ten for ten weeks.

Heartbreak Hotel

The origins of Elvis Presley's hit "Heartbreak Hotel" can be found in Miami. "I walk a lonely street.” So read the suicide note of an anonymous soul who ended his life in a Miami hotel. The Miami Herald ran a photo of his corpse on the front page with the headline, "Do You Know This Man?" The story went on to explain that the man had been discovered with no identification. Police found only the note in one of his pockets.

In Gainesville, songwriter-musician Tommy Durden thought the line in the note resonated the blues and would make a great lyric in a song. He sought the opinion of his friend Mae Boren Axton, who was a local songwriter, TV personality, and publicist.

Axton had once done some work for Colonel Tom Parker, and she suggested that they write the song for Elvis Presley. As the story goes, she had once told Elvis that she was going to write his first million seller. After Mae decided that "down at the end of Lonely Street" one would naturally find a "Heartbreak Hotel," the rest of the song was composed by the team within the hour.

Glen Reeves, a local singer, recorded a demo record of the song in a style that suggested Elvis Presley. Axton flew to Nashville in November 1955 to introduce the song to Elvis, who was in MusicCity to attend a convention for country music disc jockeys. Elvis loved the song, supposedly exclaiming, "Hot dog, Mae!" as he played it about ten times in a row.

"Heartbreak Hotel" became the first record Elvis released on his new label, RCA. In December 1955 RCA had reissued Elvis' "Mystery Train," originally released on the Sun label, but the reissue did not sell particularly well. Elvis entered RCA's Nashville studios on January 10, 1956, to record new material. "Heartbreak Hotel" was the second song Elvis recorded that day.

Axton had asked Reeves to emulate Elvis' style on the demo, and Elvis copied the vocal intonations of Reeves for his recording. This story shows that Elvis' style was familiar enough to be recognized as his at the time. It also illustrates Elvis' pattern when recording a demo. He copied the interpretation of the demo singer whenever he recorded his version of a song.

At Sun Records, Elvis had been backed by Sentry Moore on guitar and Bill Black on bass. Later a drummer was added -- a position eventually filled by D.J. Fontana on a permanent basis. At RCA, Elvis' combo was joined by Chet Atkins on rhythm guitar and Floyd Cramer on piano, along with a gospel trio consisting of Ben and Brock Speer of the Speer Family and Gordon Stoker of the Jordanaires.

"Heartbreak Hotel" borrowed the echo sound that was associated with Elvis' Sun releases, perhaps even exaggerating it. The effect is eerie, downright ghostly, particularly during the opening lines to each verse when Elvis sings without accompaniment. His voice is penetrating, and the sound is despondent, perfectly capturing the alienation of disaffected youth.

The song was released as a single on January 27, 1956, backed by "I Was the One." The next day Elvis appeared on Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey's television variety series, Stage Show, but he did not sing "Heartbreak Hotel" until his third appearance on the show, February 11. He sang it on two subsequent Stage Show appearances and on his first appearance on The Milton Berle Show on April 3.

The television exposure undoubtedly helped propel the song to the number-one slot on Billboard's best-seller and juke box charts, where it stayed for eight weeks. The song also reached number one on the country chart and number three on the R&B chart. It became Elvis' first million seller, just as Axton had predicted.

Mae, Ken, and Mrs. Ed Wood

Elvis recorded hundreds of songs written by a variety of composers during his career, so it is not surprising that some of those songwriters might fall under the heading "peculiar." Mae Boren Axton, the coauthor of "Heartbreak Hotel," was an English teacher who worked around the periphery of show business while living in Florida. She had worked as a publicist for the Hank Snow All-Star Jamboree, Which had also employed Colonel Tom Parker. Axton was the sister of Oklahoma senator David Boren and the mother of singer/actor Hoyt Axton. After Elvis died, she contributed to the liner notes of Ronnie McDowell's The King Is Gone.

Academy Award-winning composer Ken Darby wrote and arranged "Love Me Tender" for Elvis' first film. Early in his career, Darby made a unique contribution to American movie culture when he fulfilled an unusual assignment for the film The Wizard of Oz. He was responsible for creating the distinctive sound of the Munchkins’ voices.

Dolores Fuller cowrote 12 songs for Elvis, including "Rock-a-Hula Baby," "Do the Clam,” and "Barefoot Ballad." Fuller was the wife of Ed Wood, Jr., a now famous director of horror and exploitation films who worked on the fringes of the industry during the 1950s and 1960s. She appeared in his 1954 film Jail Bait.

To learn more about Elvis Presley, see:

• Elvis Presley
• Elvis Presley Pictures
• Elvis Presley Quotes
• Elvis Presley Collectibles
• Elvis Presley Biography

"Heartbreak Hotel" was inspired by the suicide note of a man who ended his life in a Miami hotel.

Hound Dog

After Elvis Presley rocked The Milton Berle Show with his bump-and-grind rendition of "Hound Dog," this gritty R&B tune became indelibly linked with his name. Yet, he was not the first to record a hit version of it, nor did he sing the original lyrics.

The song was written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller in 1952 for blues singer Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton at the request of Johnny Otis, a hustling bandleader, producer, composer, and R&B deejay. Otis invited the team to watch Thornton rehearse in his garage-turned-studio. After watching the mighty singer belt out a few numbers, Leiber and Stoller composed "Hound Dog" -- a song about a gigolo -- in about ten minutes.

Thornton growled the saucy lyrics to a hard-driving blues beat, and "Hound Dog" sold over half a million copies, climbed to number one on the R&B charts, and became a top-selling record in the R&B market during 1953. Memphis disc jockey Rufus Thomas recorded an answer song called "Bear Cat," which was released on Sam Phillips' Sun label.

Several performers covered "Hound Dog," including country artists Tommy Duncan, Betsy Gay, Jack Turner, and Billy Start, and lounge act Freddie Bell and the Bellboys. Bell enlivened the tempo and tampered with the lyrics in a humorous way, adding the line, "You ain't never caught a rabbit, and you ain't no friend of mine." Elvis caught the Bellboys' act in April 1956 when he was booked into the New Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas. Though Elvis and his combo flopped in Vegas, he brought back a little souvenir in the form of Bell's comedic version of "Hound Dog."
Part of the reason Elvis' version became so famous was undoubtedly due to television. Elvis introduced the song to a national audience on The Milton Berle Show on June 5, 1956, and the attention generated by that controversial performance resulted in a booking on The Steve Allen Show, where Elvis gamely sang the song to a basset hound.

By the time Elvis sang "Hound Dog" on The Ed Sullivan Show, the song was associated with controversy. Elvis teased Sullivan's studio audience, who were primed for fireworks from the young singer, by starting and then stopping the song after the first note.

A male singer belting out the opening line to "Hound Dog” seems odd because the song was clearly written for a female voice, and Elvis' decision to add "Hound Dog" to his repertoire has been interpreted variously by rock music historians. Some insist that Elvis must have been familiar with the Thornton version because he was an R&B enthusiast, and they speculate that he recorded Bell's version because he recognized its humor. Detractors suggest that he appropriated the blues tune without realizing its roots.

It seems likely, however, that Elvis did know of Thornton's record. Though Elvis' recorded version was a rock 'n' roll interpretation patterned after Bell's, his rendition on the Berle show owes something to the growling, bump-and-grind vernacular of Thornton's bluesy "Hound Dog."

Pressured by producer Steve Sholes to record the tune, Elvis finally captured "Hound Dog' after about 30 takes in RCA's New York studios. Backed by "Don't Be Cruel," the record became the biggest two-sided hit single in history.

To learn more about Elvis Presley, see:

• Elvis Presley
• Elvis Presley Pictures
• Elvis Presley Quotes
• Elvis Presley Collectibles
• Elvis Presley Biography

Although "Hound Dog" was originally sung by "Big Mama" Thornton, Elvis Presley's famous television performances subsequently linked his name to the tune.

Don't Be Cruel

Elvis Presley's "Hound Dog" and "Don't Be Cruel" became a double-sided hit that climbed to number one and retained that position for 11 weeks -- longer than any other single release of the rock 'n' roll era. It also reached number one on the country-western and rhythm-and-blues charts.

"Don't Be Cruel" was written by rhythm-and-blues singer-songwriter Otis Blackwell, though Elvis was given a cowriting credit. Blackwell had sold the song to a music publisher, Shalimar Music, for $25 on Christmas Eve 1955. Elvis' parent publisher, Hill and Range, had acquired the song, and the demo was one from a stack that the hot new singer listened to during an RCA recording session in July 1956.

When Elvis wanted to record the song, Blackwell was told that he would have to cut a deal and share the writer's credit with him, though Elvis did not contribute anything to writing the song. Blackwell was uneasy about the deal, but he realized he stood to make a great deal of money from royalties -- even at half-interest -- if Elvis recorded the song. This would not be the last time that Elvis received a writing credit on a song he did not originally compose.

During the recording session, Elvis rehearsed the song a couple of times with his regular backup musicians, a piano player hired by RCA, and the Jordanaires. Then, the group worked on the song, finessing it as they went through almost 30 takes.

All the musicians contributed something in their own way. D.J. Fontana used Elvis' leather-covered guitar as a makeshift drum to capture a snare effect by laying it across his lap and hitting the back with a mallet. Their efforts resulted in one of Elvis' most beloved songs and one of his personal favorites. Total sales for any Presley single are often difficult to calculate, but by March 1992, "Don't Be Cruel"/"Hound Dog" had been awarded triple platinum status by the RIAA.

To learn more about Elvis Presley, see:

• Elvis Presley
• Elvis Presley Pictures
• Elvis Presley Quotes
• Elvis Presley Collectibles
• Elvis Presley Biography

Elvis' "Don't Be Cruel", the B-side to the "Hound Dog" single, topped the charts for 11 weeks straight.

All Shook Up

Otis Blackwell, who had written "Don't Be Cruel," also penned Elvis Presley’s number-one hit “All Shook Up." In retrospect, the tune tends to be overshadowed by Elvis' other major recordings from 1957, but "All Shook Up" racked up some interesting statistics in its time. The song remained at the top of Billboard's pop chart for nine weeks, and it stayed on the chart for 30 weeks -- the longest of any Elvis single. At year's end, "All Shook Up" was named the number-one single for 1957. Elvis also had the number-one single for 1956, "Heartbreak Hotel," making him the first singer of the rock era to top the year-end charts for two consecutive years.

Blackwell's inspiration for the title "All Shook Up" came from a mundane incident straight out of everyday life, though the story has undoubtedly been enhanced through repeated tellings. While working for Shalimar Music as a songwriter, Blackwell was sitting in the office trying to come up with a new powerhouse tune.

Contrary to some reports, Blackwell did not compose the tune specifically for Elvis as a follow-up to "Don't Be Cruel." Two other singers, David Hill and Vicki Young, recorded “All Shook Up" before him. Elvis recorded the tune in Hollywood at Radio Recorders in January 1957. In his version, Elvis overdubbed himself slapping the back of his guitar, which is a pleasant reminder of his Sun Studio sound.

Again, Blackwell reluctantly agreed to share a writing credit with Elvis, or else Elvis' management (including Colonel Parker and music publishers Hill and Range) would not have allowed him to record the tune.

To learn more about Elvis Presley, see:

• Elvis Presley
• Elvis Presley Pictures
• Elvis Presley Quotes
• Elvis Presley Collectibles
• Elvis Presley Biography

Legend has it that the inspiration for Elvis' "All Shook Up" came from a foaming soda bottle.

Jailhouse Rock

"Jailhouse Rock," penned by the legendary Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, became another number-one record for Elvis Presley. It entered the British charts at number one, making it the first single ever to do so. The rock 'n' roll songwriting duo was commissioned to write most of the songs for the movie Jailhouse Rock, though they were less than enthusiastic about the assignment.

Prior to Jailhouse Rock Elvis had recorded a handful of songs from Leiber and Stoller, including "Hound Dog, "'Love Me," and a couple of tunes from Loving You. The two songwriters were not impressed with Elvis' interpretation of their material. Leiber and Stoller tended to write hard-driving, R&B-flavored runes with satiric or tongue-in-cheek lyrics that could be understood at more than one level.

Elvis, on the other hand, performed most of his material straight, as when he recorded the duo's "Love Me," which they had originally intended as a lampoon of country-western music. Leiber and Stoller also felt that Elvis' foray into R&B territory was a fluke, and they were suspicious of his interest in blues and rhythm and blues.

The three met during the April 1957 recording session for "Jailhouse Rock," and Leiber and Stoller quickly changed their minds about Elvis once they realized he knew his music and that he was a workhorse in the studio.

The pair took over the recording sessions, serving as unofficial producers of "Jailhouse Rock, "'Treat Me Nice," "(You're So Square) Baby, I Don't Care," and other tunes. Their collaboration with Elvis and his musicians on "Jailhouse Rock" resulted in the singer's hardest-rocking movie song. As D.J. Fontana once noted about his drum playing on the record, "I tried to think of someone on a chain gang smashing rocks."

The short period of time that Leiber and Stoller worked with Elvis proved beneficial to both sides. The irony and ambiguity in the lyrics of "Jailhouse Rock" gave Elvis one of his most clever rockers while the singer's sincere and energetic delivery prevented the song from becoming too much of a burlesque -- a tendency with some of Leiber and Stoller's songs written for the Coasters. The songwriters hung with Elvis long enough to contribute to the King Creole soundtrack, among other projects, but eventually they ran afoul of Elvis' management for trying to introduce him to new challenges.

To learn more about Elvis Presley, see:

• Elvis Presley
• Elvis Presley Pictures
• Elvis Presley Quotes
• Elvis Presley Collectibles
• Elvis Presley Biography

"Jailhouse Rock," penned by the legendary Leiber and Stoller, became the first single ever to enter the British charts at number one.

It's Now or Never

Who could have guessed that "It's Now or Never," a reworked version of the 1901 Italian opera-style classic "O Sole Mio" with a cha-cha arrangement would become Elvis Presley's biggest-selling single? But then, in 1956, when Elvis was skewered by most newspapers in the country for thrusting his hips to the bluesy beat of "Hound Dog," no one would have guessed that he would become a press favorite in just four short years.

Elvis won the hearts and minds of the mainstream press and general public by quietly serving his country in the army. This helped soften his image as a dangerous rock 'n' roller. Further distancing himself from that image, Elvis began to move away from rock ‘n’ roll when he returned to recording in 1960. "It's Now or Never" was an important single release for Elvis in that regard. It received airplay on conservative radio stations that previously wouldn't have touched a Presley record, thus exposing Elvis to a wider, adult audience.

Yet Elvis did not record the song just to gain a broader audience. "O Sole Mio" was written by G. Capumo and Eduardo di Capua at the turn of the century, but it had been made popular much later by Mario Lanza.

Elvis was a fan of Lanza and undoubtedly heard the opera singer's recording, but he had also heard the English version of the song, "There's No Tomorrow" by Tony Martin. While still in the army, Elvis asked his music publisher, Freddie Bienstock of Hill and Range (a part of RCA), to find someone to write new lyrics for the song.

The only songwriters available at Hill and Range to do it were Aaron Schroeder and Wally Gold, who jumped at the chance because they knew the royalties on an Elvis Presley song would be enormous. They composed the lyrics in less than half an hour. A singer named David Hill (aka David Hess) recorded the demo with a cha-cha arrangement, and Elvis loved it. He was challenged by the operatic style, and he was attracted to the drama of it.

"It's Now or Never" charted for 20 weeks, holding the number-one slot for five weeks. Worldwide sales of the tune, according to The Guiness Book of Recorded Sound, eventually exceeded 20 million copies.

To learn more about Elvis Presley, see:

• Elvis Presley
• Elvis Presley Pictures
• Elvis Presley Quotes
• Elvis Presley Collectibles
• Elvis Presley Biography

"It's Now or Never," a reworked version of the 1901 Italian opera-style "O Sole Mio," introduced Elvis to a wider, more "adult" audience.

Can't Help Falling in Love

"Can't Help Falling in Love," written specifically for Blue Hawaii by George Weiss, Hugo Peretti, and Luigi Creatore, is remembered as the ballad Elvis Presley closed his concerts with during the 1970s. In the film, Elvis' character sings it to the grandmother of his girlfriend for her birthday, but that context has long since been forgotten. Because Elvis sang it so many times in concert, it is more fitting to suggest that the song belongs to the fans. It speaks to the way the fans felt about Elvis, and it was his love song to them.

Just as "It's Now or Never" was based on "O Sole Mio," "Can't Help Falling in Love" was adapted from an 18th century melody called "Plaisir d'Amour" by Italian composer Giovanni Martini. A handful of songs from Elvis' career were based on classic compositions or melodies, and he rose to the occasion by offering earnest, tender, or passionate interpretations of them.

The single hit the charts in December 1961. It peaked at number two on Billboard's Hot 100, and it remained on the charts for 14 weeks. The RIAA certified a gold record for "Can't Help Falling in Love" in March 1962, and a platinum record exactly 30 years later.

Record collectors should note that the movie version of "Can't Help Falling in Love" was not the one released as a single or on the album. Two takes of the movie version were recorded along with one take of the single release. The movie version of "Can't Help Falling in Love" was not released until after Elvis' death.

To learn more about Elvis Presley, see:

• Elvis Presley
• Elvis Presley Pictures
• Elvis Presley Quotes
• Elvis Presley Collectibles
• Elvis Presley Biography

If I Can Dream

Elvis Presley's performance of "If I Can Dream" was, in many ways, an anomoly. Colonel Tom Parker had originally wanted Elvis' 1968 television special for NBC-TV to be a Christmas program, in which "his boy" sang an hour's worth of holiday classics. The producers, however, had something more challenging in mind. And for once, the Colonel did not get his way. Even with the change in format for the program, however, the Colonel still expected Elvis to close the show singing "Silent Night." Supposedly, Elvis was filmed singing the Christmas carol just to appease Parker, but things still didn't turn out the way the Colonel had planned.

The program, which was simply titled Elvis, closed with the moving contemporary spiritual "If I Can Dream." The song was written at the last minute at the request of the show's producer, Steve Binder. The musical director for Elvis, W. Earl Brown, wrote the song as a response to the assassinations of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King. It was intended as a statement of hope for the future of America. Elvis loved "If I Can Dream," and he gave it everything he had.

The instrumental track was recorded on June 20 or 21, 1968. Elvis sang the song in front of the string section of the orchestra while the instrumental part was being recorded. Though his vocals were not to be used on the final version, he still sang it with all the passion the song inspired, even dropping down on his knee at one point. The effect left the string section with their mouths open. Later, Elvis rerecorded the vocals in a darkened studio, and once again, he performed the song rather than merely recording it.

The single was released in November, just prior to the telecast of the special. In perhaps one of RCA's worst marketing decisions, the flip side contained "Edge of Reality," a poor tune from one of Elvis' worst films, Live a Little, Love a Little.

Despite this, "If I Can Dream" climbed to the number 12 position on the charts and earned Elvis another gold record.

To learn more about Elvis Presley, see:

• Elvis Presley
• Elvis Presley Pictures
• Elvis Presley Quotes
• Elvis Presley Collectibles
• Elvis Presley Biography

Suspicious Minds

Elvis Presley’s last number-one single, "Suspicious Minds,” offers an example of the large-scale sound that defined his later style. At four minutes and 22 seconds, it is his longest number-one song, and in his Las Vegas shows, he stretched it into a powerhouse, show-stopping piece that ran eight minutes.

Elvis had introduced the song in Vegas on July 26, 1969, when he made his first live performance in eight years at the International Hotel. It was not released as a single until the following September. It entered Billboard's Hot 100 chart, peaking at the number-one position seven weeks later.

The song had originally been recorded at American Sound Studios on January 23, 1969, though it was held for release until a later date. "Suspicious Minds" featured backing vocals by Jeannie Green and Ronnie Milsap, a singer-songwriter who later became a prominent country-western star. To help achieve the large-scale sound, Elvis' Las Vegas band was overdubbed on the single at a Vegas recording studio in August. Also, the end of the song was spliced on for a second time. This overdubbing and remixing was supervised by Elvis' producer, Felton Jarvis.

"Suspicious Minds," released in 1969, was Elvis Presley's final number-one hit.

After the two recording sessions at American Sound Studios in January and February of 1969, Elvis never recorded there again. Part of the reason was undoubtedly due to a clash over the rights to the songs that producer Chips Moman had suggested for Elvis, including "Suspicious Minds." RCA and Hill and Range, which oversaw Elvis' own publishing companies, wanted a substantial cut of the songs to which Moman owned the rights.

If Moman refused, there was pressure to let those songs slip through the sessions without being recorded. Some quality material was not recorded by Elvis because of the haggling over song rights by Hill and Range. Moman did not want to budge on "Suspicious Minds," and he threatened to cancel the session if Freddie Bienstock of Hill and Range did not back off. Fortunately, Elvis did record "Suspicious Minds," but the tension over song rights took its toll.

To learn more about Elvis Presley, see:

• Elvis Presley
• Elvis Presley Pictures
• Elvis Presley Quotes
• Elvis Presley Collectibles
• Elvis Presley Biography

Burning Love

The highlight of Elvis Presley's studio sessions in Hollywood during March 1972 was the recording of "Burning Love." By this point, Elvis and his band were masters of this type of large-scale, fast-rocking number, and his interpretation of the song typifies his 1970s sound.

Dennis Linde composed "Burning Love" especially for Elvis, and the songwriter played guitar on the recording. It was Linde who dubbed in the raucous guitar lick on the bridges of the song. He had occasionally served as a bass guitarist in Elvis' recording band during the 1970s.

"Burning Love" became a worldwide hit for Elvis in 1972, and it quickly charted on Billboard's Hot 100.

Peaking at number two, it just missed becoming a number-one record. Chuck Berry's "My Ding-a-Ling" kept "Burning Love" from hitting the top of the charts. The record was certified gold by the RIAA in October 1972, and it was certified platinum in March 1992.

Unfortunately, Elvis did not follow up on the excitement generated by the rocking "Burning Love." His next single release was a ballad, "Separate Ways," backed by Always on My Mind," which reached only number 20 on the Hot 100 chart. In addition, RCA buried "Burning Love" and its flip side, "It's a Matter of Time," on an album of old movie tracks creatively titled Burning Love and Hits from His Movies, Volume 2. In terms of Elvis' career, this hit song seems to have gotten lost amidst bad marketing decisions.

To learn more about Elvis Presley, see:

• Elvis Presley
• Elvis Presley Pictures
• Elvis Presley Quotes
• Elvis Presley Collectibles
• Elvis Presley Biography

Elvis' raucous interpretation of "Burning Love" typifies his 1970s sound.

Elvis Presley's Best Cover Songs

"Hound Dog" was written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller for blues singer Big Mama Thornton in 1953. The original lyrics contain a sexual connotation, and Thornton belted out her version in a gritty, slow blues style. Elvis' humorous interpretation was borrowed from Freddie Bell and the Bellboys.

Elvis recorded two versions of the Dave Bartholomew-Pearl King blues tune "One Night of Sin," which had been a hit for Smiley Lewis in 1956. On January 24, 1957, he recorded Lewis' version, and a month later he recorded the song as "One Night" using cleaned-up lyrics. In Lewis' risqué original, the singer is praying for "One night of sin," while in Elvis' more hopeful rendition, he is hoping for "One night with you..."

Tin Pan Alley songwriters Lou Handman and Roy Turk composed "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" ("To-night" on original record sleeve) in 1926, and it was originally recorded by Al Jolson the following year. Supposedly the only song Colonel Tom Parker ever urged Elvis to record, "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" was released by Elvis in 1960 and was nominated for three Grammys.

"Bridge Over Troubled Water" was composed by Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel and recorded by the folk-rock duo in 1970, becoming a number-one hit for them. Elvis recorded his version, which had a larger sound and a more dramatic vocal rendering, during the filming of Elvis -- That's the Way It Is.

Eddy Arnold, "the Tennessee Plowboy," had a hit record with the soft-sounding ballad "I Really Don't Want to Know" in 1954, just as Elvis was barn-storming across the South with his rockabilly style. Composed by Howard Barnes and Don Robertson, the song was released by Elvis in 1970 with another country tune, "There Goes My Everything," on the flipside. These songs represent Elvis' rediscovery of contemporary country music during the 1970s.

Originally arranged and recorded by country singer Mickey Newbury, "An American Trilogy" is a medley of "Dixie," "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," and "All My Trials." The integration of two Civil War songs (one a Southern anthem, the other a Northern anthem) with a traditional spiritual suggests the curiously Southern tradition of blending diverse cultural elements. Elvis' 1972 version of the piece offered an operatic interpretation that matched the breadth of the song's meaning.

Elvis sang James Taylor's 1970 composition "Steamroller Blues" in concert during the early 1970s, but his gritty rendition during the Aloha from Hawaii television special stopped the show. The version from the special was released as a single in April 1973.

In 1968, country singer Marty Robbins wrote "You Gave Me a Mountain," a wrenching ballad about life's hardships. Though pop star Frankie Laine was the first to release it, Elvis began singing the song in concert during the early 1970s and released it in 1973. Elvis' interpretation is generally considered autobiographical in that it paralleled his breakup with Priscilla Presley.

"My Way," an anthem of independence and individuality, was written by Paul Anka for Frank Sinatra and originally recorded by him in 1969. Elvis sang "My Way" on the Aloha from Hawaii television special and in concert during the 1970s. A recording of this song by Elvis was released shortly after he died, making it almost a biographical statement.

To learn more about Elvis Presley, see:

• Elvis Presley
• Elvis Presley Pictures
• Elvis Presley Quotes
• Elvis Presley Collectibles
• Elvis Presley Biography

Many of Elvis' biggest hits were creative interpretations of old standards.

Elvis Presley's Best Song Writers

The work of Elvis Presley's song writers is exceedingly famous; many of the composers themselves, however, are less well known. Below are biographies for some of Elvis' most notable song writers.

Otis Blackwell

Respected singer-songwriter Otis Blackwell composed many rock 'n' roll standards in the 1950s and 1960s. Born in Brooklyn in 1932, Blackwell grew up admiring country-western singer and actor Tex Ritter. Otis became a staff writer for Shalimar Music in early 1956 after he sold six songs to that company for $25 each, including "Don't Be Cruel." Blackwell had been standing in front of the Brill Building (home to rock 'n' roll music publishing) in New York City on Christmas Eve when an arranger asked him if he had any songs to sell. He then took Otis to meet Shalimar's owners, who purchased the songs and hired him after the holidays.

Elvis recorded ten Blackwell compositions including "Fever" (written with Eddie Cooley), “All Shook Up," "Paralyzed," and "Return to Sender" (rewritten with Winfield Scott). Among Blackwell's other rock 'n' roll classics are Jerry Lee Lewis' "Great Balls of Fire" and "Breathless." Blackwell sang on the demos of his songs for Elvis and Jerry Lee and imitated their styles, but Blackwell and Elvis never met.

Mac Davis

Dubbed the "the Song Painter" by Glen Campbell, Mac Davis is well known for composing songs that use concrete imagery to paint a picture or tell a story. In the 1970s, Davis teamed with Billy Strange, and Elvis recorded several Davis-Strange compositions. The pair provided Elvis with the theme song to Charro!, the tune "Nothingville" from the television special Elvis, a reflective ballad titled "Memories," and a couple of light pieces called "Clean Up Your Own Back Yard" and “A Little Less Conversation."

Alone, Davis wrote two of Elvis' biggest hits of the 1970s, the socially conscious "In the Ghetto" and the sentimental ballad "Don't Cry Daddy." During the late 1960s and 1970s, Davis' compositions were recorded by major artists, including Lou Rawls, Bobby Goldsboro, Glen Campbell, Kenny Rogers, Andy Williams, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Dolly Parton. Davis ventured into acting in the 1970s and costarred in a handful of major Hollywood movies, including North Dallas Forty and Cheaper to Keep Her.

Leiber And Stoller

Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller adapted aspects of blues and R&B when writing for rock 'n' roll performers. Their integration of these musical genres in the 1950s expanded the commercial possibilities of rock 'n' roll. The pair met in Los Angeles in 1950 when they were just 17 years old. Stoller the musician and Leiber the songwriter found they shared an interest in blues and R&B, so they spent the summer writing songs in those styles.

Sill, sales manager for Modem Records, took them under his wing and introduced them to performers and industry reps. Despite their youth, the pair fared well because the prominent Tin Pan Alley songwriters of the day thought rock 'n' roll was beneath them. Leiber and Stoller are noted for structuring their songs like playlets. That is, they tell a story -- usually with wit or satire -- within the three-minute length of a popular song. Elvis recorded about two dozen Leiber and Stoller tunes, including "Hound Dog" and "Jailhouse Rock."

Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman

Brooklyn-born Doc Pomus and native New Yorker Mort Shuman teamed to write 15 songs for Elvis, including some that were used for his movie soundtracks. The unforgettable title song for Viva Las Vegas was composed by Pomus and Shuman especially for the film. Other movie songs included earlier Pomus-Shuman compositions that were then recycled for the soundtracks. Pomus cowrote a few other soundtrack tunes with other songwriters, including "Girl Happy," "I Feel That I've Known You Forever," and "She's Not You."

The team's best work was for Elvis' nonsoundtrack recordings, including the million-selling "Little Sister." Other significant Pomus-Shuman compositions include "Surrender,” based on the Italian ballad "Come Back to Sorrento," and "Suspicion." Pomus and Shuman also penned several rock classics for other artists, including "This Magic Moment" and "Save the Last Dance for Me" by the Drifters and "A Teenager in Love" by Dion and the Belmonts.

Jerry Reed

Born in Atlanta, Georgia, on March 20, 1937, country singer-songwriter Jerry Reed Hubbard composed four songs recorded by Elvis. Though this is only a handful in comparison to other songwriters who wrote for Elvis, two of the tunes included "Guitar Man" and "U.S. Male." These songs were recorded just prior to the surge of creativity generated by the television special Elvis. The songs represented a move away from the soundtrack recordings and toward better-quality material with a contemporary feel.

Reed also played guitar for Elvis on "Guitar Man." Reed was one of several Southern musicians who had been influenced by Elvis and later ended up working with him. In 1967, Reed recorded "Tupelo Mississippi Flash," an Elvis novelty record that was a comic tribute to his idol. Reed's career as a performer accelerated in the 1970s. He profited from his rowdy good-old-boy image when a vogue for things Southern hit Hollywood. He costarred with Burt Reynolds in four films, including the popular Smokey and the Bandit.

Ben Weisman

Born in 1921 in Providence, Rhode Island, Ben Weisman wrote or cowrote more than 50 songs for Elvis -- more than any other songwriter. Weisman began his prolific association with Elvis with "First in Line," which was recorded in 1956. He was often teamed with Fred Wise, but he also composed with Aaron Schroeder and Randy Starr.

Many of Weisman's compositions were written for Elvis' movie soundtracks, so they were intended to fit into the story-line or advance the plot. Most were in the smooth, pop-flavored style that defined Elvis' soundtrack recordings. Within those limitations, Weisman sometimes came up with some memorable runes. Some of his best include "Crawfish" from King Creole, the title tune from Follow That Dream, "Rock-a-Hula Baby" from Blue Hawaii, "I Slipped, I Stumbled, I Fell" from Wild in the Country, and "Got a Lot o' Livin' to Do" from Loving You. In his later career, Weisman had a recurring role on the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless as a pianist in the Club Allegro.

To learn more about Elvis Presley, see:

• Elvis Presley
• Elvis Presley Pictures
• Elvis Presley Quotes
• Elvis Presley Collectibles
• Elvis Presley Biography

Elvis' songwriters worked behind the scenes to help create memorable performances.

List of Elvis Songs A - F

• Elvis Presley
• Elvis Presley Pictures
• Elvis Presley Quotes
• Elvis Presley Collectables
• Elvis Presley Biography

List of Elvis Songs G - I

The chart below displays the titles G - I of Elvis Presley's recorded songs.

• Elvis Presley
• Elvis Presley Pictures
• Elvis Presley Quotes
• Elvis Presley Collectibles
• Elvis Presley Biography

List of Elvis Songs J - P

The chart below displays the titles J - P of Elvis Presley's recorded songs.

To learn more about Elvis Presley, see:

• Elvis Presley
• Elvis Presley Pictures
• Elvis Presley Quotes
• Elvis Presley Collectibles
• Elvis Presley Biography

List of Elvis Songs Q - T

The chart below displays the titles Q - T of Elvis Presley's recorded songs.

To learn more about Elvis Presley, see:

• Elvis Presley
• Elvis Presley Pictures
• Elvis Presley Quotes
• Elvis Presley Collectibles
• Elvis Presley Biography

List of Elvis Songs U - Z

The chart below displays the titles U - Z of Elvis Presley's recorded songs.

• Elvis Presley
• Elvis Presley Pictures
• Elvis Presley Quotes
• Elvis Presley Collectibles
• Elvis Presley Biography

ncG1vNJzZmidnqmys8DAoqWmnZ6pe6m71qyrrp6WrLyzt9JnmqilX5q5t7XSZqernaOhsrp50qiloKtlY7W1uYtlY2VkXGF5