Today in Music (1956): Elvis Presley hit #1 with "Love Me Tender"

Love Me Tender Elvis Presley

Writer(s): Ken Darby (words), George R. Poulton (music) (see lyrics here) Released: September 28, 1956 First Charted: October 13, 1956 Peak: 15 US, 15 HP, 15 CB, 11 HR, 3 CW, 3 RB, 11 UK, 6 AU, 4 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 3.5 US, -- UK, 5.0 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 3.0 radio, 50.4 video, -- streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: The song was recorded for an Elvis movie originally to be called The Reno Brothers. This was the first of 31 movies Elvis made. He originally had a smaller role, but it was expanded when he achieved massive stardom. SF The song’s success also led to the movie being retitled Love Me Tender. The song garnered more than a million advance orders a month before the movie’s release. WK Ken Darby was the musical director for the film, which is set during the Civil War. Because of that he sought out songs from the era. For “Love Me Tender” he adapted a melody from a Civil War ballad called “Aura Lee.” SF The song, published in 1861, had entered the public domain. WK The original was composed by George R. Poulton with words by W.W. Fosdick. WK Strangely, though, none of their names appeared on the original credits. The lyrics were credited to Darby’s wife, Vera Matson. Meanwhile, Presley had a publishing deal that gave him 50% of the credit on songs he recorded. This gave him songwriting royalties even though he typically had nothing to do with the creation of the songs. WK However, he did often change arrangements and lyrics in the studio. WK Regarding “Love Me Tender,” Darby said, “Elvis has the most terrific ear of anyone I have ever met…All I had to do was play the song for him once and he made it his own!” WK There were other chart versions by Richard Chamberlain (1962, #21) Henri Rene (1956, #44) and Percy Sledge (1967, #40). Among the artists who also recorded and/or performed the song are Julie Andrews and Johnny Cash, Tony Bennett, Andrea Bocelli, James Brown, Petula Clark, Nat “King” Cole, Connie Francis, Norah Jones, Albert King, B.B. King, Barry Manilow, Johnny Mathis, Ricky Nelson, Willie Nelson, the Platters, Cliff Richard, Marty Robbins, Linda Ronstadt, Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, and B.J. Thomas. WK Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Elvis Presley SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 10/4/2021; last updated 10/30/2023.

50 years ago: Patsy Cline charted with “Crazy”

Crazy Patsy Cline

Writer(s): Willie Nelson (see lyrics here) Recorded: August 21, 1961 First Charted: October 9, 1961 Peak: 9 US, 13 CB, 9 GR, 11 HR, 2 AC, 2 CW, 14 UK, 56 AU, 1 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): -- US, -- UK, -- world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 2.0 radio, 22.73 video, 61.28 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Before Willie Nelson became one of country music’s top singers, he broke into the industry as a songwriter after “having tried everything from encyclopedia selling to hawking vacuum cleaners door-to-door.” HL After Faron Young took Nelson’s “Hello Walls” to the top of the country charts, seemingly everyone in town wanted a Willie song. Patsy Cline was looking for a follow-up to “I Fall to Pieces” which had potential to cross over to the pop charts. AC She loved his song “Funny How Time Slips Away,” but Billy Walker, whose relationship with Nelson went back to their Texas days, AC got to it first. Cline was furious, but Willie and Billy thought her voice was perfect for another song Walker had demoed. AC When told the song title was “Crazy,” she shot back, “It sure is.” RS500 She was looking for the up-tempo fare she was more accustomed to singing. A slow-torch song was not what she had in mind. NPR Cline’s producer, Owen Bradley, was convinced of the song’s potential, believing it to be well suited to “her vocal talents and expressive style.” NPR She was on crutches when she recorded the song. She had a fractured hip and near-fatal head injuries HL after she and her brother were in a head-on collision SS that threw her through the car’s windshield. HL “With a lush arrangement and understated backing vocals” RS500 from the Jordanaires alongside the “slow-burn sex appeal” RS500 she infused in the lyrics, she made the song her own. She recorded the vocal in one take TC for her “best-remembered performance.” HL It was “a perfect vehicle to showcase [her] poignant, heartbreaking voice and superb musicianship.” NRR It “bears the marks of Nelson’s idiosyncratic personality – it’s pop and jazz and western and not quite pure country.” TC It became more than just Cline’s only top-10 pop hit and signature tune. Willie Nelson called it “the favorite of anything I ever wrote.” AC “The most enduringly popular ballad in country music history” SS is also the top jukebox single of all time. NPR It launched a new sound in country music called “countrypolitan” RS500 which gained popularity in the wake of rock and roll’s explosive success. NRR Sadly, Cline herself wouldn’t be around to see where country music was headed; she died in a plane crash in March 1963. Resources: AC Ace Collins (1996). The Stories Behind Country Music’s All-Time Greatest 100 Songs. New York, NY; The Berkley Publishing Group. Page 157. TC Toby Creswell (2005). 1001 Songs: The Great Songs of All Time. Thunder’s Mouth Press: New York, NY. Pages 668-9. HL Michael Heatley and Spencer Leigh (1998). Behind the Song: The Stories of 100 Great Pop & Rock Classics. Blandford Books: London, UK. Page 15. NPR National Public Radio (1999). “The Most Important American Musical Works of the 20th Century” NRR National Recording Registry RS500 Rolling Stone (12/04). “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time” SS Steve Sullivan (2013). Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings (Volumes I & II). Scarecrow Press: Lanham, Maryland. Pages 95-7. TB Thunder Bay Press (2006). Singles: Six Decades of Hot Hits & Classic Cuts. Outline Press Ltd.: San Diego, CA. Page 48. Related Links: First posted 8/21/2011; last updated 4/14/2023.

Aerosmith debuted at #1 with “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing”

I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing Aerosmith

Writer(s): Diane Warren (see lyrics here) Released: August 18, 1998 First Charted: May 29, 1998 Peak: 14 US, 11 BA, 18 RR, 13 AC, 2 A40, 4 AR, 4 UK, 2 CN, 18 AU, 10 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 5.0 US, 1.35 UK, 6.49 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 0.7 radio, 661.0 video, 879.51 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Aerosmith established themselves as one of the premiere classic rock band in the 1970s with album rock staples like “Walk This Way,” “Dream On,” and “Sweet Emotion.” By the end of the decade, the group looked like they were toast, but a late ‘80s revival restorted their commercial clout with hits like “Dude Looks Like a Lady,” “Angel,” “Love in an Elevator,” and “Janie’s Got a Gun.” However, it wasn’t until 1998 that Aerosmith landed their one and only #1 song with “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing.” At the time, no act had waited longer – almost 25 years – from its first chart entry to its first chart-topper. FB The song was written by Diane Warren who wrote #1 hits in the 1980s and ‘90s for Bad English (“When I See You Smile”), Toni Braxton (“Un-Break My Heart”), Chicago (“Look Away”), Taylor Dayne (“Love Will Lead You Back”), Celine Dion (“Because You Loved Me”), Milli Vanilli (“Blame It on the Rain”), and Starship (“Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now”). She envisioned someone like Celine Dion singing the power ballad which was featured in 1998 disaster film Armageddon. U2 was asked to perform it, but passed. SF Aerosmith emerged as a candidate after lead singer Steven Tyler’s daughter Liv was cast in the movie. The band’s drummer, Joey Kramer, said it was difficult to imagine them singing the song when he first heard it, but they were able to make it their own after they began playing it. WK Warren was also surprised Aerosmith was asked, but got chills when she was sitting at the piano with Steven Tyler teaching him the song and hearing him bring it to life. SF Birmingham Evening Mail said “Warren weaves her magic again with a bombastic power ballad…[which] perfectly suits Steven Tyler’s sleazy vocals.” WK Billboard’s Larry Flick wrote that it was “a high=voltage performance that is matched by a collision of rock-style instrumentation and grand, faux-classical orchestration.” WK The video for the song intercut performances of the band with clips from the movie, including appearances by one of the movie’s stars, Steven Tyler’s daughter Liv. It won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Video from a Film and Nickelodeon’s Teen Choice Award for Love Song of the Year. It was also nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song. Resources: FB Fred Bronson (2007). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits (4th edition). Billboard Books: New York, NY. Page 870. SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 1/27/2021; last updated 7/24/2023.