What’s the TRUE Story Behind Elvis’ Biggest Hits?
You know all the songs. You know the life story. Perhaps you even know where to buy a nice white rhinestone jumpsuit. But with Elvis Presley, there’s always more to learn — including the complex backstories of some of his greatest hits. Everything from French folk songs to multistate crime sprees inspired Presley’s classic songs. So the next time you spin one of these tracks, know that you’re doing more than just enjoying the King’s timeless voice — you’re getting a pretty fascinating history lesson.
“Love Me Tender”
This 1956 No. 1 hit is based on the Civil War ballad “Aura Lea.” The folk song, originally penned by W.W. Fosdick and George R. Poulton, is a classic, mournful lost-love ballad about a “maid of golden hair”; released in 1861, it became a popular campfire tune with both Union and Confederate soldiers. Frances Farmer sang the original song in the 1936 film Come and Get It; the tune became associated with her, and she performed it again in 1957 on The Ed Sullivan Show.
Songwriter Ken Darby wrote new lyrics for Elvis’ version, with Elvis as well as Darby’s wife, Ver Matson, getting co-credit; music credit went to George R. Poulton, even though the melody was technically in the public domain and Poulton died in 1867.
Though “Love Me Tender” was the theme song of the 1956 film of the same name, Elvis’s debut film was originally titled The Reno Brothers — producers changed the film’s title when the song, which was released several months in advance of the film, became a runaway hit.
>> Elvis Week 2024 is Offering Up Some Fun Events in Honor of The King
“Heartbreak Hotel”
Almost any Elvis fan has heard the story that 1956’s “Heartbreak Hotel” was written after songwriters Mae Boren Axton and Tommy Durden read a news article about a suicide note, in which the doomed young man claimed “I walk a lonely street.”
Decades of research were unable to unearth this article (which was reputedly published in the Miami Herald), but a 2016 investigation by Rolling Stone found that Axton and Durden were probably mis-recalling an article about the death of a young criminal named Alvin Krolik. Krolik claimed to have turned to a life of crime to deal with the pain of a failed marriage; in 1953, the guilt-ridden young man turned himself in to the Chicago police and claimed responsibility for a string of armed robberies.
Reporters were intrigued by Krolik, who was a painter and writer (in addition to being an armed robber, of course). Several articles quoted an unpublished memoir of Krolik’s: “If you stand on a corner with a pack of cigarettes or a bottle and have nothing to do in life, I suggest you sit down and think. This is the story of a person who walked a lonely street. I hope this will help someone in the future.”
Krolik spent several years walking the straight and narrow, picking up jobs painting murals. But in the summer of 1955, he attempted to return to his prior life of crime, robbing a liquor store in El Paso, Texas. The store’s owner shot Krolik, who died from his injuries. The local El Paso newspaper titled its article on Krolik’s death “Story of Person Who Walked Lonely Street.”
According to Rolling Stone, “The phrase [“lonely street”] found its way into stories and headlines about Krolik’s death in at least a dozen U.S. newspapers over the next few days in Texas, North Carolina and Alabama. More versions of the news item are likely to surface now; somehow the story of Krolik’s death must have reached the ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ songwriters in northern Florida.”
>> Fascinating Facts About The King, Elvis Presley
“Hound Dog”
It’s well known that several performers took a crack at “Hound Dog” before Presley found massive success with the tune in 1956. But it’s less well known that the song was originally penned for a woman — and not just any woman, but one described by song cowriter Jerry Lieber as “the biggest, baddest, saltiest chick you would ever see.” That would be blues legend Big Mama Thornton, the first to record the song in 1952.
Songwriters Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller were invited to meet Thornton by singer, composer and producer Johnny Otis. The pair were immediately struck by Thornton’s tough attitude. Lieber told the Library of Congress, “I had to write a song for her that basically said ‘Go [expletive] yourself’ but how do you do it without actually saying it? And how to do it telling a story? I couldn’t just have a song full of expletives, hence the ‘Hound Dog.'”
But Thornton’s bluesy version is quite different from Presley’s — though he did supposedly take inspiration from the cover by Freddie Bell and the Bellboys, who were playing Vegas in early 1956, during the same time as Elvis’ first Vegas residency.
>> Big Mama Thornton Original “Hound Dog” Singer Finally Entering Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
“All Shook Up”
Though Elvis has a songwriting credit on many of his hits, in a 1957 interview with the Elvis Fan Club, the King playfully denied having a hand in actually writing any of his songs, except for this 1957 number:
“I never wrote a song in my life. I get one-third of the credit for recording it. It makes me look smarter than I am. I’ve never even had an idea for a song. Just once, maybe. I went to bed one night, had quite a dream and woke up all shook up. I phoned a pal and told him about it. By morning, he had a new song, ‘All Shook Up’.”
Other stories claim that Elvis and collaborator Otis Blackwell were inspired to write the song after Blackwell’s friend shook up a bottle of Pepsi.
>> What Was Elvis’ Favorite Film Role? 10 Things You May Not Know About His Films
“It’s Now or Never”
“It’s Now or Never,” which spent five weeks at No. 1 in 1960, has its roots in the 1898 Neopolitan song “O Sole Mio.” While stationed in Germany with the Army, Elvis was inspired to record his own version — one also partially influenced by an English-language version of the song “There’s No Tomorrow” by Tony Martin. According to The New York Times, “Presley told the idea to his music publisher, Freddy Bienstock, who was visiting him in Germany, according to the book Behind the Hits (1986) by Bob Shannon and John Javna. Mr. Bienstock, who many times found songwriters for Presley, returned to his New York office, where he found two songwriters, [Aaron] Schroeder and Wally Gold, the only people in that day. The two wrote the lyrics in half an hour. Selling more than 20 million records, the song became No. 1 in countries all over the world and was Presley’s bestselling single ever.”
In the complete version of the 1977 recording Elvis in Concert, Presley discussed the song’s background and brought out tenor Sherrill Nielsen to sing an excerpt from the Italian standard, before launching into his hit.
“Can’t Help Falling in Love”
1961’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love” was recorded for the soundtrack to Blue Hawaii. It topped the U.K. charts, hit No. 2 on U.S. charts, and according to a 2020 U.K. survey, remains the most popular song for wedding first dances.
However, the song’s melody pre-dates Blue Hawaii, the birth of Elvis and most states in the union, as “Can’t Help Falling in Love” takes its tune from the 1784 French love ballad “Plaisir d’amour.”
But while both Elvis’ version and the traditional French version are love songs, the French lyrics skew much darker. The original song’s refrain translates as, “The joys of love are but a moment long/The pain of love endures the whole life long,” which, had they been retained for Elvis’ version, probably would have made it a less popular tune for taking your new bride or groom out onto the dance floor.
1960’s folk singer Joan Baez often performed the original song in both French and English, as can be seen in this 1966 clip, and it remains a favorite among classical vocal performers like Charlotte Church.
