“Oh, he's a crooner, but the man parties like a rock star.” »read more
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This was written by songwriters Paul Evans and Matt Williams, and was released on the B-side of Elvis' #1 hit "Are You Lonesome Tonight." This was written specifically for Elvis, as there was a big payout if he recorded one of your songs. Evans explains: "I would imagine how he sang, because Elvis had a specific style. He would mumble a little bit, he wasn't clear, necessarily, on his lyrics. And so I would sing it like he would sing it, the kind of guttural and sexy thing that he always did. So if we wanted to write for Elvis, we would have to try to feel like Elvis, and what does he say in his songs? We knew what he liked, and we wanted to give him something he liked, of course. I would do the demo, and I would do the singing. For an artist of that stature you had to be very careful with your demos, because generally speaking you would get the final from Elvis back with basically the arrangement of the demo. Of course, instead of me singing 4-part harmonies, you'd get the Jordanaires, and instead of my 5-piece orchestra, you'd have whatever he wanted on his session, or his producer wanted."
For all the swagger Elvis carried, he often sounded quite lovelorn in his songs, and this one is a good example. Evans explains: "Love Me Tender, please, love me: that was the essence of Pop music - or it used to be. I think the essence today is naughty, and the essence is angry. We didn't do angry music in the '50s and '60s." (Thanks to Paul for speaking with us about this song. Read his full interview in the Songfacts interviews section. His website is paulevans.com.)
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Comments:
cliff and elvis recorded a few of the same songs....blue suede shoes,angel,it is no secret and too much to name a but a few, but this track was recorded by cliff and the shads a year before elvis and with hank marvins guitar playing on the track i reckon cliffs version is a bit better.....interestly cliff also recorded "love letters" 5 years before elvis recorded it but in this case i prefer elvis singing it.....check out cliff singing "all shook up" on his 2003 album "wanted" it a cool version totally different to all other versions of the track...
- mark, dublin, Ireland
It is interesting to read that Paul Evans says that this song was especially written for Elvis as it was first recorded and released by Cliff Richard and the Shadows. They recorded it July 26, 1959, in the Abbey Road studio, London, with Norrie Paramor as producer and engineered by Malcolm Addey & David Lloyd (mono) and Peter Bown & Stuart Eltham (stereo). It was performed by Cliff Richard (vocals), Hank Marvin (guitar), Bruce Welch (guitar), Jet Harris (bass), Tony Meehan (drums). It was released on the LP Cliff Sings in November 1959.
I found this information on the Cliff Richard Song Database, http://www.cliffrichardsongs.com.
- Ulf, Bollnäs, Sweden