Love Me Tender (song)

"Love Me Tender"
Single by Elvis Presley
B-side	"Any Way You Want Me"
Released	October 6, 1956
Format	7" single
Recorded	August 24, 1956
Genre	Acoustic
Length	2:41
Label	RCA Records
Writer(s)	Elvis Presley, Vera Matson (credited); George R. Poulton, Ken Darby (uncredited)
Producer	Ernie Oelhrich, Thorne Norgar
Elvis Presley singles chronology
"Shake, Rattle and Roll" (1956) "Love Me Tender" (1956) "Too Much" (1957)

"Love Me Tender"
Single by Richard Chamberlain
from the album Richard Chamberlain Sings
B-side	"All I Do Is Dream of You"
Released	1962
Format	7" single
Label	MGM Records
Writer(s)	Elvis Presley, Vera Matson
Richard Chamberlain singles chronology
"Theme From Dr. Kildare (Three Stars Will Shine Tonight)" (1962) "Love Me Tender" (1962) "All I Have to Do Is Dream" / "Hi-Lili, Hi-Lo" (1963)

"Love Me Tender" is a song recorded by Elvis Presley and published by Elvis Presley Music, adapted from the tune of "Aura Lee" (or "Aura Lea"), a sentimental Civil War ballad.

History

"Aura Lee" was published in 1861 with music by George R. Poulton and words by W.W. Fosdick, and this Civil War song later became popular with college glee clubs and barbershop quartets. It was also sung at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York.

Elvis Presley performed "Love Me Tender" on The Ed Sullivan Show on September 9, 1956, shortly before the single's release and about a month before the movie, Love Me Tender, was released, for which the song was originally recorded. On the following day, RCA received 1 million advance orders, making it a gold record before it was even released. The studio, 20th Century Fox, originally wanted to call the movie The Reno Brothers but instead re-titled it Love Me Tender to capitalize on the song's popularity.

Movie producer Hal Wallis would not allow Presley's regular band (Scotty Moore, Bill Black, and D.J. Fontana) to play on the soundtrack. Instead, The Ken Darby Trio provided the musical backing with Red Robinson on drums, Charles Prescott on bass, Vita Mumolo on guitar, and Jon Dodson on background vocals, with Presley providing only lead vocals.

The song is credited to Presley and Vera Matson because of the publishing agreement reached for the assignment of royalties, but the principal writer of the lyrics was Ken Darby (Matson's husband). The song was published by Elvis Presley Music. Darby also adapted the Civil War tune, which was in the public domain. When asked why he credited his wife as co-songwriter along with Presley, Darby responded, "Because she didn't write it either."

Presley received co-songwriting credit due to his Hill & Range publishing deal which demanded songwriters concede 50 percent of the credit of their song if they wanted Presley to record it; Presley never wrote any of his own songs according to Peter Guralnick. But he did co-write "You'll Be Gone" and "That's Someone You Never Forget". As with nearly all his early RCA recordings, Presley took control in the studio despite not being credited as producer. He would regularly change arrangements and lyrics to the point the original song was barely recognizable. This, arguably, justified the cowriting credit in this case.

Elvis Presley recording

The song hit #1 on the Billboard charts the week ending November 3, 1956, remaining in the position for 5 weeks and reached no. 11 on the charts in the UK. "Love Me Tender" also reached number three for three weeks on the R&B chart. It was also an achievement as "Love Me Tender" succeeded another Presley single, "Hound Dog/Don't Be Cruel" at #1. This occurrence marked two important events in Billboard history. During this time, Elvis accomplished another record; the longest consecutive stay at number one by a single artist, sixteen weeks, though this was tied by Boyz II Men in 1994 and stood for eight years until being surpassed by R&B singer Usher in 2004 who spent 19 weeks at the top of the charts.

This version was ranked #437 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

In 1968, Presley recorded a 52-second track entitled "Violet (Flower of N.Y.U.)" for the soundtrack of the film The Trouble with Girls. Unreleased until after Presley's death, the song used the same melody as "Aura Lee", the source song for "Love Me Tender".

Although Presley never re-recorded "Love Me Tender" in a studio setting, two live recordings of the song were released on the albums: NBC-TV Special (1968) and Elvis: As Recorded at Madison Square Garden (1972), with additional performances from concert and television appearances being released after Presley's death. The song was also performed in the Golden Globe-winning concert film Elvis on Tour (1972).

Versions

• Love me tender - 2:41 - Recorded Aug 24, 1956
• Love me tender (End title version) - 1:08 - Recorded Oct 01, 1956
• Love me tender (Unreleased stereo version) - 2:42 - Recorded Aug 24, 1956

The 1997 Compact disc reissue with bonus tracks of the Jailhouse Rock (EP) contains these 3 versions.

Other recordings

• Della Reese recorded the song in 1983 for the album "Sure Like Lovin' You".
• Richard Chamberlain reached no. 21 on the Billboard Pop singles chart with his version when it was released as a single in 1962 on MGM.
• Percy Sledge had a Top 40 hit with a cover version in 1967, going to no. 40 on the US Billboard Pop chart, no. 35 on the R&B chart, and no. 35 on the Canadian chart.
• B.B. King recorded the song on his 1982 MCA album Love Me Tender.
• Linda Ronstadt featured a cover on her album Living in the USA.
• The Platters released the song as a single in 1964, Mercury 72359, and on their 1965 album Love Me Tender.
• Stuart Sutcliffe performed it with The Beatles, though no recording was ever released.
• Amy Grant recorded the song for the 1992 Honeymoon in Vegas soundtrack.
• Merle Haggard recorded the song on his 1977 album My Farewell to Elvis.
• Uruguayan band, Trotsky Vengaran, recorded a version of this song on its 2002 studio album, "Todo lo Contrario"
• Muslim Magomaev recorded it in 2007.
• Ricky Nelson performed the song on an episode of the TV series The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.
• Engelbert Humperdinck recorded the song on his #1 Love Songs of All-Time album.
• Norah Jones and Adam Levy recorded a version of it for the The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (soundtrack)
• James Brown released his version as an A side single in 1978, b/w "Have A Happy Day", Polydor 14460, and as a B side b/w "The Spank" as Polydor 14487, as a tribute.
• Tony Bennett recorded a version on the 1994 Mercury album It's Now or Never: The Tribute to Elvis Presley.
• Frank Sinatra recorded the song in 1960 as a duet with Elvis Presley and on his Trilogy collection in 1980.
• Johnny Mathis recorded the song in 2010 on his Let It Be Me album.
• Thalía recorded the song in 2010 on the album "Viva Elvis".
• Mick Ronson covered the song on his 1974 album Slaughter on 10th Avenue.
• Vytautas Juozapaitis, a soloist of Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre, recorded a Lithuanian version entitled "Mylek Mane Svelniai" on his debut album Negaliu Nemyleti (Can't Help Falling In Love) released in 2004.
• Annette Peacock covered the song on her 1972 album I'm the One.
• Scatman John covered the song before his death in December 1999 in his greatest hits compilation, The Best of Scatman John, which was released on October 7, 2002 (Japan only).

Preceded by Don't Be Cruel	Cash Box magazine best selling record chart #1 record October 27, 1956–November 24, 1956	Succeeded by "Singing the Blues" by Guy Mitchell
Preceded by "Green Door" by Jim Lowe	Billboard Top 100 number-one single November 24, 1956 (2 weeks)	Succeeded by "Singing the Blues" by Guy Mitchell

External links

• Love Me Tender / Anyway You Want Me Guide part of the The Elvis Presley Record Research Database
• The Truth Behind Love Me Tender