Are You Lonesome Tonight?
The story behind the song…
The story behind Elvis’s 1960 hit, links to William Shakespeare and Al Jolson and the “laughing version” – Are You Lonesome Tonight?
Podcasts
The story behind Elvis’s song Are You Lonesome tonight…
Mop Tops and The King podcast
Author of the book Rock’n’Roll Unravelled, Derek Shelmerdine, is a fortnightly guest on The Mop Tops & The King. In short, host Steve Chelmsford’s radio show is all about the music and the times of The Beatles and Elvis Presley. Consequently, the show is broadcast on the MTK network of nearly 100 radio stations around the world.
To hear this show live…
weekly schedule – times and stations
During the week: 21 to 27 October
Are You Lonesome Tonight?
Elvis Presley had a big hit with Are You Lonesome Tonight in late 1960. It spent six weeks at the top of the Billboard Top-40. Not only that but it also made #3 on Billboard’s R&B chart and #22 on the country music chart. As well as this American success, the single also spent four weeks at the top of the UK charts. Interestingly, this was Elvis’s last Billboard Country Top-40 until Don’t Cry Daddy in 1970.
The song has a really interesting background. Not least of which was that it was the only song Elvis’s manager, Colonel Parker asked Elvis to record. This was because it was his wife, Marie’s favourite song.
Elvis had recently returned from his time in the US Army. Following this, in March 1960 Elvis was back in the studio to record his new album, Elvis is Back. The recording session for Are You Lonesome Tonight on 4 April was as part of these album sessions. These recordings became Elvis’s first stereo releases.
By the time that they came to record Are You Lonesome Tonight, it was the early hours of the morning. Elvis had the studio lights turned down low in order to get himself into the mood. The session musicians included, guitarist Scotty Moore, drummer DJ Fontana, pianist Floyd Cramer, saxophonist Boots Randolph and backing vocals from the Jordanaires.
The song dates back to 1927
The song Are You Lonesome Tonight dates back to 1927. Charles Hart recorded the original version. Although, Vaughn De Leath had the first hit version, also in 1927. Known as “The Original Radio Girl”, Vaughn De Leath is often accredited with inventing the singing style of “crooning”.
By 1950 the song was modified to include a spoken passage. This was loosely based on Shakespeare’s “all the world’s a stage” from As You Like It, Act II Scene VII.
In 1950 Al Jolson recorded the song and included this spoken passage.
Blue Barron and His Orchestra also recorded a version in 1950. This also included the spoken part and is generally considered to be the version that influenced Elvis.
Elvis recorded his famous “laughing version” of the song, live at the International Hotel in Las Vegas on 26 Aug 1969. In this performance he sings the line, “Do you gaze at your forehead and wish you had hair”. He sings the line completely deadpan, as though it was the actual lyric. Straight after that he laughs and then laughs all the way through the rest of the song. In live performances Elvis would often change the spoken words to more humorous lines.
It’s not often that you’ll find Elvis, Al Jolson and Shakespeare in the same story.
