Are You Lonesome Tonight? (song)
Information about Are You Lonesome Tonight? (song)
"Are You Lonesome Tonight?" is a popular song with music by Lou Handman and lyrics by Roy Turk. It was published in 1926.
The first charting version of "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" was recorded by Blue Barron for MGM Records as catalog number 10628. The record first reached the Billboard pop chart on April 7, 1950 and lasted eight weeks there, peaking at number nineteen. [1] Only a few weeks after Barron's recording, Al Jolson recorded a version of the song on April 28, 1950; it was released by Decca Records as catalog number 27043. The best known recording was by Elvis Presley, recorded on April 4, 1960 and engineered by Nashville sound pioneer Bill Porter. Colonel Parker (it was one of his wife's favorite songs) persuaded Elvis to record his own rendition of this song. Elvis' version was based on the Blue Barron Orchestra in 1950 and the spoken part of the song was loosely based on Shakespeare's As You Like it using Jaques' speech on Act II Scene VII: "All the world's a stage, and all men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts." It went on to be one of the biggest-selling singles of 1960.
Elvis, occasionally during live performances, would randomly change lyrics to give them humorous connotations. One popular instance was recorded at the International Hotel in Vegas on August 26, 1969. During the performance, instead of singing: "Do you gaze at your doorstep and picture me there", he sings "Do you gaze at your bald head and wish you had hair". Moments later, he saw a bald man in the audience (as legend has it), and burst into laughter which continued into the next lines. The audience was treated to additional laughter during the spoken verse singing: "You know someone said that the world's a stage, and each must play a part." Seeing the irony of his own lyrics, Elvis was again overtaken by laughter and barely recovered. The audience enjoyed the sincerity of the moment while Elvis regained his composure. Meanwhile the band and backup singers continued to keep the song going. It is speculated that much of Elvis' mirth derived from the solo backing singer whose falsetto remained resolute throughout. To this, Elvis comes back just in time for the line: "And I had no cause to doubt you" followed by more laughter. So overtaken, Elvis encourages the backup singers to "sing it" drawing even more laughter which nearly brings the house down. In the end, the song is finished to a round of applause. The version is considered to be a popular underground classic, and was a UK Top 30 hit in 1983.
According to Dr. Demento, who plays the version on his show, there is nothing on the label of the recording to indicate that it is anything other than an ordinary recording of the song--"People must have been surprised when they took it home and played it."
Elvis said at the end, "That's it, man, fourteen years right down the drain...I'll tell ya."
The Lettermen recorded the song as a track on their 1964 album She Cried.
Doris Day recorded the song on June 6, 1967, in a version included on The Love Album.
Mr. Saks & The Blue Strings aka Tommy & The Tom Toms recorded the song as an instrumental single in 1960 for noted producer Major Bill Smith.
1920s
A number of artists recorded "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" in 1927. Composer Lou Handman himself played piano while his sister Edith provided the vocals for a recording released on the Gennett label. Vaughn DeLeath (also known as "The Original Radio Girl") recorded the song twice, first on June 13, as solo and later on September 21, as vocalist for The Colonial Club Orchestra. Around August 1927, another version was released by famed tenor Henry Burr.1950s and 1960s
| "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
) "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" cover | |||||
| Single by Elvis Presley | |||||
| B-side(s) | "I Gotta Know" | ||||
| Released | November 1, 1960 | ||||
| Format | 7" | ||||
| Recorded | April 4, 1960 | ||||
| Peak chart positions | |||||
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| Elvis Presley singles chronology | |||||
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The first charting version of "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" was recorded by Blue Barron for MGM Records as catalog number 10628. The record first reached the Billboard pop chart on April 7, 1950 and lasted eight weeks there, peaking at number nineteen. [1] Only a few weeks after Barron's recording, Al Jolson recorded a version of the song on April 28, 1950; it was released by Decca Records as catalog number 27043. The best known recording was by Elvis Presley, recorded on April 4, 1960 and engineered by Nashville sound pioneer Bill Porter. Colonel Parker (it was one of his wife's favorite songs) persuaded Elvis to record his own rendition of this song. Elvis' version was based on the Blue Barron Orchestra in 1950 and the spoken part of the song was loosely based on Shakespeare's As You Like it using Jaques' speech on Act II Scene VII: "All the world's a stage, and all men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts." It went on to be one of the biggest-selling singles of 1960.
Elvis, occasionally during live performances, would randomly change lyrics to give them humorous connotations. One popular instance was recorded at the International Hotel in Vegas on August 26, 1969. During the performance, instead of singing: "Do you gaze at your doorstep and picture me there", he sings "Do you gaze at your bald head and wish you had hair". Moments later, he saw a bald man in the audience (as legend has it), and burst into laughter which continued into the next lines. The audience was treated to additional laughter during the spoken verse singing: "You know someone said that the world's a stage, and each must play a part." Seeing the irony of his own lyrics, Elvis was again overtaken by laughter and barely recovered. The audience enjoyed the sincerity of the moment while Elvis regained his composure. Meanwhile the band and backup singers continued to keep the song going. It is speculated that much of Elvis' mirth derived from the solo backing singer whose falsetto remained resolute throughout. To this, Elvis comes back just in time for the line: "And I had no cause to doubt you" followed by more laughter. So overtaken, Elvis encourages the backup singers to "sing it" drawing even more laughter which nearly brings the house down. In the end, the song is finished to a round of applause. The version is considered to be a popular underground classic, and was a UK Top 30 hit in 1983.
According to Dr. Demento, who plays the version on his show, there is nothing on the label of the recording to indicate that it is anything other than an ordinary recording of the song--"People must have been surprised when they took it home and played it."
Elvis said at the end, "That's it, man, fourteen years right down the drain...I'll tell ya."
The Lettermen recorded the song as a track on their 1964 album She Cried.
Doris Day recorded the song on June 6, 1967, in a version included on The Love Album.
Mr. Saks & The Blue Strings aka Tommy & The Tom Toms recorded the song as an instrumental single in 1960 for noted producer Major Bill Smith.
Others cover versions
- Merle Haggard
- Mr. Saks & The Blue Strings aka Tommy & The Tom Toms
- Chas. Harrison UK
- Al Martino
- Frank Sinatra
- Bryan Ferry
- Norah Jones
- California Dreamlike Orchestra
- Barry Manilow
- Carter Family
- Mike Moran (answer song)
- Mavericks
- U2 ("live")
| Preceded by "Stay" by Maurice Williams & the Zodiacs | Billboard Hot 100 number one single (Elvis Presley version) November 28, 1960 | Succeeded by "Wonderland by Night" by Bert Kaempfert |
| Preceded by "Poetry in Motion" by Johnny Tillotson | UK Singles Chart number-one single (Elvis Presley version) January 26, 1960 for 4 weeks | Succeeded by "Sailor" by Petula Clark |
External links
- Song lyric, from a fan's ad-free website
- Original Version of Elvis' Song
References
Popular music is music belonging to any of a number of musical styles that are accessible to the general public and are disseminated by one or more of the mass media. It stands in contrast to art music[1]
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A song is a relatively short musical composition. Songs contain vocal parts that are performed with the human voice and generally feature words (lyrics), commonly accompanied by other musical instruments (exceptions would be a cappella and scat songs).
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Lou Handman is a composer born in New York City on September 10, 1894 and died in Flushing, New York on December 9, 1956. In his early career toured in vaudeville shows in Australia and New York. Handman worked closely with Roy Turk.
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Roy Turk (born September 20 1892 in New York, New York; died November 30 1934 in Hollywood, California) was a U.S. songwriter. A lyricist, he frequently collaborated with composer Fred E. Ahlert – their popular 1928 song "Mean to Me" has become a jazz standard.
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-1926- 1927 . 1928 . 1929 1930 . 1931 . 1932 . 1933 . 1934 . 1935 .
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20th century - 21st century
1890s 1900s 1910s - 1920s - 1930s 1940s 1950s
1924 1925 1926 - 1927 - 1928 1929 1930
Year 1927 (MCMXXVII
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1890s 1900s 1910s - 1920s - 1930s 1940s 1950s
1924 1925 1926 - 1927 - 1928 1929 1930
Year 1927 (MCMXXVII
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Gennett (pronounced with a soft G) was a United States based record label which flourished in the 1920s.
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Label History
Gennett records was founded in Richmond, Indiana by the Starr Piano Company, and released its first records in October of 1917...... Click the link for more information.
Vaughn De Leath (1894 - 1943) was a famous female radio jazz singer who gained popularity in the 1920s and became known as "The Original Radio Girl" and "First Lady of Radio". She was also one of the early crooners.
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Henry Burr, sometimes called Irving Gillette and other pseudonyms, born Harry Haley McClaskey, (born 1882 - died 1941), singer of popular songs from the early part of the early 20th century, early radio performer and producer.
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In music, a single is a short recording of one or more separate tracks. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats.
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- Vinyl singles consist of one or more tracks on a traditional gramophone record.
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Elvis Aaron Presley[1][2] (January 8, 1935–August 16, 1977), was an American singer, musician, actor, writer, and producer. He is a cultural icon, often known as "The King of Rock 'n' Roll", or simply "The King".
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A-side and B-side refer to the two sides of 7 inch vinyl records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song (the one that
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__NOEDITSECTION__ A record chart, also known as a music chart, is a method of ranking music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of record charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40.
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The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on airplay and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday; while the airplay
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UK Singles Chart is currently compiled by The Official UK Charts Company (OCC) on behalf of the British record industry. The chart week runs from Sunday to Saturday, with the chart being printed in Music Week magazine, and published online at Yahoo! Music UK (formerly Dotmusic)
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Elvis Aaron Presley[1][2] (January 8, 1935–August 16, 1977), was an American singer, musician, actor, writer, and producer. He is a cultural icon, often known as "The King of Rock 'n' Roll", or simply "The King".
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Stuck On You" was Elvis Presley's first hit single after ending his two-year stint in the US Army. He recorded the song during March of 1960, and the single was released within weeks, and went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts in late-April 1960, becoming his first number-one
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__NOEDITSECTION__ A record chart, also known as a music chart, is a method of ranking music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of record charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40.
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Blue Barron (November 19, 1913 - July 16, 2005) was an American orchestra leader in the 1940s and early 1950s during the "Big Band" era.
Born Harry Freidman in Cleveland, Ohio, he studied at Ohio State University before going into show business.
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Born Harry Freidman in Cleveland, Ohio, he studied at Ohio State University before going into show business.
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MGM Records was a record label started by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio in 1946, for the purpose of releasing soundtrack albums of their musical films. Their first was the soundtrack of Till the Clouds Roll By, based on the life of composer Jerome Kern.
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This list presents the numbering systems used by various record companies for single (mainly 7" 33 1/3 and 45, and 10" 78 rpm) records.
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Capitol
Capitol Records began with number 100 when it started...... Click the link for more information.
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis.
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April 7 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.
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Al Jolson (May 26, 1886–October 23, 1950) was a highly acclaimed American singer, comedian and actor of Jewish heritage whose career lasted from 1911 until his death in 1950.
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April 28 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.
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-1950- 1951 . 1952 . 1953 1954 . 1955 . 1956 . 1957 . 1958 . 1959 .
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Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929. Its US label was established in late 1934.
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The label
The name "Decca" dates back to a portable gramophone called the "Decca Dulcephone" patented in 1914 by musical instrument makers Barnett Samuel and Sons...... Click the link for more information.
Elvis Aaron Presley[1][2] (January 8, 1935–August 16, 1977), was an American singer, musician, actor, writer, and producer. He is a cultural icon, often known as "The King of Rock 'n' Roll", or simply "The King".
..... Click the link for more information.
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April 4 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.
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