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Saturday, October 05, 2024
Saturday Music Post - Love Me Tender
"Love Me Tender" was a number one hit for Elvis Presley in 1956, the same year it was featured in Elvis's first movie, also called Love Me Tender. The melody was taken from the Civil War era ballad "Aura Lea" (also called "Aura Lee"), with new lyrics by Ken Darby, though attributed, for reasons never explained, to his wife Vera Matson. As performed on the Ed Sullivan show that same year, "Love Me Tender" began Presley's transition from rockabilly to pop. The choice of "Aura Lea" for the melody was appropriate for the movie, which was set in the immediate aftermath of the Civil War. Don't miss the film clip at the bottom of the post at The Faculty Lounge.
Posted by Steve Lubet on October 5, 2024 at 06:29 AM | Permalink
Comments
"Love Me Tender" perfectly captures the soft, romantic side of Elvis as he transitioned from rockabilly to pop. It's amazing how a Civil War ballad evolved into a timeless classic!
Posted by: Retro bowl | Oct 12, 2024 12:29:29 AM
Apparently Ken Darby was upset over the fact that Elvis' contract called for him getting half the songwriting credit on anything he recorded, or in this case just the lyrics. So he put the credit in his wife's name, and when asked why, would say "because she didn't write it either."
Posted by: Michael Gould | Oct 5, 2024 10:20:36 AM
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