Tune Tuesday – It’s Now or Never

Elvis hit #1 on this day in 1960 with It’s Now or Never. It was his second Number 1 after returning from the Army.

Songfacts.com says that the song “borrows the chord progression as well as the melody from the Italian song “O Sole Mio”, which was first recorded by Giuseppe Anselmi in 1907. Mario Lanza popularized the song, and Tony Martin released the first English translation as “There’s No Tomorrow” in 1949.

The story goes that when Elvis was in the US army, he was stationed in Germany and heard “O Sole Mio.” When he was discharged, he asked his record company to write an English translation for him, a task that went to songwriters Aaron Schroeder and Wally Gold, who according to Gold, did it in 30 minutes. It was a huge hit, staying at the top spot in America and staying for five weeks.

Songfacts Fun Fact: Here we have Elvis Presley, the undisputed king of rock and roll, singing a song with a traditional melody that sounds like something Dean Martin would record. It was quite a stretch for Elvis and also a challenge: in 1957 Frank Sinatra said, “When he goes into something serious, a bigger kind of singing, we’ll find out if he is a singer.”

His next single, “Are You Lonesome Tonight (Which would also go to number one) was a cover of a song from 1926 and was also a massive hit, leading some to wonder if Elvis was going to become a crooner and abandon rock. In hindsight, he was branching out, maturing as an artist by exploring different musical styles. Rock and roll didn’t go anywhere and entered a new phase a few years later when the British Invasion took hold.

This was one of 17 songs written by songwriter and producer Aaron Schroeder for Elvis. Others include “Stuck on You” and “A Big Hunk O’ Love” but this was the biggest hit that he penned for The King. Another familiar tune to many that he wrote was the theme song for the TV series Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!

Fun Fact #2: Barry White heard this song in 1960 when he was in jail for stealing tires. The song had such an impact on White, that it convinced him to pursue a career in music.

Source: Songfacts.com