45 RPMs 80: Elvis Presley ~ Are You Lonesome To-night?

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Elvis Presley ~ Are You Lonesome Tonight?
 7" 45 RPM record, front cover

record cover photographer unknown

photo of album cover by Styrous®

    

    

Sixty-four years ago, on April 4, 1960, Elvis Presley recorded Are You Lonesome Tonight. The song was written in 1926 by vaudevillians Lou Handman and Roy Turk with three verses, followed by a spoken bridge. They based the bridge on a line in the opera, Pagliacci, by Ruggero Leoncavallo and "You know someone said that the world's a stage. And each must play a part" refers to "All the world's a stage" from the play As You Like It by William Shakespeare.               

Presley loved this song and he sang it in the studio with the lights out, giving himself over totally to its message.          

Elvis Presley ~ Are You Lonesome Tonight?

screenshot

Are you lonesome tonight?
Do you miss me tonight?
Are you sorry we drifted apart?
Does your memory stray to a bright summer day
When I kissed you and called you sweetheart?

Do the chairs in your parlor seem empty and bare?
Do you gaze at your doorstep and picture me there?
Is your heart filled with pain, shall I come back again?
Tell me dear, are you lonesome tonight?

I wonder if you’re lonesome tonight
You know someone said that the world’s a stage and each of us must play a part
Fate had me playing in love with you as my sweetheart
Act one was where we met
I loved you at first glance
You read your lines so cleverly and never missed a cue

Then came act two, you seemed to change, you acted strange
And why I’ve never known
Honey, you lied when you said you loved me
And I had no cause to doubt you
But I’d rather go on hearing your lies
Than to go on living without you

Now the stage is bare and I’m standing there
With emptiness all around
And if you won’t come back to me
Then they can bring the curtain down

Is your heart filled with pain
Shall I come back again?
Tell me dear, are you lonesome tonight?

-Written by Roy Turk and Lou Handman

Elvis Presley ~ Are You Lonesome Tonight?

 7" 45 RPM record, side 1

photo by Styrous®

I Gotta Know is a song recorded by Cliff Richard in September 1959 and Elvis Presley on 4 April 1960. It reached number 20 on the US charts. The composer was Paul Evans; the lyrics were by Matt Williams.       

Elvis Presley ~ I Gotta Know

 7" 45 RPM record, side 2

photo by Styrous®

        

Tracklist:

Side 1:

A - Elvis Presley With The Jordanaires – Are You Lonesome To-Night?, written by Lou Handman, Roy Turk - 3:07

Side 2:

B - Elvis Presley With The Jordanaires – I Gotta Know, written by Matt Williams (3), Paul Evans - 2:14

Companies, etc.

    Record Company – Radio Corporation Of America
    Published By – Bourne, Inc.
    Published By – Cromwell Music, Inc.
    Published By – Gladys Music Inc.
    Pressed By – RCA Records Pressing Plant, Indianapolis

 Credits:

 

Scotty Moore - drums 

D. J. Fontana - piano 

Floyd Cramer - guitar   

Hank Garland - bass  

Bob Moore - percussion.    

Buddy Harman    

The Jordanaires - backing vocalists

 

Notes:

Indianapolis pressing with black labels and Nipper the dog positioned on top.
Matrix numbers are listed above durations.
45 RPM is spelled out without periods above "New Orthophonic High Fidelity" on the right side.
The "T" in within The Jordanaires is capitalized.

Side A: Bourne, Inc.,& Cromwell Music Inc., ASCAP
Side B: Gladys Music Inc., ASCAP

Later pressings incorrectly listed the side B publisher as Alamo Music Inc.
An example can be found here Are You Lonesome To-Night?.

Barcode and Other Identifiers        

      

    Rights Society: ASCAP
    Pressing Plant ID (Stamped in runouts): I
    Matrix / Runout (Side A label): L2WW-0106
    Matrix / Runout (Side B label): L2WW-0104
    Matrix / Runout (Side A stamped, variant 1): L2 WW0106-1S I Λ6
    Matrix / Runout (Side B stamped, variant 1): L2 WW0104-2S I Λ1
    Matrix / Runout (Side A stamped, variant 2): L2 WW0106-4S A1
    Matrix / Runout (Side B stamped, variant 2): L2 WW0104- 4S A3
    Matrix / Runout (Side A stamped, variant 3): L2 WW0106-1S I Λ1
    Matrix / Runout (Side B stamped, variant 3): L2 WW0104-3S I Λ2
    Matrix / Runout (Side A stamped, variant 4): L2 WW0106-3S I Λ5
    Matrix / Runout (Side B stamped, variant 4): L2 WW0104-3S I ΛC

  

Elvis Presley – Are You Lonesome To-Night?
Label:    RCA Victor – 47-7810
Format:    Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM, Single, Indianapolis Pressing
Country: US
Released: Nov 1960
Genre:    Pop
Style:    Ballad, Vocal

        

        

        

        

Viewfinder links:       

         

Floyd Cramer

The Jordanaires         
Elvis Presley          

Roy Turk            
     
Net links:       

         

         

Elvis Presley website        

        
     
YouTube links:      
        
Are You Lonesome Tonight? audio        

Are You Lonesome Tonight? video        

        
         

        

        

Styrous® ~ Thursday, April 4, 2024

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