What year was Dont Be Cruel by Elvis Presley?

"Don't Be Cruel" gave Elvis Presley his biggest success on record. The song was written by Otis Blackwell, a favorite of the singer. It is a lover's plea in which the narrator begins by saying he is alone and apologizing to his girlfriend, then goes on to declare his fidelity, ask her to come over, and finally propose marriage. Presley was played a demo of the song at a recording session on July 2, 1956, and immediately agreed to record it. (He took a songwriting credit as a "cut-in.") He gave it a bouncy arrangement which made for an infectious track that suggested rockabilly while remaining a pop recording. "Don't Be Cruel" was released as a single later in the month. Its B-side, "Hound Dog," proved so popular that the two songs were linked and the record was treated as a double-A-side single. It topped the pop, country, and R&B charts for months, selling more than four million copies and becoming the biggest single record of 1956. Though it remains closely identified with Presley, "Don't Be Cruel" has been successfully covered by other artists. Bass player Bill Black, who played on the Presley recording, cut an instrumental version with his Combo that reached the pop Top 20 and the R&B Top Ten in 1960. Barbara Lynn had a minor chart entry with her version in 1963. The Judds took "Don't Be Cruel" into the country Top Ten in 1987, and Cheap Trick brought it back to the pop Top Five in 1988. In addition to appearing on 12 chart albums by Elvis Presley between 1958 and 1992, it has been featured on chart albums by a variety of other artists, among them Jerry Lee Lewis, Billy Swan, Alvin Lee, Merle Haggard, and Neil Diamond. And there have been dozens of other recordings, including ones by Sandy Denny, Dillard and Clark, Connie Francis, Tom Jones, Albert King, Al Kooper, Sandy Nelson, the Platters, the Residents, and the Smithereens. Song titles cannot be copyrighted, and, in 1988, Babyface, L.A. Reid, and Daryl Simmons wrote their own song called "Don't Be Cruel," which became a number one R&B and Top Ten pop hit for Bobby Brown.

Suzi Quatro was inspired by Presley singing "Don't Be Cruel". She is the first female bass player to become a major rock star. This broke a barrier to women's participation in rock music.[9]:1–3[10] Quatro had her "Elvis moment" on January 6, 1957, when she was six years old. With her older sister Arlene, she was watching Elvis on The Ed Sullivan Show. Arlene was screaming as Elvis sang "Don't Be Cruel". When he sang "Mmmmmm", Quatro had her first sexual thrill (but did not know what it was). Then their father (Art) entered the room, said "That's disgusting", and switched off the television. At this point Quatro decided that she wanted to be Elvis. (Art later brought home a copy of Elvis singing "Love Me Tender" and conceded "OK, dammit — so the kid can sing!")[11]:26[12]

Elvis sang Don't Be Cruel on the Ed Sullivan Show (September 9, 1956; October 28, 1956; and January 6, 1957) and on his 1977 TV special Elvis In Concert (October 3, 1977). The song was recorded during the tapings for the 1968 TV special, but was not used for the telecast or the subsequent soundtrack album. The Ed Sullivan Show appearance of January 6, 1957, was used in the documentary This Is Elvis.

Don't Be Cruel has been recorded by several other artists over the years, most of them unsuccessfully. Bill Black had a 1960 instrumental version (Hi 2026) that reached #11 on the Hot 100 chart. Scotty Moore played guitar on that recording. In 1963 Barbara Lynn barely made the Hot 100 (#93) with her recording of Don't Be Cruel (Jamie 1244). Cheap Trick had a #4 hit with the song in 1988 (Epic 24-07965).

During the Million-Dollar-Quartet session of December 4, 1956, Elvis commented to Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins that he'd heard a member of Billy Warck and His Dominoes sing Don't Be Cruel in Las Vegas. He enjoyed the slower version so much that he wished he'd recorded it that way. The unnamed member of the Dominoes to whom Elvis was referring to was Jackie Wilson. Elvis then demonstrated to Lewis and Perkins how Wilson sang Don't Be Cruel.

Lyrics:

You know I can be found sitting home all alone
If you can't come around at least please telephone
Don't be cruel to a heart that's true

Baby, if I made you mad for something I might have said
Please, let's forget the past, the future looks bright ahead
Don't be cruel to a heart that's true


1. I don't want no other love
Baby it's still you I'm thinking of

Don't stop thinking of me, don't make me feel this way
Come on over here and love me, you know what I want you to say
Don't be cruel to a heart that's true


Why should we be apart
I really love you baby, cross my heart

Let's walk up to the preacher and let us say I do
Then you'll know you'll have me and I'll know that I'll have you
Don't be cruel to a heart that's true


1. (repeat)


Don't be cruel to a heart that's true
Don't be cruel to a heart that's true
1. (repeat)

Where it was released:
Released for the first time on single 

Singles:

- Hound Dog / Don't Be Cruel (RCA PB-13886) October 1984. One of the six singles in the boxed set Elvis' Greatest Hits - Golden Singles, Volume 1 (RCA PP-13897). Each record was pressed on gold vinyl and had a special gold "50th" anniversary label.

When did Elvis Presley song Don't Be Cruel?

Don't Be Cruel.

What was the last song that Elvis sang before his death?

Reportedly the last song Elvis sang in private was a rendition of 'Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain,' performed on his piano in Graceland hours before his death.

What was Elvis's biggest hit of all time?

Topping the list is Can't Help Falling In Love, which has notched up 13 million plays. Released in 1961 as a double A-side with Rock-A-Hula-Baby, the song reached Number 1 on the Official Singles Chart and became his signature ballad, closing many of his live performances in the '60s and '70s.

What songs did Elvis Presley release in 1956?

Elvis Presley.
"Blue Suede Shoes" Released: August 31, 1956..
"I Got a Woman" Released: August 31, 1956..
"I'll Never Let You Go (Little Darlin')" Released: August 31, 1956..
"I Love You Because" Released: August 31, 1956..
"Just Because" Released: August 31, 1956..
"Money Honey" Released: August 31, 1956..