1927 Pop Ballad, Reimagined by a Music Legend, Became a No. 1 Hit 33 Years Later
There's no denying that "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" became one of Elvis Presley's most defining hits of his career and the 1960s. In reality, the hit track wasn't an original by the rock 'n' roll singer and was covered by multiple artists before him.
The traditional pop track was first created by vaudevillains Roy Turk and Lou Handman in 1926. They took inspiration from Ruggero Leoncavallo's Pagliacci and from William Shakespeare's As You Like It, with the line "All the world's a stage." The track became a popular ballad about heartbreak, with it getting covered and released first by Charles Hart.Vaughn De Leath later recorded the song as a B-side and was the first to become commercially successful. It landed at No. 4 on the charts.
Jerry Macy and John Ryan recorded a duet version, and Henry Burr ranked at No. 10 on the charts with his version. Over the next 20 years, it would be recorded by plenty more artists, with many landing on the Billboard charts. It wasn't until 1960, with Elvis's version, that it became the biggest hit on the charts, landing at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box. It would become a classic and long-lasting staple of the singer's live performances.
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Elvis Presley recorded "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" after returning from the military
While Elvis was serving the final months of his two-year military service, the singer began experimenting with a new sound. After his return, he went straight to his first recording session to pick tracks for his newest album.
According to SongFacts, "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" was selected at the suggestion of his manager, Colonel Tom Parker. It was one of his wife's favourite songs after she heard it during Gene Austin's act, who her husband also managed at the time. Colonel's suggestion was one of the only times he interfered with Elvis's selection process.
At the time, Elvis was seeing success covering older tracks like "It's Now or Never" and was opening to cover the 1927 ballad as a way to broaden his music. He recorded the song alongside a band at 4 a.m. and performed it one more time after a failed attempt, and it became the master for the single.
Elvis's version of the song was put on hold for a while as the record label decided whether or not it fit the singer's image. They ultimately released the track, topped the charts, and became certified gold. The track's popularity then led to a response song by female singers like Dodie Stevens, Lina Lee, Ricky Page, and Thelma Carpenter.
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This story was originally published May 21, 2026 at 9:09 AM.