"Are you lonesome tonight"
Songs that reach our soul.
"Are you lonely tonight"
Songs that penetrate us to the bottom of our hearts and remain engraved on fire in our souls. They are so disturbing, that when you listen to them you do not stop feeling something so special and they remain forever in our memory.
It has been 60 years since the recording of this wonderful score, which made its audience shudder.
Composed by Roy Turk and Lou Handman
The song "Are you Lonesome tonight" was recorded in the early hours of April 4, 1960.
Although the first version was originally recorded in 1927 by various artists such as Vaughn De Leath, Henry Burr, etc... The version Elvis was based on was the 1950 version by The Blue Barron Orchestra. Curiously, it was Colonel Parker who asked him for this recording, because he was one of his wife's favorites.
But the most well-known anecdote of this song was during its performance in studio B in Nashville. When he started singing, Elvis wasn't comfortable with the atmosphere, he couldn't focus on the lyrics.
He wanted to be able to really feel her and asked that there be no lighting in the room. It would be recorded in the dark.
The sound engineer Bill Porter would say that everything was heard in a special way, even the singer's tripping over the music stand...
Elvis asked to be in the dark to intimidate with the lyrics to concentrate.
To pour all his passion into her and his intention was collected with such feeling that it has remained forever in the memory of his fans.
It was published as a single in November 1960, selling more than two million copies and reaching number 1 on the charts where it remained for more than 6 weeks.
In 1968 he sang it on NBC's "Elvis" The Comeback special.
And from his return to the stage in 1969.
Also in rehearsals for the movie "That's the way It is" in 1970.
And at concerts thereafter, he would include it in his regular repertoire.
The magic is clear in this song, if anyone knows the original score, by Turk and Handman, it is written like a wals. The introduction is a little different and the lyrics precede the part and the chorus that we will recognize with "Are you...." . At this time it was done like this, they were simple songs of writing and interpretation that had an intro and then came the famous part that we know. There are many examples in songs by George Gershwin and later composers who followed this line of writing.
The arrangement that brought about this magic would be to slow down the song like Elvis did and go in with his feeling and give it his own interpretation, like he did before with rock songs, but in this case it was a wals and lighter. Of course, listening to "Are you lonely tonight", many would not understand it as a wals, because it was not from then on. And we will hardly hear anything like it, because Elvis transformed it and gave it his soul... although at first he did not want to record it, but when he plunged into darkness in the recording studio, he found his way into this score, which I personally find indispensable and unforgettable. It's marvelous!
But that magic, the intention, the spectacular initial version... was never surpassed in Concerto. Perhaps because it was a song that Elvis considered so private, that over time he could not return to that initial feeling.
Because this song would be recorded with such sensitivity and intimacy that it surpassed Elvis himself in his expectations. Because initially it was not a song that he chose, but a proposal ...
His interpretation would go further than he could imagine, becoming one of the most beautiful songs in the history of music.
"Following the Path of the King..."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FO9GgysXlw
