Love Me Tender

Love Me Tender” is a 1956 ballad song recorded by Elvis Presley and published by “Elvis Presley Music” from the 20th Century Fox film of the same name. Lyrics are credited to “Vera Matson” (though actual lyricist was her husband, Ken Darby) and Elvis Presley himself; this song was adapted from the melody for “Aura Lea“, a sentimental Civil War ballad, so its music is credited to English composer George R. Poulton. The RCA Victor recording by Elvis Presley was no. 1 on both the Billboard and Cashbox charts in 1956. The song is also featured in many other films and television shows such as FM, Touched By Love, This is Elvis, Porky’s Revenge, Wild at Heart, Die Hard 2, Honeymoon in Vegas, Backbeat, Gaudi Afternoon, Machine Gun Molly, The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, William Eggleston in the Real World, California Dreamin’, Love in Space, Masters of Sex, Devil’s Due, Just Before I Go,90 Minutes in Heaven, and Ready or Not.The 1956 song “Love Me Tender” puts new words to a new musical adaptation of the Civil War song “Aura Lee,” published in 1861. “Aura Lee” had music by George R. Poulton and words by W. W. Fosdick. It later became popular with college glee clubs and barbershop quartets. It was also sung at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York. The principal writer of the lyrics was Ken Darby, who also adapted Poulton’s Civil War tune, which was in the public domain. The song was published by Elvis Presley Music. and credited to Presley and Darby’s wife Vera Matson. Presley received co-songwriting credit due to his Hill & Range publishing deal which demanded songwriters concede 50 percent of the credit of their song if they wanted Presley to record it; Presley had songwriting input on only a very small number of the many songs he recorded.Darby was often asked about his decision to credit the song to his wife along with Presley, and his standard response was an acid, “because she didn’t write it either”.As with nearly all his early RCA recordings, Presley took control in the studio despite not being credited as producer. He would regularly change arrangements and lyrics to the point that the original song was barely recognizable.  en Darby described Elvis Presley’s role in the creation of the song: e adjusted the music and the lyrics to his own particular presentation. Elvis has the most terrific ear of anyone I have ever met. He does not read music, but he does not need to. All I had to do was play the song for him once, and he made it his own! He has perfect judgment of what is right for him. He exercised that judgment when he chose ‘Love Me Tender’ as his theme song.Elvis Presley performed “Love Me Tender” on The Ed Sullivan Show on September 9, 1956, shortly before the single’s release and about a month before the movie, Love Me Tender, was released (for which the reworded song had been written). After that, RCA received more than a million advance orders, making it a gold record before it was even released.