Didja know that THE ONE AND ONLY TIME Elvis ever stepped on British soil was on this day, March 2nd in 1960!…It was during his stint in the Army when a transport plane he was flying on had to make a fuel stop in Prestwick Scotland!
Guess The King didn’t like what he saw? And yes it’s true, Elvis never performed in England….Believe it or not!
But, check out his Blue suede Shoes…
Yep, soulful and sexy with so much feeling in his voice
God bless the Internet….Donja know we found a recording of “Aura Lee” by The 97th regimental string band….
Can’t believe you found this! Of course Aura Lee certainly lacks the soulful sound of Love Me Tender, however what can we expect…it was probably quite popular in its’ day, don’t you agree? Great picture that goes with it!
Hey Julie, yeah, the picture and music do work well together. In fact we were thinking that perhaps we should change the name of the site from “Sixties Music Secrets” to “Eighteen Sixties Music Secrets”
Whaddya think?
R.
P.S. Didja know that this beautiful ballad was an original song from the Civil War! Yup, it was originally called “Aura Lee” way back in 1861 and was In the public domain until 1956 when songwriter Ken Darby adapted it and retitled it “Love Me Tender”
This is one of the many songs where Elvus is credited as a songwriter, and didn’t contribute a thing. Ken Darby’s wife also enjoys a writing credit. In an interview with Darby where he is asked why his wife is credited? He cleverly replied…”Because she didn’t write it either”
We love songwriters with a sense of humor…
The civil war? Interesting info and to know it actually came from the public domain and none of them wrote it….in that case, who ACTUALLY wrote the song…and never received credit for it??
Oh Jules….We had a feeling that question was coming, so we do have the answer. It was co-written by a Mr. George Poulton, who composed the music and a Mr. W. W. Fosdick ( what a great name) did the lyrics, apparently the song was big with glee clubs and barber shop quartets as well as a favorite of the military band at West Point! In fact, there is a newspaper article from the late 1860’s where a West Point cadet is quoted for saying “Aura Lee ? Yeah, I like it….It’s got a great beat and I can dance to it”!
( O.K. Yes, we made that last part up)
I feel Elvis was in his element when he sang love songs even though songs such as Blue Suede Shoes helped him make his mark in the rock and roll world of music. He singing spanned not only rock and roll but blues and gospel. A sad end to his life at a very young age. I wonder what he would have accomplished had he lived longer.
Oh Julie, we couldn’t agree with you more. And yes, he is “THE KING OF ROCK AND ROLL” ( just look at his performance above)
But when Elvis dug into a ballad, he ruled that kingdom as well…
Coincidently, we heard Elvis’s incredible “Love Me Tender” on the radio the night you posted your thoughts on Elvis/love songs….
It’s all right here, “Love Me Tender