On the Charts 65 Years Ago, Elvis Presley Nabbed His 5th No. 1 of the Decade With a Song Based on an Italian Ballad

The music industry had never seen anything like Elvis Presley when he released his breakout single “Heartbreak Hotel” in 1956. Even almost 50 years after his death, he still remains a singular force in rock-and-roll history with songs like “Blue Suede Shoes” and “Hound Dog.” With five straight No. 1 singles in the 1960s, Presley held the record for most consecutive Billboard Hot 100 chart-toppers until 1966, when the Beatles eclipsed him with six straight. One of those songs, “Surrender”, started a two-week run atop the U.S. singles chart on this day (March 20) in 1961.

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This Song Marked Elvis Presley’s Second Straight Hit Based on an Italian Ballad

Reworking an early 20th-century Italian ballad for the 1950s pop chart may seem like a gamble. But for Elvis Presley, it had already paid off once.

Six months earlier, Presley landed one of the biggest hits of his career with “It’s Now Or Never”, an Americanized version of the 1898 Italian ballad “O sole mio.” So he followed a winning strategy on “Surrender”, a reworked rendition of the 1911 Neapolitan ballad “Torna A Surriento.”

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♬ Surrender – Elvis Presley

Singer-songwriters Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman adapted the song for Presley’s voice, and the King took “Surrender” to No. 1 in both the United States and the United Kingdom. One of 25 songs that Pomus and Shuman wrote for Presley, it has since been covered by Michael Bublé, The Residents, and Italian opera-pop trio Il Volo.

[RELATED: Elvis Presley’s Backing Band Recalls His Strange Studio Habits During the Making of His First Concept Album]

After the Beatles shattered Elvis Presley’s record for most consecutive No. 1 hits, Whitney Houston passed them up in 1988 with her seventh straight chart-topper.

Elvis Re-Enters the Charts

Nearly 50 years after his death in August 1977, Elvis Presley continues to reach new heights. Thanks to last month’s release of Epic: Elvis Presley in Concert, a documentary/concert film hybrid directed by Baz Luhrmann, one of his classic hits is seeing new life.

Presley’s 1972 song “Burning Love” re-entered the Official Singles Downloads and Official Singles Sales charts in the United Kingdom this week at No. 73 and No. 78 respectively.

This is the song’s highest-ever ranking on either chart, according to Forbes.

Featured image by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images