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On This Day in 1960, The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll Was Back on Top of the Hot 100 for the First Time Since Serving His Country
Elvis Presley emerged on the national stage in the 1950s. With his slicked-back hair, pelvic thrusts, and wide-ranging baritone vocals, he became a global phenomenon with songs like “Hound Dog” and “Jailhouse Rock.” However, that red-hot career cooled temporarily in 1958 when Presley was drafted into the military. Serving a two-year stint with the U.S. Army, the King of Rock and Roll feared fans would forget him upon his return in March 1960. Those fears would prove unfounded on this day (April 25) in 1960, when Elvis Presley hit No. 1 on the Hot 100 with “Stuck on You”, his first post-Army single.
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Elvis Presley Had to Rush His First Post-Army Hit
Two days after Elvis Presley returned home to Tennessee from the Army, Billboard broke the news that his label was planning to release a new single. Unfortunately for the “All Shook Up” crooner, RCA executives hadn’t yet chosen a song for his first post-military release.
On March 20, 1960, Presley recorded “Stuck On You” at RCA’s Nashville studio. The label was in such a rush to unleash a new Elvis track that they had to print the single sleeves without knowing the title of the song.
Written by Aaron Schroeder and J. Leslie McFarland, “Stuck On You” dethroned Percy Faith’s “Theme from A Summer Place“, ending its nine-week reign atop the Hot 100.
The song held the No. 1 spot for four weeks before the Everly Brothers knocked it off with “Cathy’s Clown”.
[RELATED: What Rodney Crowell Really Meant When He Said Johnny Cash Survived “What Elvis Didn’t”]
The Hollywood Star Elvis Hated
After returning from the Army, Elvis Presley devoted much of the 1960s to his film career, starring in movies like Blue Hawaii and Easy Come Easy Go. In 1962, he starred alongside Hollywood A-lister Charles Bronson in the boxing musical Kid Galahad. Despite having military service in common, the two didn’t exactly hit it off.
“[Bronson] was a very quiet kind of guy, a loner, and he just didn’t think Elvis was that big a deal,” explained Sonny West, Presley’s former bodyguard. “Elvis hated this, and he was always putting him down. He used to call him a muscle-bound smart alec and a musclebound ape. Just never stopped putting him down, although I never heard Bronson knock Elvis.”
Featured image by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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