In 1960, Elvis Presley released “Are You Lonesome Tonight?”, a song that became one of his many No. 1 singles. Written by Lou Handman and Roy Turk, “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” appears on Elvis’ Golden Records Volume 3, a greatest hits compilation. The song is actually a cover that was first released by Charles Hart in 1927. Other artists also recorded “Are You Lonesome Tonight?”, including Al Jolson in 1949, before Presley put his spin on it.
“Are You Lonesome Tonight?” remains one of Presley’s more noteworthy songs, but it almost went to another artist instead. Connie Francis came precariously close to recording “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” for herself.
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“One day in 1960, I was going through my collection of Al Jolson and Judy Garland records, and I played Al’s ‘Are You Lonesome Tonight?’” Francis recalls. “I said, ‘Daddy, come listen to this. I could make it a No.1 song.’ He agreed, and I called Don Costa in to do the arrangement. I said, ‘I’m more excited about recording this song than anything I’ve ever cut.’ We were in the car on our way to New York when the radio played Elvis’s new single, ‘Are You Lonesome Tonight?’ Can you believe that? I was literally on my way to the studio to record it. How do you like that? Elvis even did the recitation part just like Al Jolson did.”
Why Elvis Presley Recorded “Are You Lonesome Tonight?”
Presley has his manager’s wife to thank for including “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” on his Elvis’ Golden Records Volume 3 record. The song was suggested to Presley by his manager, Colonel Parker, since it was a favorite of Parker’s wife, Marie.
Presley recorded “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” at the end of a session that included eight other songs. Presley reportedly struggled with the spoken words in the song, which says in part, “I wonder if you’re lonesome tonight / You know someone said that the world’s a stage / And each must play a part / Fate had me playing in love with you as my sweet heart / Act one was when we met, I loved you at first glance / You read your line so cleverly and never missed a cue / Then came act two, you seemed to change, you acted strange / And why, I’ll never know.”
“Are You Lonesome Tonight?” spent six weeks in the No. 1 spot on the chart. Although Francis wasn’t able to record the song, she also had success in 1960. In 1960, Francis had her first chart-topping single, with “Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool”.
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