On This Day in 1956, Elvis Presley Began a Historic Chart Run With His Biggest-Selling Single Ever

Ironically, given how much of the Elvis Presley legacy ties itself to this single’s B-side, the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll made chart history with the release of this signature track’s A-side, which would become the biggest-selling single of his career. The song was a staple in his three-performance run on The Ed Sullivan Show. (Complete with random shrieks and squeals from the women in the studio audience.)

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The recording process for the single was especially fascinating, marking a paradoxical turning point that would see Presley take creative control in the studio while “protesters” picketed outside of the studio, accusing the King of losing touch with his true self.

Elvis Presley Makes History With Biggest-Selling Single in 1956

One can easily trace Elvis Presley’s crowning as the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll to his historic rise to the top of the charts in 1956. In July of that year, Presley released “Don’t Be Cruel” as an A-side single with “Hound Dog” serving as the B-side. On September 15, 1956, the singer was at the top of the Pop, Country, and R&B charts. “Don’t Be Cruel” remained at No. 1 on the pop chart for a staggering 11 weeks. In just half a year, Presley’s “Don’t Be Cruel” sold four million copies, making it his biggest-selling single yet. It’s a record the song would maintain for the rest of Presley’s career.

Some might associate Presley’s sound with the rowdier “Hound Dog”. However, “Don’t Be Cruel” captured the musician’s rhythmic prowess and performative charm. But chart performance alone isn’t what makes this track so extraordinary in Presley’s career. “Don’t Be Cruel” was the first single Hill & Range representative Freddy Bienstock offered to Presley. The song also marked the first time that Presley took control in the studio. Presley demanded that the band re-record the song until they performed it to his liking. In total, Presley cut “Don’t Be Cruel” 28 times and “Hound Dog” 31 times. Far past what producer Steve Sholes would have normally allowed.

While Presley was in the studio, feeling sure of himself, critical fans camped outside of the building with signs demanding “The Real Elvis.” The fans were angry about Presley’s performance on The Steve Allen Show the night before, in which he performed a campy rendition of “Hound Dog” to a female basset hound. (To be fair, Presley didn’t propose the idea. That was the television studio’s way to keep the performance from being too suggestive or controversial.)

The King of Rock ‘N’ Roll Thought This Singer Did It Even Better

Elvis Presley leaned into his biggest-selling single for the rest of his career, incorporating “Don’t Be Cruel” in countless television and on-stage performances. But Presley believed all of these renditions paled in comparison to Jackie Wilson, an R&B singer whom Presley watched perform “Don’t Be Cruel” while in Las Vegas. While visiting Sin City in November 1956, Presley attended four Billy Ward and His Dominoes shows just to watch Wilson perform his chart-topping song.

That next month, Presley was jamming with the “Million Dollar Quartet” (Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, and Johnny Cash) in Memphis’ Sun Studios when the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll began imitating Wilson’s version of “Don’t Be Cruel”. “He tried so hard,” Presley said, per Pete Guralnick’s Elvis Day By Day. “Till he got much better, boy, much better than that record of mine. Man, he was cutting out. I was under the table when he got through singing.”

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