1 of Elvis Presley’s Favorites of His Own Songs Is Almost Forgotten
Elvis Presley loved one of his songs that was written specifically for him. Despite this, the tune isn’t famous today. It might surprise the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll‘s fans to know it was a No. 1 hit for five weeks.
The writers of ‘Hound Dog’ and ‘Jailhouse Rock’ wrote 1 of Elvis Presley’s favorite songs
Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller were a famous pair of songwriters known for penning Elvis hits such as “Jailhouse Rock,” “Hound Dog,” and “Don’t.” During a 2020 interview with Elvis Australia, Stoller revealed the origin of “Don’t.” “‘Don’t’ was written for him by request,” he said. “One afternoon, it was a Friday, while we were doing the filming [of Jailhouse Rock], a lot of which is ‘Hurry up and wait,’ he said, ‘Hey Mike, why don’t you write me a real pretty ballad?’
“I said, ‘I will. I’ll call Jerry, and we’ll get to work,'” Stoller remembered. “I called Jerry that evening and we got together on Saturday and wrote ‘Don’t.’ I thought it was a good song for Elvis. I like the song and I like what he did with it. As I recall, it’s 12 bars long, but it’s not a blues [song].”
‘Don’t’ isn’t a famous song today even though it’s by one of the most famous singers ever
Elvis wasn’t the first artist to record “Don’t.” “On Sunday, we booked a studio to do a demo and we called [The Coasters’] Young Jessie to sing,” he said. “I gave the demo to Elvis on Monday and he loved it. Then there was a big to-do with Colonel Parker and the Aberbachs because I hadn’t gone through the proper channels.” For context, Julian and Joachim “Jean” Aberbach were music publishers.
“Don’t” made Elvis happy, but it’s almost been written out of music history. Some Elvis songs, such as “Can’t Help Falling in Love” and “Blue Christmas,” are standards. On the other hand, “Don’t” hasn’t inspired covers by many notable musicians. In addition, “Don’t” didn’t even appear on the soundtrack of Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis.
How Elvis Presley’s ‘Don’t’ and its double A-side performed in the United States
According to The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits, “Don’t” was released as a double A-side single alongside the tune “I Beg of You.” The two songs topped the Billboard Top 100 for five weeks. For context, the Billboard Top 100 was the predecessor of the Billboard Hot 100. Elvis had an incredible run on the Billboard Top 100 during its short existence from 1955 to 1958.
“Don’t” appeared on the compilation album Elvis: 30 #1 Hits. The compilation features many of the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll’s hits in roughly chronological order, as well as the famous Junkie XL remix of “A Little Less Conversation.” Elvis: 30 #1 Hits topped the Billboard 200 for three weeks, staying on the chart for 170 weeks altogether.
“Don’t” is almost forgotten today — but it was a big deal during the “I Want You, I Need You, I Love You” singer’s early career.
