"Love Me Tender" is a 1956 ballad recorded by Elvis Presley and owned by "Elvis Presley Music." It was released as part of the 20th Century Fox film with the same name. The lyrics are credited to Vera Matson, though her husband, Ken Darby, was the actual writer. The song's melody is the same as the emotional Civil War-era ballad "Aura Lea" (sometimes spelled "Aura Lee") by George R. Poulton. Elvis Presley's recording of the song by RCA Victor reached the top of both the Billboard and Cashbox charts in 1956.

History

The 1956 song "Love Me Tender" uses new words set to a musical version of the Civil War song "Aura Lea," which was published in 1861. "Aura Lea" was composed by George R. Poulton and written by W. W. Fosdick. Over time, the song became popular with college music groups and barbershop quartets. It was also performed at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York.

The main writer of "Love Me Tender" was Ken Darby, who adapted Poulton’s tune, which was available for others to use. The song was published by Elvis Presley Music and credited to Elvis Presley and his wife, Vera Matson. Presley received co-writing credit because of his publishing deal with Hill & Range, which required songwriters to share 50% of the credit if Presley recorded the song. Presley had little involvement in writing most songs he recorded. For "Love Me Tender," he wrote only two lines but could not remember which ones. Ken Darby was often asked why his wife was credited with Presley, and he replied, "because she didn’t write it either." In reality, Darby was not credited because he was represented by a different musicians’ association.

Like many of his early RCA recordings, Presley took control of the studio even though he was not officially listed as the producer. He often changed musical arrangements and produced the music himself long before other artists were known as producers. Ken Darby described Presley’s role in recording the song.

Elvis Presley performed "Love Me Tender" on The Ed Sullivan Show on September 9, 1956, shortly before the song was released as a single and about a month before the movie Love Me Tender came out. The song had been rewritten for the movie. After the performance, RCA received more than a million orders for the single before it was officially released, making it a gold record. The movie studio, 20th Century Fox, originally planned to name the film The Reno Brothers but changed it to Love Me Tender to take advantage of the song’s popularity.

Movie producer David Weisbart refused to let Presley’s regular band—Scotty Moore, Bill Black, and D. J. Fontana—play on the movie’s soundtrack. Instead, The Ken Darby Trio provided the music, with Red Robinson on drums, Charles Prescott on bass, Vita Mumolo on guitar, and Jon Dodson on background vocals. Presley sang only the lead vocals for the song.

Elvis Presley recording

The single appeared at No. 2 on the "Best Sellers in Stores" pop singles chart, the first time a single entered the chart at that position. The song reached No. 1 on the Billboard charts for the week ending November 3, 1956, and stayed there for five weeks. It also reached No. 11 on the UK charts. "Love Me Tender" held the No. 3 position on the R&B chart for three weeks. This version was ranked number 437 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In 1968, Presley recorded a 52-second track called "Violet (Flower of N.Y.U.)" for the movie The Trouble with Girls. This song was not released until after Presley's death and was his second version of "Aura Lee."

Although Presley never re-recorded "Love Me Tender" in a studio, two live recordings of the song were included on the albums NBC-TV Special and Elvis: As Recorded at Madison Square Garden. Additional live performances from concerts and television shows were released after Presley's death. The song was also performed in the Golden Globe-winning concert film Elvis on Tour (1972). In this film and others, Presley usually sang only part of the song's lyrics and used it to interact with the audience, often women. "Love Me Tender" was also included in the four-song extended play (EP) album Love Me Tender, which featured songs from the film. A reprise of the song was not included on the EP. In 2010, a remixed version of the song was released with singer Dea Norberg and combined with a short part of the 1965 song "In My Way." This version was on the album Viva Elvis: The Album. In 2015, another version of the song was released with a new orchestral arrangement by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and appeared on the album If I Can Dream.

Versions

• "Love Me Tender" – 2 minutes, 41 seconds – Recorded August 24, 1956
• "Love Me Tender (End title version)" – 1 minute, 8 seconds – Recorded October 1, 1956
• "Love Me Tender (Stereo version)" – 2 minutes, 42 seconds – Recorded August 24, 1956

The 1997 CD re-released version of the Jailhouse Rock EP includes these three versions.

Other recordings

• Richard Chamberlain reached No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart with his version when it was released as a single in 1962 on MGM. His version also reached No. 15 in the UK and No. 31 in Canada. It was included on his 1962 album, Richard Chamberlain Sings.
• Percy Sledge reached No. 40 on the US Hot 100 with his cover version in 1967. His version also reached No. 35 on the R&B chart, No. 9 on the Canadian R&B chart, and No. 35 on the Canadian pop chart.
• Roland Rat Superstar’s version reached No. 32 on the UK charts in 1984.