All Shook Up

All Shook Up was written by Otis Blackwell and Elvis Presley. The story goes like this " Songwriter Otis Blackwell was in the Shalimar Music office in 1956 when one of the owners, Al Stanton, walked by, shaking his bottle of Pepsi. Stanton joked to Blackwell, "Why don't you write a song called 'All Shook Up'?". So, Otis Blackwell did just that!"

Here is Otis Blackwell singing his own All Shook Up - (and what a fine version it is!) released 1961.

The first artist to record it other than Otis Blackwell, was David Hess, a Shalimar Music artist known professionally as David Hill. He recorded the song in 1956.There's a bio with David Hill's version if you click back to the video on Youtube. In 1959 he had some success with the numbers "Two Brothers" and "Living Doll" (recorded in the UK by Cliff Richard for the film "Serious Charge"). David would also go on to write, along with Aaron Schroeder, the Elvis classic "I Got Stung", and sang demo versions of other songs written for Elvis, such as "It's Now or Never".He also wrote Speedy Gonzalez for Pat Boone and wrote other songs for Elvis throughout the 1950s and 1960s, including "Frankie and Johnny," "Come Along," "Make Me Know You're Mine" (first performed by Conway Twitty), "Sand Castles". The video claims Hill recorded this in 1957 though, not 1956. Here's the David Hill version - 

Elvis - Recorded the song on January 12, 1957 at Radio Recorders, Hollywood

Released master is take 10. Elvis had loved "Don't Be Cruel", and certainly would've been on the lookout for another song from Otis Blackwell. Otis Blackwell wrote the song for Elvis in 1956. Elvis took the song, changed the lyrics and melody slightly, that's the true reason why Elvis got shared writing credits. According to a comment made on the Otis Blackwell You Tube above (click back to You tube to view it) " In 1957 a demo was made by Davis Hill, after the song was re-worked. After hearing the demo Elvis then recorded the song soon after in March of 1957." Whatever the sequence of events Elvis had his first No 1 in the uk with All Shook Up and it spent spent 30 weeks on the Hot 100 chart in the USA.w/ "That's When Your Heartaches Begin", 47-6870 (20-6870 for 78rpm), March 1957 (Million Seller).

Otis Blackwell

(February 16, 1932 – May 6, 2002) was an American songwriter, singer, and pianist whose work significantly influenced rock 'n' roll. His compositions include Little Willie John's "Fever", Jerry Lee Lewis' "Great Balls of Fire" and "Breathless", Elvis Presley's "Don't Be Cruel", "All Shook Up" and "Return to Sender" (with Winfield Scott), and Jimmy Jones' "Handy Man". He should not be confused with another songwriter and producer Robert "Bumps" Blackwell. He was born in Brooklyn, New York, and died in Nashville, Tennessee. He learned piano as a child and grew up listening to both R&B and Country music.

He first became famous by winning a local talent contest ("Amateur Night") at the Apollo Theater, Harlem, New York in 1952, led to a recording contract with RCA and then with Jay-Dee. His first release was his own composition "Daddy Rolling Stone" which became a favorite in Jamaica where it was recorded by Derek Martin. The song later became part of The Who's Mod repertoire. Enjoying some early recording and performing success, he found his first love was songwriting and by 1955 had settled into the groove that he would ride for decades. His first successes came in 1956 when Little Willie John's R&B hit with the sultry "Fever" was an even bigger pop success for Peggy Lee. Then, "All Shook Up" (first recorded by David Hill on Aladdin) began a highly profitable association with Elvis Presley, who was credited as co-writer.

Blackwell was one of the leading African American figures of early rock 'n' roll, although he was not well known by the public. His own records never cracked the Top 40, yet he wrote million-selling songs for Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Dee Clark and others. He also recruited other songwriters to write for Presley such as Winfield Scott.

From the jacket liner notes of the Elvis' Golden Records (1958) Anne Fulchino from Radio Corporation of America wrote:

"While sipping coffee, Steve Sholes pulled out a demonstration record of "Don't Be Cruel" and told Elvis it was a new song written by Otis Blackwell, whom Elvis had long admired as a rhythm and blues artist. It took just a few bars to convince Presley that it was a perfect song for him, and he decided to cut it right away. Presley learned the song within minutes—he has an inherent musical sense—and in short order a great master was put on tape.

It isn't often that the title of a song will create a whole new expression in Americana. "All Shook Up" did exactly that. Youngsters and adults alike have made the phrase a common part of everyday usage. The background to the song itself is a rather interesting one. Since the huge success of "Don't Be Cruel", Elvis had been anxious to record another song from the pen of Otis Blackwell. Eventually, Blackwell came around with "All Shook Up." Presley wasn't completely satisfied with the song, and with Blackwell's consent re-wrote part of the lyrics. Thus, as co-writer as well as artist, Presley produced his ninth consecutive gold record, his first in the year 1957." Read more here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otis_Blackwell

Ain't That Lovin' You Baby

Written by Clyde Otis and Ivory Joe Hunter in 1956 and first recorded by Eddie Riff 1956 (source http://davidneale.eu/elvis/originals/list1.html ) Below Eddie Riff's 1956 version...

It was recorded by Elvis Presley on June 10, 1958 at RCA Nashville Studios. The released master is take 4  but wasn't released as a single until September 1964 when it reached number 16 on the Billboard chart and No 17 on the NME chart, with Ask Me as the B-side. It is a standard shuffle in E major. 

The song was also released again on a compilation in 1985 on the album Reconsider Baby, but at a faster tempo. 

This is the 1964 release by Elvis......

And Alternate takes of the fast version with out the Jordinaires 

The Writers

Clyde Otis, born in Prentiss, Mississippi, (September 11, 1924 – January 8, 2008), was an American songwriter and producer best known for his collaboration with singer Brook Benton, and for being one of the first African American A&R executive for a major label. According to the music licensing organization Broadcast Music Inc., Otis is credited as the writer or co-writer of almost 800 songs. More here -  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clyde_Otis

Ivory Joe Hunter (October 10, 1914 – November 8, 1974) was an African American R&B singer, songwriter, and pianist, best known for his hit recording, "Since I Met You, Baby" (1956). Billed as The Baron of the Boogie, he was also known as The Happiest Man Alive.He was christened Ivory Joe as an infant; "Ivory Joe Hunter" is therefore not a nickname or a stage name, but the artist's real birth name.

Ivory Joe Hunter was born in Kirbyville, Texas in 1914. As a youngster, Ivory Joe developed an early interest in music from his father, Dave Hunter, who played guitar, and his gospel-singing mother. He was a talented pianist by the age of 13, and as a teenager, Hunter made his first recording for Alan Lomax and the Library of Congress in 1933. More on Ivory Joe Hunter here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivory_Joe_Hunter

That's When Your Heartaches Begin

That's When Your Heartaches Begin, written by Billy Hill, Fred Fisher, William Raskin, was professionally recorded by Presley at Radio Recorders, Hollywood January 1957 although an early private version had been recorded at The Sun Studios, Memphis by Marion Keisker, along with My Happiness in 1953. Another version appeared from the Sun days with Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis.

The Ink Spots recorded it in 1941 although it didn't number among their hits. More on the Ink Spots here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ink_Spots

An earlier version quite different version appeared before the Inkspots in 1937 by Shep Fields Rippling Rhythm (rhythm orchestra) 78rpm: Bluebird 7015 - That's When Your Heartaches Begin (Fisher-Raskin-Brown) by Shep Fields & His Rippling Rhythm Orchestra, vocal by Bob Goday. Recorded 6/3/37. Shep Fields (September 12, 1910 – February 23, 1981) was the band leader for the "Shep Fields and His Rippling Rhythm" orchestra during the Big Band era of the 1930s. More on Shep Fields here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shep_Fields

In 1953 when Elvis recorded his very early version, there was a Doo Wop version out by Billy Bun and his Buddies -below

" July 17, 1952 — Former Baptist church soloist Billy Bunn is the only male "soprano" singer in the recording field since RCA-Victor put him on the music market as an answer to cry-singer Johnny Ray. On his first record, I Need A Shoulder To Cry On, Bunn hit one octave higher than any male popular singer in the history of jazz singing." Read more about Billy Bun here http://www.vocalgroupharmony.com/ROWNEW2/ThatsWhen.htm

Elvis 1953 private recording 

Billy Hill (One of the writers) - " William Joseph Hill was born in Boston Massachusetts on July 14, 1899. He studied the violin at the New England Conservatory under the tutelage of Carl Muck and attended Boston Public schools. At 17, he traveled to the west coast where he worked several jobs including as a surveyor in Death Valley and a violinist and pianist in dance halls until forming his own jazz band in Salt Lake City. Moving to New York City in 1930, Hill continued to try success in music while working another series of odd jobs. In 1933, his first hit arrived with a song called “The Last Roundup”." More on Billy Hill here - http://songwritershalloffame.org/exhibits/bio/C89

Fred Fisher (Composer) More here http://www.free-scores.com/Download-PDF-Sheet-Music-Fred-Fisher.htm

Mystery Train - Little Junior Parker

From http://www.smokestacklightnin.com/bios/junior%20parker.htm

" Junior Parker, also known as Little Junior Parker or "Mr Blues" (May 27, 1932–November 18, 1971) was a successful and influential Memphis blues singer and musician. He is best remembered for his unique voice which has been described as "honeyed," and "velvet-smooth. Junior Parker was born in either Clarksdale, Mississippi or West Memphis, Arkansas as Herman Parker, Jr. He sang in gospel groups as a child, and played on the various blues circuits beginning in his teenage years. His biggest influence as a harmonica player was Sonny Boy Williamson, with whom he worked before moving on to work for Howlin' Wolf in 1949. Around 1950 he was a member of Memphis's ad hoc group, the Beale Streeters, with Bobby 'Blue' Bland and B.B. King.

In 1951 he formed his own band, the Blue Flames, with guitarist Auburn 'Pat' Hare. Parker was discovered in 1952 by Ike Turner, who signed him to Modern Records. He put out one single on this record label, "You're My Angel."[ This brought him to the attention of Sam Phillips, and he and his band signed onto Sun Records in 1953. There they produced three successful songs: "Feelin' Good" (which reached # 5 on the Billboard R&B charts), "Love My Baby," and "Mystery Train" ,with Floyd Murphy (Matt "Guitar" Murphy's brother) on guitar, later covered by Elvis Presley.[ For Presley's version of "Mystery Train", Scotty Moore borrowed the guitar riff from Parker's "Love My Baby"

Later in 1953, Parker toured with Bobby Bland and Johnny Ace, and also joined Duke Records. Parker and Bland headed the highly successful Blues Consolidated Revue, which became a staple part of the southern blues circuit. He continued to have a string of hits on the R&B chart, including the smooth "Next Time You See Me" (1957); re-makes of Roosevelt Sykes' songs, "Sweet Home Chicago" (1958) and "Driving Wheel" (1961); Guitar Slim's "The Things That I Used to Do" (1963); Don Robey's "Mother-in-Law Blues" (1956); and his own "Stand by Me." (1961)

His success was limited after he left the Duke label in 1966. He recorded for various labels, including Mercury, Blue Rock, Minit, and Capitol.

Parker died on November 18, 1971, aged 39"

More info here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junior_Parker

Mystery Train

" Mystery Train" is a song written by Junior Parker and Sam Phillips.[1] It was first recorded in Phillip's Memphis Recording Service and Sun Records at 706 Union Avenue, Memphis, Tennessee in 1953. Raymond Hill and Matt Murphy were in the backing band with Bill Johnson on piano, Pat Hare on guitar, and John Bowers on drums. The band was listed on the label as Little Junior's Blue Flames. "Mystery Train" and "Love My Baby" were released late in 1953 on Sun #192, and from the beginning the sound and feel of "Train" gave Parker his first taste of fame and name recognition." More here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystery_Train

Baby Let's Play House - Arthur Gunter

"Arthur Gunter (May 23, 1926 – March 16, 1976)  was an American blues guitarist and musician. He was best known for his song "Baby Let's Play House", which was later a hit single for Elvis Presley. John Lennon used one of the lines in his song Run for Your Life in 1964.


Gunter was born in Nashville, Tennessee, a musician from an early age; as a child, he was in a gospel group with his brothers and cousins called the Gunter Brothers Quartet. In the early 1950s he played in various blues groups around Nashville, and began recording for Excello Records in 1954.

In November 1954, Gunter recorded "Baby Let's Play House" for Excello (2047), which became a local hit. It became nationally known later that year when Elvis Presley recorded a version for Sun Records. "Elvis got that number and made it famous. But I didn't get a chance to shake his hand," Gunter would later say. His first royalty check, received that same year, was for $6500.
Gunter continued to record for Excello until 1961. His regular band broke up in 1966 and he moved to Pontiac, Michigan, performing only occasionally thereafter." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Gunter

And from - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_Let's_Play_House

"Baby, Let's Play House", is a song written by Arthur Gunter and recorded by him in 1954 on the Excello Records label,and covered by Elvis Presley the following year on Sun Records. It was the fourth issue of a Presley record by Sun, and became the first song recorded by Elvis to appear on a national chart, when it made #5 on the Billboard Country Singles chart in July 1955.

Presley's version differed slightly from the original: Elvis started the song with the chorus, where Gunter began with the first verse, and he replaced Gunter's line "You may get religion" with the words "You may have a Pink Cadillac", referring to his custom-painted 1955 Cadillac auto that had been serving as the band's transportation at the time.

John Lennon used the line, "I'd rather see you dead, little girl, than to be with another man," from this song for the opening line of the Beatles song, "Run for Your Life."

Hear the new 

ELVIS PRESLEY - Baby Let's Play House (Spankox Re:Version) on You Tube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eguwpx6UNVE&feature=related

on You Tube

Can't Help Falling in Love ( Plaisir d'amour - Jean Paul Egide Martini)

Can't Help Falling in Love by Elvis Presley was based on Plaisir d'amour" (literally "The pleasure of love") and featured in the Presley film Blue Hawaii in 1961 - sung to a musical box accompaniment and a full version was recorded for the album and the hit single. It has a long history of being covered including the UB40 version in the 1980's.


As for the original "Plaisir d'amour" (literally "The pleasure of love") is a classical French love song written in 1780 by Jean Paul Égide Martini (1741-1816). It was arranged for orchestra by Hector Berlioz (1803–1869). Although it has been adapted as a piece of pop music, it was written in a classical style during the classical period."


The song, originally composed in 1780, took its libretto from a poem by Jean de Florian (1755–1794), which is in his romance. Notable interpretations of the song include those of Joan Baez, The Seekers, Vicki Brown, Marianne Faithfull, Brigitte Bardot, Karen Allyson, Nana Mouskouri and Charlotte Church. Also those of classical singers such as Victoria de los Angeles, Tito Schipa, Fritz Wunderlich and many others. One of the more unusual recordings is by Paul Robeson. It was performed by Irene Dunne in Love Affair; Maria Ouspenskaya accompanies on the piano." More here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plaisir_d'Amour where you can also find the French lyrics and an English translation.

Jean Paul Egide Martini


Jean Paul Egide Martini, (August 31, 1741 – February 10, 1816) was a composer of classical music. Sometimes known as Martini Il Tedesco, he is best known today for the vocal romance "Plaisir d'Amour," on which the 1961 Elvis Presley standard "Can't Help Falling in Love" is based. 

Martini was born Johann Paul Aegidius Schwarzendorf in Freystadt, Bavaria. He adopted the family name Martini after moving to France as a young man. There, he established a successful career as a court musician. Having directed concerts for the Queen he adapted to the changing regimes throughout the French Revolution, and later wrote music for Napoleon's marriage as well as for the restored Royal Chapel. In 1764, he married Marguerite Camelot. His melodic opera L'amoureux de quinze ans written in 1771 enjoyed great success. In addition, his highly popular church music combined old forms with modern theatricality, and his chansons including "Plaisir D'Amour" were influential. In 1800 he became professor of composition at the Paris Conservatoire. He died in Paris in February of 1816." More here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Paul_%C3%89gide_Martini

Jean de Florian

"Plaisir d'amour took its libretto from a poem by Jean de Florian (1755–1794). Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian (March 6, 1755 château of Florian, near Sauve, Gard – September 13, 1794) was a French poet and romance writer. 
To modern readers, Florian is chiefly known as the author of pretty fables well suited as reading for the young, but his contemporaries praised him also for his poetical and pastoral novels. Florian was very fond of Spain and its literature, doubtless owing to the influence of his Castilian mother, and both abridged and imitated the works of Cervantes.
Florian's first literary efforts were comedies; his verse epistle Voltaire et le serf du Mont Jura and an eclogue Ruth were crowned by the French Academy in 1782 and 1784 respectively. In 1782 also he produced a one-act prose comedy, Le Bon Ménage, and in the next year Galatie, a romantic tale in imitation of the Galatea of Cervantes. Other short tales and comedies followed, and in 1786 appeared Numa Pompilius, an undisguised imitation of Fénelon's Telémaque." More  here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Pierre_Claris_de_Florian

The song was adapted for Elvis by Weiss, Peretti, Creatore  - 

The Co-writers of Can't Help Falling in Love

George David Weiss

"George David Weiss (April 9, 1921, New York City – August 23, 2010) was an American songwriter and former President of the Songwriters Guild of America. He was a very prolific songwriter during the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, with many of his songs attaining high rankings on the charts. Although he worked with many collaborators, the largest proportion of his well-known songs were written with Bennie Benjamin. Collaborations on three Broadway musicals were among his compositions. Mr. Wonderful was written in 1956 with Jerry Bock and Larry Holofcener. 

His music was recorded by singers such as Tom Jones, Mel Tormé, Elvis Presley, Dinah Washington, The Stylistics, Tennessee Ernie Ford, and Sammy Davis Jr.Weiss wrote the lyrics for the Jazz standard Lullaby of Birdland, which became a huge hit for Ella Fitzgerald. In 1984 Weiss was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame." More here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_David_Weiss

Hugo Peretti

Hugo E. Peretti (December 6, 1916 - May 1, 1986) was an American songwriter and record producer.

Born in New York City, Hugo Peretti began his career as a teenager, playing the trumpet in the Borscht Belt in upstate New York. He graduated to playing with orchestras then in the 1950s partnered with his cousin Luigi Creatore to form the Hugo & Luigi songwriting team that evolved to producing records. In 1957, they bought into Roulette Records where they both wrote songs for various artists such as Valerie Carr and produced major hits for Jimmie Rodgers including "Honeycomb" (Billboard # 1) and "Kisses Sweeter Than Wine" (Billboard # 3), and "Oh-Oh, I'm Falling in Love Again" and "Secretly".

Two years later, Peretti and Creatore signed a contract with RCA Records where they produced crooner Perry Como. In addition, they produced Sam Cooke and Ray Peterson and wrote English lyrics for the song[1] "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" (with the original bulk of the song written by Solomon Linda), producing the hit for The Tokens. With George David Weiss they co-wrote "Can't Help Falling in Love" for RCA's mega-star, Elvis Presley. Peretti and Creatore also wrote the Presley hit single Wild in the Country. He and Creatore left RCA in 1964 to join George David Weiss in writing a musical about the American Civil War. Titled Maggie Flynn, it ran on Broadway in 1968. The family of South African composer Solomon Linda reached a settlement in the lawsuit over his world-famous song "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," in 2006.

In the 1970s, Peretti and Creatore owned part of Avco Records and then established H&L Records which they operated until retiring at the end of the decade. Among their successes were recordings by The Stylistics and The Softones. They also won the 1977 Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album as producers for "Bubbling Brown Sugar."

Hugo Peretti died in 1986 in Englewood, New Jersey, aged 69." More here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Peretti

Luigi Creatore (born December 21, 1921, Hell's Kitchen, New York) is a retired American songwriter and record producer. More here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luigi_Creatore

From a musical family, Creatore began his career as a writer.

I Feel So Bad - Chuck Willis

"I Feel so Bad is a song written and originally recorded by Chuck Willis in 1953, a cover of the song was recorded by Elvis Presley on March 12, 1961 in RCA Studio B, in Nashville. Presley covered the song following the arrangements by Willis and his singing style, his version reached the #5 in Top 20 Billboard's Pop chart in 1961 and #15 in Billboard's Top 20 R&B Singles chart the same year." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Feel_so_Bad

" Harold "Chuck" Willis (January 31, 1928 – April 10, 1958) was an American blues, rhythm and blues, and rock singer and songwriter. He was known as "The King of the Stroll" for his performance of the 1950s dance The Stroll. Willis was born in Atlanta, Georgia.Willis was spotted at a talent contest by Atlanta radio disc jockey Zenas Sears, who became his manager and helped him to sign with Columbia Records in 1951. After one single, Willis began recording on a Columbia subsidiary, Okeh. During his stay at Okeh, he established himself as a popular R&B singer and songwriter. In 1956, he moved to Atlantic Records where he had immediate success with "It's Too Late (She's Gone)", "Juanita" and "Love Me Cherry". His most successful recording was "C.C. Rider", which topped the US Billboard R&B chart in 1957 and also crossed over and sold well in the pop market. "C.C. Rider" was a remake of a twelve-bar blues, performed by Ma Rainey in Atlanta before Willis was born. Its relaxed beat, combined with a mellow vibraphone backing and chorus, inspired the emergence of the popular dance, The Stroll. Willis's follow-up was "Betty and Dupree", another "stroll" song, which also did well. Willis' single "Going to the River", a song by Fats Domino, was a prototype for his "stroll" sound, reaching #4 on the R&B chart." Read more here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Willis

And for perhaps a wilder version by Elvis - there's Take one -

Tomorrow Night - Lonnie Johnson

"Tomorrow Night is a 1939 song written by Sam Coslow and Will Grosz. The same year Horace Heidt peaked at number sixteen with his version of the song. In 1948, Lonnie Johnson had a crossover hit with the song, which had Simeon Hatch on piano. Lonnie Johnson's version hit number one on the R&B charts for seven non consecutive weeks and peaked at number nineteen on the pop chart. Lonnie Johnson's version of "Tomorrow Night" would become his theme song." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomorrow_Night

"Alonzo "Lonnie" Johnson (February 8, 1899 – June 16, 1970) was an American blues and jazz singer/guitarist and songwriter who pioneered the role of jazz guitar and is recognized as the first to play single-string guitar solos. Johnson was the only one of the classic 1920's blues artists to have a revived high charting career after WWII.


Johnson was born in Orleans Parish, New Orleans, Louisiana and raised in a family of musicians. He studied violin, piano and guitar as a child, and learned to play various other instruments including the mandolin, but concentrated on the guitar throughout his professional career.

By late teens, he played guitar and violin in his father's family band at banquets and weddings, alongside his brother James "Steady Roll" Johnson. He also worked with jazz trumpeter Punch Miller in the city's Storyville district. In 1917, Johnson joined a revue that toured England.

He and his brother settled in St. Louis in 1921. The two brothers performed as a duo, and Lonnie also worked on riverboats, working in the orchestras of Charlie Creath and Fate Marable. In 1925 Lonnie married Mary Smith (i.e. Mary Johnson, a blues singer in her own right, who recorded from 1929 until 1936 - curiously enough never with Lonnie Johnson), with whom he had six children before their divorce in 1932." Read the full history of Lonnie Johnson here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lonnie_Johnson

Robert Matthew Walker in Elvis - A Study in Musicwrote
" Tomorrow Night was withheld by Sam Phillips and RCA until 1965 when Chet Atkins supervised anew backing track for Elvis's original vocal line. As the early Sun takes were not multi-tracked, the original backing had to be obliterated. Despite all this cosmetic surgery,the result is quite good, but it cannot be judged as an example of early Elvis. Atkins was no doubt responsible for larding the voice over with echo. However something of the excitement and passion of early Presley shines through."

Songwriters - Sam Coslow and Will Grosz

"Sam Coslow was born in New York City on December 27, 1902. He attended Erasmus Hall High School and began writing songs while he was still a teenager. His first success came in 1920, with a song called "Grieving For You". He had a number of hit songs over the next few years, and contributed songs to Broadway's Artists and Models revues. Together with composer Larry Spier, he founded his own publishing company, the Spier & Coslow Music Company and in those beginning years, he also had a minor career as a performer, recording for RCA Victor, Decca and Columbia Records. In 1929, Spier and Coslow sold their publishing firm to Paramount Pictures. Spier continued on in publishing, while Coslow signed up with Paramount as a songwriter for their movies. It was the early days of sound movies, and Coslow was the first Broadway songwriter to be hired by Paramount. During his decade with Paramount, he wrote songs for many of their films, including most of the early Bing Crosby pictures. His songs from this period include "True Blue Lou" (written in 1929 with Leo Robin and Richard Whiting for The Dance of Life); "Sing You Sinners" (1930, with W. Frank Harling, included in Honey); "Just One More Chance" (1931, with Arthur Johnston); "Thanks" and "The Day You Came Along” (both songs written with Arthur Johnston for 1933's Bing Crosby picture Too Much Harmony); "Learn To Croon" (1933, with Arthur Johnston, for a Bing Crosby film College Humor); "Cocktails For Two" (1934, with Arthur Johnston, for Murder at the Vanities); and "My Old Flame" (1934, with Arthur Johnston for a Mae West film Belle of the Nineties)." Read more here http://www.songwritershalloffame.org/exhibits/bio/C52


Wilhelm Grosz (11 August 1894  – 10 December 1939) (aka Hugh Williams) was an Austrian composer, pianist and conductor.
Wilhelm Grosz was born in Vienna. He studied music with Franz Schreker and Guido Adler. In 1921 he was appointed conductor of the Mannheim Opera, but returned to Vienna in 1922, where he worked as a pianist and composer. From 1927 he was the artistic manager of the Ultraphone Gramophone company in Berlin. In 1933 he became conductor of the Kammerspiele Theater in Vienna. Forced to flee his native land because of the Nazi takeover, Grosz resettled in England in 1934. However, he found little interest there for his avant garde musical style. He was able to apply a considerable melodic gift to setting the lyrics of popular songs, some of which became international successes. Most of his most popular titles were written with lyricist Jimmy Kennedy: "Harbour Lights," "Red Sails in the Sunset," "When Budapest Was Young," and "Isle of Capri."
Grosz's classical compositions include three operas, two ballets, incidental music for three plays, scores for a number of films, orchestral works, a Symphonic Dance for piano and orchestra, chamber music, piano pieces and songs." More here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Grosz

Frankie and Johnny

Elvis recorded a version of Frankie and Johnny - adapted from the traditional ballad for his film of the same name in 1965 (released 1966) by Gottlieb, Karger and Wiseman This story ballad has quite a long history -
My favourite version with it's soulful beat and modernist lyrics is Sam Cook's

Source - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankie_and_Johnny_(song)
"Frankie and Johnny" (sometimes "Frankie and Johnnie"; also known as "Frankie and Albert" or just "Frankie") is a traditional American popular song. It tells the story of a woman, Frankie, who finds that her man Johnny was "making love to" another woman and shoots him dead. Frankie is then arrested; in some versions of the song, she is also executed.

It has been suggested that the song was inspired, or its details influenced, by one or more actual murders. One of these took place in St. Louis, Missouri, on October 15, 1899, when Frankie Baker, a 22-year-old dancer, stabbed (or shot) her 17-year-old lover Allen "Al" Britt, who was having a relationship with a woman named Alice Pryor. Britt died of his wounds two days later.On trial, Baker claimed that Britt had attacked her with a knife and that she acted in self-defense; she was acquitted and died in a Portland, Oregon mental institution in 1952.

The song has also been linked to Frances Silver, convicted in 1832 of murdering her husband Charles Silver in Burke County, North Carolina. Unlike Frankie Baker, Silver was executed.
In 1899, popular St Louis balladeer Bill Dooley composed "Frankie Killed Allen" shortly after the Baker murder case.
The first published version of the music to "Frankie and Johnny" appeared in 1904, credited to and copyrighted by Hughie Cannon, the composer of "Won't You Come Home Bill Bailey"; the piece, a variant version of whose melody is sung today, was titled "He Done Me Wrong" and subtitled "Death of Bill Bailey".
Another variant of the melody, with words and music credited to Frank and Bert Leighton, appeared in 1908 under the title "Bill You Done Me Wrong"; this song was republished in 1912 as "Frankie and Johnny", this time with the words that appear in modern folk variations:
Frankie and Johnny were sweethearts
They had a quarrel one day,
Johnny he vowed that he would leave her
Said he was going away,
He's never coming home, etc.

Also:
Frankie took aim with her forty-four,
Five times with a rooty-toot-toot.

Above - the Elvis version with a New Orleans Jazz feel.
Robert Matthew Walker - in ELVIS - A Study in Music commented -
".. Presley seems uninterested, although well done, it's not a considered performance, and one can only assume it was an off-day"

The 1912 "Frankie and Johnny" by the Leighton Brothers and Ren Shields also identifies "Nellie Bly" as the new girl to whom Johnny has given his heart. What has come to be the traditional version of the melody was also published in 1912, as the chorus to the song "You're My Baby", with music is attributed to Nat. D. Ayer.
The familiar "Frankie and Johnny were lovers" lyrics first appeared (as "Frankie and Albert") in On the Trail of Negro Folksongs by Dorothy Scarborough, published in 1925; a similar version with the "Frankie and Johnny" names appeared in 1927 in Carl Sandburg's The American Songbag.
Several students of folk music have asserted that the song long predates the earliest published versions; according to Leonard Feather in his Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz it was sung at the Siege of Vicksburg (1863) during the American Civil War and Sandburg said it was widespread before 1888, while John Jacob Niles reported that it emerged before 1830. The fact, however, that the familiar version does not appear in print before 1925 is "strange indeed for such an allegedly old and well-known song," according to music historian James J. Fuld, who suggests that it "is not so ancient as some of the folk-song writers would have one believe."

Since "Frankie and Johnny" is a traditional song there is no single definitive version of the lyrics. Several versions were collected by Robert Winslow Gordon. The refrain common to most versions is: "He was her man, but he was doing her wrong." The name of the song's "other woman" varies, Alice or Nellie Bly being the most usual ones. The gunshot that kills Johnny is often depicted by the onomatopoeia "rooty toot toot." Many versions open with the quatrain: "Frankie and Johnny were sweethearts/Lordy, how they could love/They vowed to love one another/Underneath the stars above." Another common opening is:"Frankie was a good girl/everybody knows/she paid a hundred dollars/for Al's one suit of clothes." A common conclusion is: "This story has no moral/This story has no end/This story only goes to show/That there ain't no good in men."

There are over 250 versions of the song and several films including the Presley version c 1966. More detail here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankie_and_Johnny_(song)

Frankie and Johnny and Stagger Lee
" Less than 24 hours after Frankie Baker pulled that trigger, a ballad telling her story was already being sold on the city's street corners. Allen wasn't even dead yet - he didn't finally succumb to his wounds until October 19 - but already the balladeers had him six feet under.

The song's been in constant circulation ever since.
The fact that Allen's murder took place just a few blocks from where Stagger Lee had killed Billy Lions four years before means the two ballads have always tended to get tangled up with one another, swapping fragments of their lyrics at will. It's no surprise that many of Frankie's musical biographers - Cash, Dylan, Presley - have tackled Stag's story too, but what is unique about her is the degree of interest that Hollywood's always shown. " Read more here http://www.planetslade.com/frankie-and-johnny1.html

No More - (La Paloma - Sebastian Iradier)

The song No More appeared in Elvis's Blue Hawaii movie based on the tune La Paloma - written by Spanish Composer Sebastian Iradier but with English lyrics supplied by Don Robertson and Hal Blair. The original song has quite a long history.

The video here presents 4 versions - the last being by Elvis and the details are here -
"A Latin tango melody written in 1863 by Sebastian Yradier, now in the public domain. Like many good melodies, it has been borrowed a lot. Some examples from the 1950s and 60s:

1) La Paloma - Trio Los Panchos, traditional Spanish vocal. Successful Latin American recording artists in the mid 20th C, they backed Eydie Gorme on two Spanish albums.
2) La Paloma - Billy Vaughn orchestra, 1958 #20 pop instrumental, adapted to the rock+roll era.
3) The Look - Dean Martin. Original words by Bob Russell. A 1956 nonhit single, and on his LP "This Is Dean Martin".
4) No More - Elvis Presley in a great adaptation by Don Robertson and Hal Blair for the 1961 movie Blue Hawaii."

"La Paloma is a popular song, having been produced and reinterpreted in diverse cultures, settings, arrangements, and recordings over the last 140 years. The song was composed and written by Spanish composer Sebastián Iradier (later Yradier) after he visited Cuba in 1861. Iradier may have composed "La Paloma" around 1863, just two years before he died in Spain in obscurity, never to learn how popular his song would become.


The influence of the local Cuban habanera gives the song its characteristic and distinctive rhythm. Very quickly "La Paloma" became popular in Mexico, and soon spread around the world. In many places, including Afghanistan, Mexico, Spain, Hawaii, the Philippines, Germany, Romania, Zanzibar, and Goa it gained the status of a quasi-folk song.  It may be considered one of the first universal popular hits and has appealed to artists of diverse musical backgrounds.


 The motif of "La Paloma" (the dove) can be traced back to an episode that occurred in 492 BC preliminary to Darius' invasion of Greece, a time when the white dove had not yet been seen in Europe. The Persian fleet under Mardonius was caught in a storm off the shore of Mount Athos and being wrecked when the Greeks observed white doves escaping from the sinking Persian ships. This inspired the notion that such birds bring home a final message of love from a sailor who is lost at sea. This theme that a final link of love overcomes death and separation is reflected in "La Paloma". While the lyrics may not always be true to the original, the soul of the song seems to survive all attempts to recast it in whatever new form and shape there may be and is able to express the tension between separation with loneliness, even death, and love.


La Paloma" became quickly popular in Mexico. It was a favorite of Emperor Maximilian of Mexico, and at the same time the Mexican revolutionaries played and popularized it well. Legend has it, popularized by the movie Juarez, that as a last wish Maximilian requested it to be played at his execution. As Emperor Maximilian was a Habsburg, ships of the Austrian Navy would never play the song.
Source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Paloma

Sebastián Iradier Salaverri (Salaberri) (20 January 1809 – 6 December 1865), a.k.a. Sebastián Yradier, was a Spanish Basque composer.
Iradier was born in Lanciego, in the province of Álava. His publisher in Paris urged him to "universalize" his name, from Iradier to Yradier. He is known primarily for his habaneras, especially the one titled "La Paloma", written around 1860 after a visit to Cuba. "La Paloma" was extremely popular in both Spain and America (especially Mexico), where it was responsible for the great popularity achieved by the habanera.
A collection of 25 of Iradier's most popular songs was published in Paris in 1864, with French words, as "Fleurs d'Espagne".
Another of Iradier's compositions is "El Arreglito", an habanera used by Georges Bizet in his opera Carmen as a source of inspiration. Bizet, thinking it was a folk song, inspired by the melody of "El Arreglito" and recomposed what is known today as the "Habanera" from Carmen: the aria "L'amour est un oiseau rebelle" which is another aria from "El Arreglito". When he discovered his mistake, he added a note to the vocal score of the opera, acknowledging its source.
Iradier died in obscurity in 1865. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sebasti%C3%A1n_Iradier

The original lyrics in Italian and a translation are here - http://lyricstranslate.com/en/La-Paloma-Dove.html
And the lyrics to the Presley version  - No More - here http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/bluehawaii/nomore.htm

The writers who adapted La Paloma and wrote new lyrics -

Don Robertson (born Donald Irwin Robertson, December 5, 1922, Beijing, China) was an American songwriter and pianist, mostly in the country and popular music genres. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1972. As a performer, he hit the US Top 10 with "The Happy Whistler" in 1956. The track reached #8 in the UK Singles Chart the same year. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.

He composed or co-composed with Hal Blair, many hits for other musicians, including Elvis Presley who recorded over a dozen of Robertson's songs, five of which appeared in Presley's numerous films.

Songwriter Hal Blair, penned hits for Elvis Presley and Hank Snow,  A native of Kansas City, Mo., Blair got his start writing music for westerns featuring Gene Autry and Sons of the Pioneers. He later wrote "I Was the One," recorded by Presley, and "Ninety Miles an Hour Down a Dead End Street," first recorded by Snow. One of his biggest hits was "Please Help Me I'm Falling," first recorded by Hank Locklin and later covered by Dolly Parton, Gladys Knight, John Fogerty and Eddy Arnold.
More on Hal Blair here - http://home.earthlink.net/~deankay/HalBlair.html