LOVE ME TENDER – ANY WAY YOU WANT ME (THAT’S HOW I WILL BE)
EDITADED 13-SEP-1956
SINGLE, 20TH CENTURY FOX STAGE 1
1. LOVE ME TENDER
2. ANYWAY YOU WANT ME
Reference: 20/47-6643
Side A: Love Me Tender
Recording: August 24, 1956, 20th Century Fox Studios, Stage 1 in Hollywood, California
Author: Ken Darby, Vera Matson & Elvis Presley
Side B: Anyway You Want Me (That’s How I Will Be)
Recording: July 2, 1956, RCA studios in New York
Author: Aaron Schroeder & Cliff Owens
Publication date: September 14, 1956
Inspired by the popular song Aura Lee, Love Me Tender was written by Ken Darby who, after an agreement with the record company, gave co-authorship to Elvis Presley and, incidentally, to his wife Vera Matson. The song, which eventually became the title of the King of Rock’s first foray into cinema, received a million advance sales requests, earning the song a gold certification before it was even released.
Love Me Tender entered Billboard magazine’s Top 100 on October 10, 1956 and is number one for four weeks. In total, up to the date of its disappearance from the lists on March 6, 1957, it accumulates no less than twenty-two weeks. In Rythm & Blues and Country charts it reached number three as the best position. The master was fluted from take number two.
Its side B, obtained the twenty-seventh position in the Top 100 as the best position. The master was extracted from take twelve. It is one of the three songs that Elvis recorded in the exhausting session of July 2 in New York from which two gems like Hound Dog and Don’t Be Cruel emerged.
