The Heartbreaking Elvis Presley Ballad 'Are You Lonesome Tonight?'

Elvis Presley might be the King of Rock ’n’ Roll, but he also knew how to pull at heartstrings with a tear-jerking ballad. In an era of 1950s conservatism, he pushed boundaries by being himself and the press labeled him the music industry’s deep-eyed “bad boy,” even as he explored styles from rhythm and blues to long stretches of gospel.

When he wasn’t energizing the masses with “Jailhouse Rock” or “Hound Dog,” he could pull back the momentum with a softer tune. His most popular ballad is “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” now a wedding staple, but “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” also helped mark him as a singer who had truly grown up.

“Are You Lonesome Tonight?” wasn’t originally an Elvis Presley song. The gentle tune traces its origins to the 1927 version by Lou Handman and Roy Turk, whose take used a classic upbeat, Charlie Chaplin-like waltz tempo. The waltz inclinations may be rooted in the song “Fascination” by Fermo Dante Marchetti.

elvis presley, lonesome tonight, can't help, wedding song, jailhouse rock, hound dog, rhythm blues, gospel, lou handman, roy turk