"Are You Lonesome Tonight?" (sometimes stylized as Are You Lonesome To-night?) is a song written by

Roy Turk Roy Kenneth Turk (September 20, 1892 – November 30, 1934) was an American songwriter and lyricist, who frequently collaborated with composer Fred E. Ahlert, with whom he wrote their popular 1929 song "Mean to Me (1929 song), Mean to Me", w ...

and Lou Handman in 1926. It was recorded several times in 1927, first by Charles Hart, but also with successful versions by Vaughn De Leath, Henry Burr, and the duet of Jerry Macy and John Ryan. In 1950, the Blue Barron Orchestra version reached the top twenty on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

''s Pop Singles chart. In April 1960, after

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

's two-year service in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

, he recorded the song at the suggestion of his manager

Colonel Tom Parker Colonel Thomas Andrew Parker (born Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk; June 26, 1909 January 21, 1997) was a Dutch people, Dutch talent manager and concert promoter, best known as the manager of Elvis Presley. Parker was born in the Netherlands and Il ...

; "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" was Parker's wife, Marie Mott's, favorite song. Its release was delayed by

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic ...

executives, who thought the song did not fit Presley's new (and publicized) style. When "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" was released in November 1960, it was an immediate success in the U.S., topping ''Billboard's'' Pop Singles chart and reaching number three on the

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

. A month after the song's release, it topped the UK Singles Chart. Presley's version was certified by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

for a Gold Record Award for 1,000,000 copies sold in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in 1983. It was upgraded by the RIAA to a 2× Platinum Record Award for 2,000,000 sales in 1992. "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" was later recorded by several other artists, with versions by Donny Osmond and Merle Haggard becoming top-twenty hits on the pop and country charts, respectively. ''Billboard'' ranked "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" number 81 on its "Hot 100 All-Time Top Songs" list in 2008.

Composition and early versions

The song was written in 1926 by vaudevillians Lou Handman and

, with music likely derived from Fermo Dante Marchetti's " Fascination". It has three verses, followed by a spoken

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

. They based the bridge on a line in Ruggero Leoncavallo's ''

Pagliacci ''Pagliacci'' (; literal translation, 'Clowns') is an Italian opera in a prologue and two acts, with music and libretto by Ruggero Leoncavallo. The opera tells the tale of Canio, actor and leader of a commedia dell'arte theatrical company, who mu ...

'', and "You know someone said that the world's a stage. And each must play a part" refers to " All the world's a stage" from

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's ''

As You Like It ''As You Like It'' is a pastoral Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wil ...

''. This recitation is printed on the inside back cover of the original 1927 sheet music and is sung on Stanley Kirkby's recording in 1928,

Al Jolson Al Jolson (born Asa Yoelson, ; May 26, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was a Lithuanian-born American singer, comedian, actor, and vaudevillian. Self-billed as "The World's Greatest Entertainer," Jolson was one of the United States' most famous and ...

's recording in 1949 and Blue Barron's recording in 1950 (US top 20 hit). ''

'' reported in 1960 that it was written by songwriter and vaudeville pianist Dave Dreyer. Several versions of "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" were recorded in 1927. The first, by Charles Hart, was recorded on May 9 and released on Harmony Records (431-H) as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

of "Sweet Marie." On June 13, Vaughn De Leath recorded the song as the B-side of "It's a Million to One You're in Love" for

Edison Records Edison Records was one of the early record labels that pioneered sound recording and reproduction, and was an important and successful company in the early recording industry. The first phonograph cylinders were manufactured in 1888, followed by ...

(Ed-52044). De Leath had the first hit version of the song, which peaked at number four in November. On July 10, 1927, the Newport Society Orchestra recorded the song with

Irving Kaufman Irving Robert Kaufman (June 24, 1910 – February 1, 1992) was a United States federal judge, United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and a United States district judge of the United States Distri ...

as the vocalist; it was released on Harmony Records (511-H) with "I'm Walkin' On Air." A version by the duet of Jerry Macy and John Ryan was released on

Okeh Records OKeh Records () is an American record label founded by the Otto Heinemann Phonograph Corporation, a phonograph supplier established in 1916, which branched out into phonograph records in 1918. The name originally was spelled "OkeH" from the init ...

(Ok-40866) as the B-side of "Carolina Mine." Henry Burr's version peaked at number ten, and Little Jack Little had a hit with the song for

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

. Although

Gene Austin Lemeul Eugene Lucas (June 24, 1900 – January 24, 1972), better known by his stage name Gene Austin, was an American singer and songwriter, one of the early " crooners". His recording of " My Blue Heaven" sold over 5 million copies and was for ...

included the song in his shows during the 1930s, he never recorded it. In March 1950, the Blue Barron Orchestra released "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" with "Penny Wise and Love Foolish" on the B-side, and it peaked at number nineteen on ''Billboard's'' Top Pop Singles chart. In April, Don Cornell released a version without the narrative bridge as the B-side of his

single, "Stay With the Happy People." ''Billboard'' called it a: "dreamy waltz ... (that) gets effective treatment (on the recording)." Based on votes sent to ''Billboard'', the song received 78 points from

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at nightclubs or music fes ...

s, 78 from record dealers, 79 from jukebox operators, and 78 points overall; on the magazine's 100-point scale, it was rated "Good." Al Jolson recorded a version with the spoken bridge on April 28, 1950, in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

; Gordon Jenkins conducted the orchestra. With "No Sad Songs For Me" on the B-side, it was released by

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

in June. According to ''Billboard'', although the version was "revived" by Jolson's "schmaltz style" his recitation of the bridge was " hamboned." Based on votes sent to the magazine, the song received 71 points from disc jockeys, 71 from record dealers, and 71 from jukebox operators; with an overall score of 71, it was rated "Good." In 1958, Jim Flaherty's Western Caravan recorded the song on the Frankie Records label, with B-side " My Foolish Heart" sung by Maury Dubois. This version, with vocals by Howie Stange, gained quite a following in New England, mainly due to Jim Flaherty's tireless promotion. At the November 1959 DJ Convention held in Nashville, Jim Flaherty handed

Chet Atkins Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), also known as "Mister Guitar" and "the Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson (musician), Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nash ...

a copy of the song with the encouragement of getting "that kid down south (

) who is shaking things up" to record it. In 1959, Jaye P. Morgan released the song on

MGM Records MGM Records was a record label founded by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio in 1946 for the purpose of releasing soundtrack recordings (later LP albums) of their musical films. It transitioned into a pop music label that continued into the ...

, with " Miss You" on the B-side, and her version peaked at number 65 on ''Billboard's'' Pop Singles chart.

Elvis Presley version

In the final months of his service in the

, Elvis Presley began experimenting with new material in anticipation of his return to recording. His first recording session was scheduled for March 20, 1960, and RCA's Studio B had recently been equipped with a new three-track recorder. To improve the recording of Presley's voice, engineer Bill Porter had Telefunken U-47 microphones installed. A follow-up session was scheduled for April. During the selection of material for the sessions, Presley's manager,

, suggested "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" The favorite song of Parker's wife, Marie Mott (who knew the song from Gene Austin's act, since he was also managed at the time by her husband), it was the only time he intervened in Presley's choice of repertoire. Presley returned to the studio with his band, consisting of

Scotty Moore Winfield Scott Moore III (December 27, 1931 – June 28, 2016) was an American guitarist who formed The Blue Moon Boys in 1954, Elvis Presley's backing band. He was studio and touring guitarist for Presley between 1954 and 1968. Rock critic ...

and

Hank Garland Walter Louis Garland (November 11, 1930 – December 27, 2004), known professionally as Hank Garland, was an American guitarist and songwriter. He started as a country musician, played rock and roll as it became popular in the 1950s, and release ...

on guitar,

D. J. Fontana Dominic Joseph Fontana (March 15, 1931 – June 13, 2018) was an American musician best known as the drummer for Elvis Presley for 14 years. In 1955, he was hired to play drums for Presley, which marked the beginning of a 15-year relationshi ...

on drums,

Floyd Cramer Floyd Cramer (October 27, 1933 – December 31, 1997) was an American pianist who became famous for his use of melodic "whole-step" attacks. He was inducted into both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. His signatur ...

on piano, Bob Moore on bass, Buddy Harman on percussion, and

the Jordanaires The Jordanaires were an American vocal quartet that formed as a gospel group in 1948. Over the years, they recorded both sacred and secular music for recording companies such as Capitol Records, RCA Victor, Columbia Records, Decca Records, Vo ...

on background vocals, recorded on April 3. After the eight songs Parker needed for ''

Elvis Is Back! ''Elvis Is Back!'' is the fourth studio album by American singer Elvis Presley, released on April 8, 1960 by RCA Victor. It was Presley's first album of new material since 1958's '' King Creole'' soundtrack as well as his first to be recorded a ...

'' were recorded, Presley moved on to his manager Parker's request. At 4 a.m. on April 4, the singer began recording "Are You Lonesome Tonight?", accompanied by acoustic guitar, drums, bass, and the backup group. He asked everyone else in the studio to leave the session, told

to turn the lights out, and performed the song with the spoken bridge. After the second

take A take is a single continuous recorded performance. The term is used in film and music to denote and track the stages of production. Film In cinematography, a take refers to each filmed "version" of a particular shot or "setup". Takes of each ...

, Presley said to producer

Steve Sholes Stephen Henry Sholes (February 12, 1911 – April 22, 1968) was a prominent American recording executive with RCA Victor. Career Sholes was born in Washington, D.C., and moved with his family to Merchantville, New Jersey, at the age of ni ...

, "Throw that tune out; I can't do it justice." Sholes told engineer Bill Porter to ignore Presley's order and asked the singer to do a new take, explaining that the Jordanaires had bumped into their microphone stand while recording in the dark. As a result, Presley performed the song once more, and that take became the master for the single.

Release and reception

"Are You Lonesome Tonight?" was not released for several months while RCA executives decided if the ballad reflected Presley's new style, but they and Parker ultimately decided to release it. The song was released as a single on November 1, 1960, with " I Gotta Know" on the B-side, and pressing was assigned to plants in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

, and

. Copies (with a sleeve featuring a smiling Presley in a chartreuse shirt against a blue background) were sent to 5,000 disc jockeys. Orders for the single began at 900,000 copies the first week and climbed to 1,200,000 during the second. The song debuted on ''Billboard's''

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...

at number 35 on November 14, moved a week later to number two, and topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart by November 28 (replacing Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs' "

Stay Stay may refer to: Places * Stay, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in the US Law * Stay of execution, a ruling to temporarily suspend the enforcement of a court judgment * Stay of proceedings, a ruling halting further legal process in a tr ...

"). Presley's 15th chart-topping single, it held the top position until January 9, 1961. "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" peaked at number three on the

, remaining on it for ten weeks. The song topped the ''Cash Box'' singles chart and reached number 45 on the ''Cash Box'' country singles chart. A month after its UK release, it topped the UK Singles Chart. Three months after its release, the single had sales of two million copies worldwide; that year, the

certified it gold. A November 7, 1960, ''Billboard'' review called Presley's rendition a "warm and touching performance." In a 2013 review,

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

praised Presley's vocal range, calling "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" a "tender ... sugary ballad ... full of soul and intense and intimate power" defining "one of Presley's darkest moments."

Legacy

The success of "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" made the song one of Presley's live staples. He performed it live for the first time on March 25, 1961, at a Bloch Arena benefit in

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

for the USS ''Arizona'' Memorial, one of Presley's four live performances between his return from the Army and his shift in career focus to acting. Returning to music in 1968, Presley included the song on his playlist for the NBC special '' Elvis'' and performed it live the following year during his first

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

engagement. A version of the song, recorded on August 26, 1969, and documenting Presley altering the words of the narration after seeing a man in the audience slip and lose his toupe' ("Do you gaze at your bald head and wish you had hair") and laughing through the rest of the bridge, was released in 1980 as part of the ''Elvis Aron Presley'' box set. The

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

backing is by Cissy Houston. In 1982, this "laughing version" was a radio hit in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and reached number 25 on the British Singles Chart. A very emotional version of "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" was performed and filmed in 1972 at

Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond, and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's Point near whe ...

. This show was filmed for the documentary '' Elvis On Tour''; however, the song was not included in that film but was released with other outtakes in 1992 on the home video release ''Elvis – The Lost Performances''. A version filmed at Presley's last tour was included in the 1977 CBS special '' Elvis in Concert'', broadcast after Presley's death. On March 27, 1992, the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

certified "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" double platinum. In 2008 (the 50th anniversary of ''Billboard's'' Hot 100), the song was number 81 on the magazine's "Hot 100 All-Time Top Songs" list. In September 2024,

Herb Alpert Herb Alpert (born March 31, 1935) is an American trumpeter, pianist, singer, songwriter, record producer, arranger, conductor, painter, sculptor and theatre producer, who led the band Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass (sometimes called "Herb Alpe ...

included an instrumental version on his 50th released album, ''50''.

Charts

Weekly charts

;Laughing version

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications

Later versions

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

recorded "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" without the spoken bridge for his 1962 album, '' All Alone'', * The Lettermen included the song on their 1964 album ''She Cried''. *

Pat Boone Patrick Charles Eugene Boone (born June 1, 1934) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, author, television personality, radio host and philanthropist. He sold nearly 50 million records, had 38 Top 40 hits, and has acted in many films. Boone ...

recorded a version (also without the spoken bridge) in 1966 for his album, ''

Memories Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is Encoding (memory), encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future Action (philosophy), action. I ...

''. *

Doris Day Doris Day (born Doris Mary Kappelhoff; April 3, 1922 – May 13, 2019) was an American actress and singer. She began her career as a big band singer in 1937, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, "Sentimental Journey ...

recorded the song on June 6, 1967, for '' The Love Album''. * Donny Osmond's 1973 version is a B-side to his recording of fellow pop standard " When I Fall in Love" from his album '' A Time for Us''. * Merle Haggard's cover on his 1977 album '' My Farewell to Elvis'' peaked at number 12 on ''Billboard's'' Top Country Singles. * John Schneider released a version in 1983 on his album ''If You Believe'' which peaked at number 53 on the Country Singles chart. *

Bryan Ferry Bryan Ferry (born 26 September 1945) is an English singer and songwriter. He became known as the frontman of the band Roxy Music and also launched a solo career. His voice has been described as an "elegant, seductive croon". He also established ...

's version of "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" was part of the soundtrack for the 1992 film ''

Honeymoon in Vegas ''Honeymoon in Vegas'' is a 1992 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Andrew Bergman and starring James Caan, Nicolas Cage and Sarah Jessica Parker. Plot Private eye Jack Singer swore to his mother on her deathbed that h ...

''.

In popular culture

*In the Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker comedy film '' Top Secret!'', musician Nick Rivers (

Val Kilmer Val Edward Kilmer (December 31, 1959 – April 1, 2025) was an American actor. Initially a stage actor, he later found fame as a Leading actor, leading man in films in a wide variety of genres, including Comedy film, comedies, dramas, action fi ...

) performs a version of the song with a guitar. Though it begins with a conventional sound, it quickly turns into a parody that acts as an advertising jingle for the retailer chain

Macy's Macy's is an American department store chain founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. The first store was located in Manhattan on Sixth Avenue between 13th and 14th Streets, south of the present-day flagship store at Herald Square on West 34 ...

("''...is your heart filled with pain / will you come back again / shop at Macy's and love me tonight.''"). *Comedian Sam Kinison performed the song several times in various talk show appearances, including a memorable 1989 performance on ''

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show was the third installment of ''The Tonight Show''. Hosted by Johnny Carson, it aired from October 1, 1962 to May 22, 1992, replacing ''T ...

''. Kinison begins by singing a straight, serious cover of the song before descending into angry ranting during the spoken bridge, punctuated by his trademark scream, before suddenly returning to a serious cover again at the song's conclusion. *The Presley version was used in the 1991 film '' A Brighter Summer Day'' by Edward Yang, which was rated the twelfth-best Chinese-language film of all time by the 24th Hong Kong Film Awards in 2005. The title of the film comes from a ( misheard) lyric in the Presley recording.

Chart performance

References

;Sources * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{authority control 1926 songs 1927 singles 1950 singles 1960 singles Al Jolson songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Donny Osmond songs Elvis Presley songs Frank Sinatra songs Helen Shapiro songs John Schneider (screen actor) songs Music published by Bourne Co. Music Publishers Number-one singles in Australia Number-one singles in Belgium Number-one singles in Canada Number-one singles in South Africa Number-one singles in Spain Okeh Records singles Pop ballads RCA Victor singles Songs with lyrics by Roy Turk Songs with music by Lou Handman The Lettermen songs Torch songs UK singles chart number-one singles