"Don't Be Cruel" is a song that was recorded by
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 ...
and written by
Otis Blackwell in 1956.
[Victor (2008), ''The Elvis Encyclopedia'', p.115-116] It was inducted into the
Grammy Hall of Fame in 2002. In 2004, it was ranked No. 197 in ''
Rolling Stone's'' list of
500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Elvis Presley
Recording
"Don't Be Cruel" was the first song that Elvis Presley's song publishers,
Hill & Range, brought to him to record.
[ Otis Blackwell was more than happy to give up 50% of the royalties and a co-writing credit to Presley to ensure that the "hottest new singer around covered it".][ But unfortunately he had already sold the song for only $25 ($289 in 2024), as he stated in an interview of '']American Songwriter
''American Songwriter'' is a bimonthly magazine covering songwriting. Established in 1984, it features interviews, songwriting tips, news, reviews and lyric contest. The magazine is based in Nashville, Tennessee.
History
The ''American Songwri ...
''.
Freddy Bienstock, Presley's music publisher, gave the following explanation for why Presley received co-writing credit for songs like "Don't Be Cruel". "In the early days Elvis would show dissatisfaction with some lines and he would make alterations, so it wasn't just what is known as a 'cut-in'. His name did not appear after the first year. But if Presley liked the song, the writers would be offered a guarantee of a million records and they would surrender a third of their royalties to Elvis'."
Presley recorded the song on July 2, 1956, during an exhaustive recording session at RCA Victor Studios in New York City.[ During this session he also recorded " Hound Dog", and " Any Way You Want Me".][Guralnick/Jorgensen, ''Elvis: Day by Day'', p. 77-78] The song featured Presley's band 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 ...
on lead guitar (with Presley usually providing rhythm guitar), Bill Black
William Patton Black Jr. (September 17, 1926 – October 21, 1965) was an American musician and bandleader who is noted as one of the pioneers of rock and roll. He played in Elvis Presley's early trio, The Blue Moon Boys. Black later formed Bill ...
on double bass, 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, Shorty Long on piano, and backing vocals from 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 ...
. The producing credit was given to RCA
RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...
's Stephen H. Sholes, although the studio recordings reveal that Presley produced the songs in this session by selecting the song, reworking the arrangement on piano, and insisting on 28 takes before he was satisfied with it.[ He also ran through 31 takes of "Hound Dog".][
]
Release
The single was released on July 13, 1956, backed with "Hound Dog".[ Within a few weeks "Hound Dog" had risen to No. 2 on the Pop charts with sales of over one million.][ Soon after it was overtaken by "Don't Be Cruel," which took No. 1 on all three main charts; Pop, ]Country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...
, and R'n'B.[ Between them, both songs remained at No. 1 on the Pop chart for a run of 11 weeks tying it with the 1950 Anton Karas hit " The Third Man Theme" and the 1951–1952 ]Johnnie Ray
John Alvin Ray (January 10, 1927 – February 24, 1990) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Highly popular for most of the 1950s, Ray has been cited by critics as a major precursor to what became rock and roll, for his jazz and blu ...
hit " Cry" for the longest stay at number one by a single record from late 1950 onward until 1992's smash " End of the Road" by Boyz II Men
Boyz II Men ( ) is an American vocal harmony group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. Formed in 1985, they have been a trio composed of baritone Nathan Morris, tenor Wanya Morris, Wanyá Mo ...
. By the end of 1956 it had sold in excess of four million copies.[ '']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 ...
'' ranked it as the No. 2 song for 1956.
Presley performed "Don't Be Cruel" during all three of his appearances on ''The Ed Sullivan Show
''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the ''CB ...
'' in September 1956 and January 1957.[
In the UK, it remained a B-side, but was posthumously a hit in its own right, reaching number 24 in the UK Singles Chart in 1978, a year after Presley's death.
]
Legacy
"Don't Be Cruel" went on to become Presley's biggest selling single recorded in 1956, with sales over six million by 1961.[ It became a regular feature of his live sets until his death in 1977, and was often coupled with " Jailhouse Rock" or " (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear" during performances from 1969.][
]
Personnel
* 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 ...
– lead vocals, percussion
* 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 ...
– lead guitar
* Bill Black
William Patton Black Jr. (September 17, 1926 – October 21, 1965) was an American musician and bandleader who is noted as one of the pioneers of rock and roll. He played in Elvis Presley's early trio, The Blue Moon Boys. Black later formed Bill ...
– double bass
* 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 ...
– drums
* Shorty Long – piano
* 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 ...
(Gordon Stoker, Neal Matthews, Hoyt Hawkins, Hugh Jarrett) – backing vocals
Certifications and sales
The Beatles versions
According to author Mark Lewisohn
Mark Lewisohn (born 16 June 1958) is an English historian and biographer. Since the 1980s, he has written many reference books about the Beatles and has worked for EMI, MPL Communications and Apple Corps. in ''The Complete Beatles Chronicles'' (p. 362) the Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
performed "Don't Be Cruel" live from about 1959 to 1961, though no recording is known to survive. The band did record a laid-back version during the massive 1969 '' Get Back'' sessions, but it has never been officially released. However ex-Beatles John Lennon
John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...
, Ringo Starr
Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the group, us ...
, Pete Best and Lennon's former bandmembers the Quarrymen
The Quarrymen (also written as "the Quarry Men") are a British skiffle and rock and roll group, formed by John Lennon in Liverpool in 1956, which evolved into the Beatles in 1960. Originally consisting of Lennon and several school friends, the ...
as well as Tony Sheridan
Anthony Esmond Sheridan McGinnity (21 May 1940 – 16 February 2013), known professionally as Tony Sheridan, was an English rock and roll guitarist who spent much of his adult life in Germany. He was best known as an early collaborator of th ...
all later recorded versions of it.
Other versions
Many other artists including Connie Francis
Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero ( ; born December 12, 1937), known as Connie Francis, is a retired American Pop music, pop singer, actress, and top-charting female vocalist of the late 1950s and early 1960s. She is estimated to have sold more th ...
(1959, '' Rock 'n' Roll Million Sellers''), Annette Peacock, Barbara Lynn (1963, Jamie #1244 45 RPM, No. 93 on the Hot 100), Bill Black
William Patton Black Jr. (September 17, 1926 – October 21, 1965) was an American musician and bandleader who is noted as one of the pioneers of rock and roll. He played in Elvis Presley's early trio, The Blue Moon Boys. Black later formed Bill ...
's Combo, Billy Swan, Devo
Devo is an American new wave band from Akron, Ohio, formed in 1973. Their classic line-up consisted of two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs ( Mark and Bob) and the Casales (Gerald and Bob), along with Alan Myers. The band had a No. 14 ...
, The Residents, Cheap Trick
Cheap Trick is an American rock band formed in Rockford, Illinois in 1970 by guitarist Rick Nielsen, bassist Tom Petersson, lead vocalist Robin Zander and drummer Bun E. Carlos. Their work bridged elements of '60s pop rock, guitar pop, '70s har ...
, Daffy Duck
Daffy Duck is an animated cartoon character created by animators Tex Avery and Bob Clampett for Leon Schlesinger Productions. Styled as an anthropomorphic black duck, he has appeared in cartoon series such as ''Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Me ...
, Merle Haggard, Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American pianist, singer, and songwriter. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock 'n' roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis m ...
, Neil Diamond
Neil Leslie Diamond (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. He has sold more than 130 million records worldwide, making him one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling musicians of all time.
He has written and ...
, and Jackie Wilson have recorded the song. Presley was said to be so impressed with Wilson's version that he would later incorporate many of Wilson's mannerisms into future performances.[
]Debbie Harry
Deborah Ann Harry (born Angela Trimble, July 1, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and actress, best known as the lead vocalist of the band Blondie (band), Blondie. Four of her songs with the band reached on the US charts between 1979 and 1 ...
of the new wave group Blondie recorded the song for the Otis Blackwell tribute album ''Brace Yourself! A Tribute to Otis Blackwell''.[Che, Cathy (1999), 'Deborah Harry: Platinum Blonde', MPG Books Ltd, Cornwall, p.238] A cover by American country music
Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...
duo the Judds
The Judds were an American country music duo composed of lead vocalist-guitarist Wynonna Judd and her mother Naomi Judd on backup vocals. The duo signed to RCA Records in 1983 and released six studio albums between then and 1991. The Judds wer ...
peaked at number 10 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States.
This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...
chart in 1987. Cheap Trick's version of this song, the second single released from the band's tenth studio album ''Lap of Luxury
''Lap of Luxury'' is the tenth studio album by American musical ensemble, band Cheap Trick. Released on April 12, 1988, it is the band's second-most commercially successful studio album (trailing only 1979's ''Dream Police''), reaching number 16 ...
'', reached No. 4 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for two weeks in October 1988.
Jonathan Rhys Meyers lip-synched the original version of the song in a scene from the 2005 miniseries '' Elvis'', where he is shown performing the song at the Jacksonville Theater.
Chart positions
Bill Black's Combo
Billy Swan
=Year-end charts
=
The Judds
=Year-end charts
=
Cheap Trick
=Year-end charts
=
References
External links
BBC – ''Desert Island Discs'' – Castaway : Suzi Quatro
(Adobe Flash
Adobe Flash (formerly Macromedia Flash and FutureSplash) is a mostly discontinuedAlthough it is discontinued by Adobe Inc., for the Chinese market it is developed by Zhongcheng and for the international enterprise market it is developed by Ha ...
or MP3) at BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
(streamed copy where licensed). ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme in which guest castaways choose eight records to take with them to a mythical desert island. Quatro's first choice is "Don't Be Cruel" (at time 2:04)
"American Songwriter Otis Blackwells Triumph"
*
{{authority control
1956 singles
1975 singles
1988 singles
Songs written by Otis Blackwell
Elvis Presley songs
Billy Swan songs
Cheap Trick songs
The Judds songs
John Lennon songs
Jerry Lee Lewis songs
Neil Diamond songs
Jackie Wilson songs
Billboard Top 100 number-one singles
Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients
Song recordings produced by Richie Zito
RCA Victor singles
Curb Records singles
Epic Records singles
Rockabilly songs
1956 songs
Song recordings produced by Stephen H. Sholes
Doo-wop songs