Love Me Tender has been voted the best Elvis song of all time, beating Heartbreak Hotel and Jailhouse Rock in a survey from U.K.'s Woolworth. Fans were asked to vote for the King's finest record on the eve of the 50th anniversary of his first single.
Despite only reaching no 11 in the charts when it was released in 1956, Love Me Tender topped the poll. Heartbreak Hotel was second and Suspicious Minds third. Fourth was A Little Less Conversation, which made no impact when released in the 1960s but went straight to number one in 2002 after it was remixed and featured in a Nike advert. Jailhouse Rock was in fifth place, Always On My Mind was sixth and The Wonder of You seventh. The other hits to make the top 10 were Hound Dog, Blue Suede Shoes and Elvis's first British number one, All Shook Up.
More than 3,000 people took part in the internet poll conducted by Woolworths. Monday marks the 50th anniversary of the recording of That's All Right (Mama) at the Sun Studios in Memphis - the King's first single and regarded by many as the birth of rock'n'roll. It was never released in the UK but record store HMV are releasing a limited edition version on Monday - which could give Elvis his 19th number one.
The King's Top 10:
1 Love Me Tender (1956)
2 Heartbreak Hotel (1956)
3 Suspicious Minds (1969)
4 A Little Less Conversation (1968)
5 Jailhouse Rock (1957)
6 Always On My Mind (1972)
7 The Wonder of You (1970)
8 Hound Dog (1956)
9 Blue Suede Shoes (1956)
10 All Shook Up (1957)
Top Ten Elvis Songs
July 03, 2004 | Other Source:Googletheenemyway wrote on
July 03, 2004
That information is incorrect. "Love Me Tender" was a #1 hit on the Billboard Singles Chart in 1956, and is included on the album "Elvis: The Number One Hits".
Jim Semple wrote on
July 03, 2004
I personally hated Love Me Tender but each to their own. I could think of at least a 100 better ones than that! "And I Love You So", "Are You Lonesome Tonight?", "You Don't Know Me", "American Trilogy", "I'll Remember You", "Hurt", "The Sound of Your Cry", etc etc etc etc!
PS - What this survey does show is that these Woolworths folks need to go out and start buying some of the newer releases that have come out over the past few years. Sounds to me like the Woolworths folks were aged 60+ and just recalling old songs from memory, they have probably never heard of some of the songs I have mentioned and there are hundreds more!
CD King wrote on
July 05, 2004
Add in Burning Love and If I Can Dream and this will make a superb CD album. Personally, I'd prefer LOVE ME TENDER over Always On My Mind.
Carol K. wrote on
July 03, 2004
Jim, You are SO right. I can think of songs of Elvis's that are much better: How about "It's Now or Never," "Little Sister," "Good Luck Charm," etc., and my personal favorite, the little-known "For the Heart!" To listen to Elvis is to also love Floyd Cramer's piano and, of course, the background harmony singers! God bless 'em all! And, to think, our dear Elvis was also a VET who should have a special place in our hearts for THAT! Right? God bless America and Elvis Presley!
Big Boss Man wrote on
July 05, 2004
That list is for the casual fans, and some songs don´t deserve to be in the top 10
Andreas77 wrote on
July 04, 2004
The list presented by Woolworth might be representative of how outsiders look at Elvis music with the emphasis clearly being put on his early years. The disregard for the latter part of his career (68-77) is due only to BMG not promoting this period, not the quality of the music. Recent surveys conducted by different fan clubs have shown that it's actually the late 60's and 70's that are most popular amongst fans. Why BMG chooses to ignore this in terms of their marketing strategy is beyond me. In fact, when I present music/video to my non-Elvis-fans friends they are usually shocked about his looks, voice and the contemporaryness of the overall sound. A top 10 amongst fans would probably look more like (or at least include many of) the following:
1. Suspicious Minds
2. In The Ghetto
3. American Triology
4. If I Can Dream
5. The Wonder of You
6. Always On My Mind
7. My Way
8. Burning Love
9 Polk Salad Annie
10 Any Day Now
Other candidates being some of the songs mentioned by Jim Semple or Carol as well as Bridge Over Troubled Water, You've Lost That Lovin Feeling, You Don't Have Say You Love Me, What Now My Love, Unchained Melody, Steamroller Blues, Never Been to Spain, You Gave Me a Mountain etc etc. My point is that average-Joe does not associate many of these songs with Elvis. Will BMG ever make it right...?
Sean Ryan wrote on
July 03, 2004
Cant believe anyone voted 'Love Me Tender' the number one Elvis song. Its a song I dont personally like.There are much better ballads than that. Elvis didnt actually like 'Love Me Tender'. George Klein once said that Elvis thought he sounded flat on it. I couldn't tell you cause I haven't played it in years.
Sean Ryan wrote on
July 03, 2004
Reply to theenemyway. The information is correct. If you read it again you will find that it is about the UK charts not the US billboard charts. "Love Me Tender' was issued on the album 'ELV1S: The 30 number one hits' because the album was for number one singles from the UK and the US combined.
curtis simpkins wrote on
July 05, 2004
I never cared for "Love me tender" myself, it's ok but not one of my favorites songs, now i would love to see "Don't be cruel" or "Don't" & I Was the one... to #1... that's in my opinion!.
pacer1965 wrote on
July 03, 2004
I would not have voted for Love me tender either. Although I think the 68' comeback special version is a lot better than the 1950s recording. Has anybody noticed that all these songs are from the cds 30 no-1s or second to none?
TCB4JEP wrote on
July 04, 2004
While I agree that there are hundreds of better songs than "Love Me Tender" - not a personal favorite of mine either - as an Elvis fan I have to appreciate what that song and the others on this list have done to keep Elvis alive all over the world! Those are the most universally known songs and although we who are more familiar with his whole catalog know there are a host of more impressive songs ("Just Pretend," "Hurt," "Burning Love," "Steamroller Blues," etc.) it is through songs like "Heartbreak Hotel" and "Hound Dog" (thank you Lilo and Stitch for teaching our kids about E!) that we have a door through which to introduce others to more and more of Elvis' work! So maybe "best" is a subjective term..."Love Me Tender" may be the "best" song to introduce people to Elvis, but not necessarily his "best" vocal performance or musical achievement.
Betty wrote on
July 04, 2004
Yes, I totally agree that 'Love Me Tender' shouldn't be one of the top 10 songs. I think 'Don't Cry Daddy' should be in the top 10 because it reminds me of my daddy. bye! :)
doctor wrote on
July 08, 2004
Asking for a definitive Elvis Top Ten List is an impossibility. Each of us, I'm sure, has his or her top ten in mind. However, if enough people had somewhere to send their top ten, and if all these lists were tabulated, then we could begin to approximate what that top ten should look like, based on the ten songs most often listed. Still, it's a lot of fun trying to narrow down just ten Elvis songs. So, if the choice were mine ...(in no particular order):
1. Suspicious Minds
2. Hurt
3. If I Can Dream
4. How Great Thou Art (live)
5. It's Now or Never
6. Jailhouse Rock
7. Don't Be Cruel
8. All Shook Up
9. That's All Right
10. Mystery Train