It's Now or Never

This Elvis classic borrows the chord progression as well as the melody from the Italian song "O Sole Mio," which was first recorded by Giuseppe Anselmi in 1907. Mario Lanza popularized the song, and Tony Martin released the first English translation as "There's No Tomorrow" in 1949.

When Elvis was in the US army, he was stationed in Germany and heard "O Sole Mio." When he was discharged, he asked his record company to write an English translation for him, a task that went to songwriters Aaron Schroeder and Wally Gold, who according to Gold, did it in 30 minutes. It was a huge hit, knocking "Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini" from the top spot in America and staying for five weeks.

Here we have Elvis Presley, the undisputed king of rock and roll, singing a song with a traditional melody that sounds like something Dean Martin would record. It was quite a stretch for Elvis and also a challenge: in 1957 Frank Sinatra said, "When he goes into something serious, a bigger kind of singing, we'll find out if he is a singer." His next single, "Are You Lonesome Tonight," was a cover of a song from 1926 and was also a massive hit, leading some to wonder if Elvis was going to become a crooner and abandon rock. In hindsight, he was branching out, maturing as an artist by exploring different musical styles. Rock and roll didn't go anywhere and entered a new phase a few years later when the British Invasion took hold.