Elvis Presley - Are You Lonesome Tonight? | I Gotta Know

Throwback Thursday - 45 RPM Heaven

Much has been written about "The King of Rock n Roll", ELVIS PRESLEY. This little post on my music corner of nowhere is just another cog to add to that huge, growing wheel, more than 46 years ago today.

Elvis Presley passed away on August 16, 1977. He left a long musical legacy of hundreds of memorable singles and record albums, all of which have been brought up to date in the digital age when you can stream just about anything online.

One of the very first records I was exposed to in the rock n roll genre came very early in my life, probably before I was five years old. My Dad used to have a friend who ran a vending machine business. Among his many vending machines were jukeboxes that he loaned out to restaurants and other eating places. Periodically he would have to change out the records contained in the jukeboxes. Since he was a friend of my Dad, we would end up with dozens of old 45s that Dad brought home. How cool was that?

One of the first records I remember getting was Elvis Presley's single "Are You Lonesome Tonight" with "I Gotta Know" on the B-side. I think my Mom first played the record when we got it. She fell in love with the broken hearted ballad that was the featured A-side of the record. The song was one of several Elvis singles that went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts.

As a kid I found the other side of the record to be much better. "I Gotta Know" was an upbeat song, more to my early rock n roll liking of faster tunes. So I played that side of the record more than the A-side which my Mom loved. 

That all said, both "Are You Lonesome Tonight" and "I Gotta Know" both became radio hits, with "Lonesome" as previously stated peaking at #1 and "I Gotta Know" peaking at #20 on the Hot 100.

I love 45 rpm records, especially in the old days when both sides of a 45 could become hits. DJs had more flexibility in those days to flip a record over and figure that hey, the other side is just as good as the A-side being pushed by the record company.

The original 45 was on the black RCA label featuring Nipper the dog looking into the old gramophone record player. What a classic label and symbol. Sadly I no longer have that original 45.

Today "Are You Lonesome Tonight" and "I Gotta Know" exist on CD or a digital playlist like I have at. Spotify.

"Are You Lonesome Tonight" and "I Gotta Know" appear on the CD Elvis Golden Records Volume 3.

You can listen to both songs on my Digital 45 playlist on Spotify.