"Are You Lonesome Tonight" is a song that was written by Roy Turk, back in 1926.
Lou Handman composed the melody line while Roy Turk the lyrics. They originally published it one year later, in 1927.
Elvis Presley made the most famous interpretation of the track.
It was initially recorded by Ned Jakobs, followed by Charles Hart, Vaughn De Leath, Handman's sister, Edith, The Colonial Club Orchestra, the tenor Henry Burr, the Carter Family, in 1936 and by Stanely Kirkby, in 1928. Other notable recordings were made by Blue Barron in 1950 and Al Jonson, in the same year.
Elvis Presley recorded "Are You Lonesome Tonight" on April 4, 1960, along with another great single, "I Gotta Know".
It has been said that Colonel Parker insisted that the singer would have his own version of the song and pursued him into recording it.
Presley was inspired by The Colonial Club Orchestra's version. He might also have heard it while he was serving the army, in Europe, where the song was receiving much airplay.
The free Are You Lonesome Tonight piano sheet music features a beautiful mix of Jazz, Rock, Blues and Pop musical genres.
Songs like "Return to Sorrento "and" O Sole Mio also touched him.
Bill Porter, a sound pioneer, engineered Elvis Presley’s "Are You Lonesome Tonight". It was part of the RCA Victor label and ran a duration of 3:07 minutes.
It was included in the album "Elvis' Golden Records Volume 3" and released on November 1, 1960.
The song turned into a huge hit, becoming one of the best-selling singles of 1960 and of all time as well. It topped the Billboard Pop Chart for a number of 6 weeks and reached number 3 on the R&B chart.
An interesting fact is how the singer would often change the lyrics of the song during his live performances into funny ones.
In 1980, the song was also included in the box set "Elvis Aaron Presley".
The song has been performed by Elvis live during the "Elvis In Concert" TV special.
"Are You Lonesome Tonight" was ranked at number 81 on the list of "Greatest Songs of All Time", made by Billboard magazine.
Other musicians such as Frank Sinatra have later covered the track in 1962, for the album "All Alone", Doris Day, in 1967, for her album "The Love Album" and Sam Kinison.
Amanda Lear made the most recent cover in 2014, on "My Happiness", a tribute album.
This track is one of the most recognizable songs of our times and it has kept its popularity among the fans for almost a century. So, grab the free Are You Lonesome Tonight piano sheets below and start practicing.
