“Can’t Help Falling in Love” (Elvis Presley/UB40)

Today’s classic song of the day was co-written by George David Weiss, the guy who wrote the words for yesterday’s classic song of the day, Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World.” The song is “Can’t Help Falling in Love” and it was a big hit for Elvis Presley back in 1961.

Written for Elvis to sing in the 1961 film, Blue Hawaii, “Can’t Help Falling in Love” was released as a single in late November of 1961. It shot to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on Billboard’s Easy Listening chart (for six weeks!). The song was also a number-one hit in the UK.

“Can’t Help Falling in Love” was written by songwriters Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore, with lyrics provided by George David Weiss. It was originally written from a woman’s perspective as “Can’t Help Falling in Love with Him.” This explains the verses that end in “in” and “sin,” which most definitely do not rhyme with “you.”

Elvis recorded the track on March 23, 1961, at Radio Recorders studio in Hollywood. The backing musicians included the vocal group the Jordanaires, Scotty Moore on electric guitar, Hank Garland on acoustic guitar, Alvino Rey on pedal steel guitar, Floyd Cramer on piano, Bob Moore on upright bass, and D.J. Fontana on drums. (Hal Blaine was also on the union contract, apparently playing extra percussion.)

“Can’t Help Falling in Love” has been covered by dozens of artists over the years, including Perry Como, the Lennon Sisters, Doris Day, Patti Page, Andy Williams, Al Martino, Keely Smith, Marty Robbins, Bob Dylan, The Stylistics, Shirley Bassey, Engelbert Humperdinck, and Kacey Musgraves. Arguably the most popular cover was done by the British group UB40 in 1993. Their version was a #1 hit worldwide, hitting the top slot in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, and the UK. Here in the U.S., the UB40 single hit #1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100.