This song, as recorded by Elvis, was written by George Weiss, Hugo Peretti, and
Luigi Creatore. It is based on an 18th century French classic called "Plaisir
d'Amour", originally written by Giovanni Martini.
Elvis recorded "Can't Help Falling in Love" on March 23, 1961 at Radio Recorders
in Hollywood for the "Blue Hawaii" movie soundtrack. Working this session were:
Scotty Moore and Hank Garland on guitar; Bob Moore on bass; D.J. Fontana, Hal
Blaine and Bernie Mattinson on drums; Floyd Cramer on piano; Dudley Brooks on
piano and celeste; Boots Randolph on saxaphone; Alvino Ray on steel guitar;
George Fields on harmonica; and Fred Tavares and Bernie Lewis on ukulele. Vocal
backup was provided by The Jordanaires. Also providing backing vocals were The
Surfers - a group consisting of Patrick Sylvia, Bernard Ching, Clayton Naluai
and Alan Naluai.
This single was shipped out on November 21, 1961 with "Rock-A-Hula Baby", also
from the film "Blue Hawaii", as the flip side. "Can't Help Falling in Love"
peaked at #2 in its 14-week run on the Billboard pop singles chart. On the
British pop chart it was #1 for 4 weeks.
In the "concert era" of 1969-1977, "Can't Help Falling in Love" was Elvis'
signature closing song for concerts. This much loved song has been covered by a
number of artists including: Bono of U2, Shirley Bassey, Perry Como, Doris Day,
Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan, Julio Iglesias, The Lennon Sisters, Al Martino, Pearl
Jam, Marty Robbins, T.G. Sheppard, Andy Williams, Billie Holiday, Nina Simone,
Kenny Rogers, Corey Hart, and UB40. The A-Teens covered it for the soundtrack
album for the new Disney film "Lilo & Stitch".