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(Blackwell / Presley)
Information: Elvis sang Don't Be Cruel on the Ed Sullivan Show (September 9, 1956; October 28, 1956; and January 6, 1957) and on his 1977 TV special Elvis In Concert (October 3, 1977). The song was recorded during the tapings for the 1968 TV special, but was not used for the telecast or the subsequent soundtrack album. The Ed Sullivan Show appearance of January 6, 1957, was used in the documentary This Is Elvis.
Don't Be Cruel has been recorded by several other artists over the years, most of them unsuccessfully. Bill Black had a 1960 instrumental version (Hi 2026) that reached #11 on the Hot 100 chart. Scotty Moore played guitar on that recording. In 1963 Barbara Lynn barely made the Hot 100 (#93) with her recording of Don't Be Cruel (Jamie 1244). Cheap Trick had a #4 hit with the song in 1988 (Epic 24-07965).
During the Million-Dollar-Quartet session of December 4, 1956, Elvis commented to Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins that he'd heard a member of Billy Warck and His Dominoes sing Don't Be Cruel in Las Vegas. He enjoyed the slower version so much that he wished he'd recorded it that way. The unnamed member of the Dominoes to whom Elvis was referring to was Jackie Wilson. Elvis then demonstrated to Lewis and Perkins how Wilson sang Don't Be Cruel.
Lyrics:
You know I can be found sitting home all alone
Where it was released: Released for the first time on single »
Singles: - Hound Dog / Don't Be Cruel (RCA 20-664) July 1956. Standard 78 RPM release » - Hound Dog / Don't Be Cruel (RCA 47-6604) July 1956. Standard 45 RPM release. Two versions of the picture sleeve were used. One had Hound Dog printed above Don't Be Cruel in larger letters. The other had the reverse. This was the first sleeve to feature a photograph of Elvis » - Hound Dog / Don't Be Cruel (RCA 447-0608) March 1959. Gold Standard Series reissue » - Hound Dog / Don't Be Cruel (RCA PB-11099) October 1977. One of the 15 singles in the boxed set 15 Golden Records - 30 Golden Hits (RCA PP-11301) and one of the 10 singles in the 20 Golden Hits in Full Color Sleeves (RCA PP-11340) boxed set released two months later. - Hound Dog / Don't Be Cruel (RCA PB-13886) October 1984. One of the six singles in the boxed set Elvis' Greatest Hits - Golden Singles, Volume 1 (RCA PP-13897). Each record was pressed on gold vinyl and had a special gold "50th" anniversary label. EPs: - Elvis Presley (RCA SPD-23) (1956) » - The Real Elvis (1956) »
LPs/CDs:»
- A Legendary Performer, Volume 1 (1974) » - Pure Gold (1975) » - Elvis - A Collectors Edition (1976) » - Elvis In Concert (1977) » Elvis' Golden Records (1977) » - The Elvis Presley Story (1977) » - Elvis: Memories (1978) » - Elvis Commemorative Album (1978) » - Elvis! His Greatest Hits (1979) » - Elvis as Recorded at Madison Square Garden (1979) »
Elvis Aron Presley (1980)
» This Is Elvis (1981) » Rock'n'Roll Forever (1981) - Candlelite »
- Elvis as Recorded Live on Stage in Memphis (2004) - FTD » - Rockin' Across Texas (2005) - FTD » - All Shook Up (2005) FTD »
- Writing For the King (2006) - FTD » - Unchained Melody (2007) - FTD » - An American Trilogy (2007) FTD » - Live in L.A. (2007) FTD » - The Way It Was (2008) - FTD » - America (2008) - FTD » - Nevada Nights (2008) - FTD » - Elvis in Person at the International Hotel, Las Vegas (2008) - FTD » - Standing Room Only (2009) - FTD » - Dixieland Delight (2009) - FTD » - New Haven '76 (2009) - FTD » - Rockin' Across Texas (2009) - FTD » - A Minnesota Moment (2010) - FTD » - Chicago Stadium (2010) - FTD » Live in Las Vegas (2011) - FTD » - Live in L.A. (2011) - FTD » Amarillo '77 (2011) - FTD » 48 Hours to Memphis (2011) - FTD » - Another Saturday Night (2012) - FTD » 3000 South Paradise Road (2012) - FTD » Hot August Night (2013) - FTD » The On Stage Season (2013) - FTD » Destination U.S.A. (2014) - FTD » Elvis (2014) - FTD » Love Me Tender (2014) - FTD » - The Return to Vegas (2014) - FTD » In Florida (2014) - FTD » - This is Elvis (2015) - FTD » - Rock Around the Bloch (2015) - FTD » - Elvis' Golden Records (2015) - FTD » - Elvis in West Texas (2015) - FTD » Elvis in Alabama (2015) - FTD » Las Vegas 1975 (2016) - FTD »
- Home Town Shows (2016) - FTD
» Las Vegas '74 (2017) - FTD » Elvis in Atlanta (2017) - FTD » Elvis at Madison Square Garden (2017) - FTD » The Bicentennial Show (2017) - FTD » Murfreesboro '74 (2018) - FTD » Rebel With a Cause '56 (2018) - FTD » What Now My Love (2018) - FTD » Holiday Season in Vegas (2018) - FTD » The Wild One '56 (2018) - FTD » St. Paul to Wichita, October '74 (2019) - FTD » From Georgia to Florida (2019) - FTD » Elvis in California (2020) - FTD » St. Louis / Spokane (2020) - FTD »
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