Songs with Earlier Histories Than the Hit Version

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Tagged: The Softones

(I Can’t Help) Falling in Love

Recorded as (“Plaisir d’Amour”) by Emilio De Gogorza (1902).
Also recorded (as “Plaisir d’Amour”) by Beniamino Gigli (1934), Joan Baez (1961).
Hit versions (in English) by Elvis Presley (US #2/MOR #1/UK #1 1961), Andy Williams (UK #3 1970), The Softones (R&B #53 1973), The Stylistics (R&B #52/UK #4 1976), UB40 (US #1/UK #1/IRE #1/AUS #1 1993).
Also recorded (as “I Want to Live”) by Aphrodite’s Child (NETH #1 1969).

[Note: The above recording is not by Emilio De Gogorza. It is a 1945 arrangement recorded by French cabaret tenor Emile-Jean Vanni-Marcoux.]

From the wiki: “‘(I Can’t Help) Falling in Love’ was written by Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore and George Weiss (‘The Lion Sleeps Tonight‘, ‘What a Wonderful World’) based on a popular romance melody by Jean Pierre Claris de Florian, ‘Plaisir d’Amour’, first performed in 1784 and first recorded in 1902 by Emilio De Gogorza.

“Beniamino Gigli, considered by some to be the greatest opera tenor of his generation, covered ‘Plaisir d’Amour’ in 1934. (Gigli rose to true international prominence after the death of the great Italian tenor Enrico Caruso in 1921. Such was Gigli’s popularity with audiences he was often called ‘Caruso Secondo’, though in great operatic ego tradition he much preferred to be known as ‘Gigli Primo’.)

“English-language lyrics were later written by George Weiss for an Elvis Presley feature movie, but who claimed that neither the movie producers nor Elvis’ associates liked the song demo. Nonetheless, Elvis insisted on recording the song for the movie Blue Hawaii.