Don't Be Cruel

From Wikipedia:

“Don’t Be Cruel” is a song that was recorded by Elvis Presley and written by Otis Blackwell in 1956. It was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2002. In 2004, it was listed #197 in Rolling Stone’s list of 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Recording

“Don’t Be Cruel” was the first song that Elvis Presley’s song publishers, Hill & Range, brought to him to record. Otis Blackwell was more than happy to give up 50% of the royalties and a co-writing credit to Presley to ensure that the “hottest new singer around covered it”. But unfortunately he had already sold the song for only $25 ($289 in 2024), as he stated in an interview of American Songwriter.

Freddy Bienstock, Presley’s music publisher, gave the following explanation for why Presley received co-writing credit for songs like “Don’t Be Cruel”. “In the early days Elvis would show dissatisfaction with some lines and he would make alterations, so it wasn’t just what is known as a ‘cut-in’. His name did not appear after the first year. But if Presley liked the song, the writers would be offered a guarantee of a million records and they would surrender a third of their royalties to Elvis’.”

Presley recorded the song on July 2, 1956, during an exhaustive recording session at RCA Victor Studios in New York City. During this session he also recorded “Hound Dog”, and “Any Way You Want Me”. The song featured Presley’s band of Scotty Moore on lead guitar (with Presley usually providing rhythm guitar), Bill Black on double bass, D. J. Fontana on drums, Shorty Long on piano, and backing vocals from the Jordanaires. The producing credit was given to RCA’s Stephen H. Sholes, although the studio recordings reveal that Presley produced the songs in this session by selecting the song, reworking the arrangement on piano, and insisting on 28 takes before he was satisfied with it. He also ran through 31 takes of “Hound Dog”.

Release

The single was released on July 13, 1956, backed with “Hound Dog”. Within a few weeks “Hound Dog” had risen to #2 on the Pop charts with sales of over one million. Soon after it was overtaken by “Don’t Be Cruel,” which took #1 on all three main charts; Pop, Country, and R’n’B. Between them, both songs remained at #1 on the Pop chart for a run of 11 weeks tying it with the 1950 Anton Karas hit “The Third Man Theme” and the 1951–1952 Johnnie Ray hit “Cry” for the longest stay at number one by a single record from late 1950 onward until 1992’s smash “End of the Road” by Boyz II Men. By the end of 1956 it had sold in excess of four million copies. Billboard ranked it as the No. 2 song for 1956. […]

According to Mark Lewisohn in “The Complete Beatles Chronicle“, The Beatles – first as The Quarrymen – performed “Don’t Be Cruel” regularly between 1959 and 1961, with Paul McCartney likely singing it. However, no known recordings from that period exist.

On January 10, 1969, during the “Get Back” sessions, Paul McCartney and John Lennon played a version of “Don’t Be Cruel” after George Harrison announced he was leaving the Beatles.

Bootlegs

Cover versions played during the "Get Back" sessions

"Don't Be Cruel" was covered during The Beatles' "Get Back" sessions in January 1969. Here is the complete list of covers recorded by Paul McCartney, either alone or with other Beatles, during these sessions: