Elvis Presley - It's Now or Never (A. Schroeder, W. Gold) ~ Erwin Lazaro 040

My dad is simply AMAZING. I have to OPENLY DECLARE that I'm OVERWHELMINGLY UPSET that very few people DO NOT TRULY appreciate my dad. My dad is not perfect, and he constantly beats himself up for what he considers his weaknesses. The human spirit, by nature, is stubborn, unyielding, and just plain willful. Those traits, by themselves, are a recipe for trouble. THAT is what MOST people see in my dad. But, throw in compassion, determination, willingness, and wisdom; and all the makings of a fine human being are in order. THAT is my dad. My Dad is Discipline. Understanding the true nature of discipline means that people will naturally be weary of its purpose, until that purpose is accepted and appreciated. What people FAIL to understand IS my dad's purpose, and thus, FAIL to accept him and FAIL to appreciate him. For those of you who know my dad personally, and are already enjoying my videos, I believe that my sentiments are not directed towards you. Unfortunately, the people who DO need to appreciate my declaration are not aware of my efforts. So, every day, I pray. I pray that my dad will be appreciated for who he is and what he does. Our Lord God in Heaven knows the truth -- the ONLY ONE who knows the WHOLE truth. It's easy to be afraid of my dad because he is a lion, he is strong, he is opinionated, he is not afraid, he is Discipline.

Like millions and millions of people, my dad's favorite entertainer of ALL-TIME is Elvis Presley. Elvis represents that rebel that I described earlier; the one full of stubbornness, the one who was unyielding, and the one who was just plain willful. Elvis became the role-model for all young people who needed a hero to represent their cause. Those who did not appreciate Elvis, during the time when he turned the world upside down, COULD NOT understand the rest of Elvis; the Elvis that was also full of compassion and determination; the Elvis that represented the willingness to evolve and buck the trends; the Elvis who was inspired and knew that he came upon something very important. Thus, unlike those before him, Elvis discovered the wisdom to create his own path and became the King of Rock-n-Roll.

As far as I'm concerned, my dad is Elvis. As far as I'm concerned, my dad accomplished everything that Elvis did. The only difference is that my dad is not recognized for his accomplishments. I'll get into that next week with another Elvis cover. But, for now, I'm kicking off my series of Elvis covers with Elvis Presley's number one hit from 1960: "It's Now or Never". It's perfect for my declaration. It's perfect for my dad.

"It's Now or Never" is a popular song recorded by Elvis Presley in 1960. The melody of the song is borrowed from the Italian standard, "'O Sole Mio", but the inspiration for it came from the song, "There's No Tomorrow", recorded by U.S. singer, Tony Martin, in 1949. In the late 1950s, while stationed in Germany with the U.S. Army, Presley heard Martin's recording and put to tape a private version of the song. Upon his discharge, Presley requested that new lyrics be written especially for him, a job that was undertaken by the songwriting duo of Aaron Schroeder and Wally Gold, with a demo by David Hill. In 1960, "It's Now or Never" was a number-one record in the U.S. and the UK, where it spent nine weeks at the top, and numerous other countries, selling in excess of 25 million copies worldwide, his biggest international single ever. Its UK release was delayed for some time because of rights issues, allowing the song to build up massive advance orders and to enter the UK Singles Chart at number one, a very rare occurrence at the time. "It's Now or Never" peaked at number seven on the R&B charts.

My description for the origins of "It's Now or Never" may not be entirely accurate. I read from the obituary of Aaron Schroeder (one of the writers) that Elvis, while stationed in Germany, enjoyed singing the music of Mario Lanza; "'O Sole Mio", in particular. The journalist wrote that it was Presley's publisher, Freddy Bienstock, who wanted the English lyrics and added that it only took 30 minutes for the team of Schroeder and Gold to write the lyrics. An Elvis fan (YoungAtHeart1941) also let me know that "It's Now or Never" is "the ONLY song that Elvis ever recorded whereby he had his doubts if he could sing; because Elvis wanted to end "It's Now or Never" just the way Mario Lanza ended "'O Sole Mio"; with an operatic ending!! Elvis was familiar with Mario Lanza because his mother (Gladys) loved to listen to Mario Lanza." Thank you, Keith.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Erwin Lazaro
• It's Now or Never
• Elvis Presley
• Aaron Schroeder
• Wally Gold
• David Hill
• 'O Sole Mio
• Italian
• standard
• There's No Tomorrow
• Tony Martin
• 1949
• Barry White
• UK
• Singles
• Chart
• R&B
• RnB
• romantic ballads
• pop rock

[briandboss]

It's now or never goes to my faved list.. Wooh!.. I really like your version. Another Superb and big thumbs up for this remarkable song

(ツ) BRIAN ☺

[Jrockbad]

I liked! Congratulations my friend! ^^

See u! ;)

[ivanluigi2007]

Hello my friend, congratulations on interpretation, very cool. Ivan Luigi.

[ivanluigi2007]

Ola meu amigo, parabéns pela interpretação, muito legal. Ivan Luigi.

[Sonia1965ful]

fantastic i love it

xx

[sukomsanru]

I have accidentally come in and watched your dad's singing Elvis. He's really so amazing and I think he must be Elvis fan too. Thanks.

[thamarhouse]

i like it!!!!

[Percymony]

I am wearing a good headphone and I chanced to listen to this and really you have a very beautiful voice. Your cover is 99.9% perfect. (Medyo strained lang a tad sa 3:09 pero i'm sure in a recording studio, that could be fixed. Consider me a fan.

[kokovq]

he is great

[mactopolis]

You do Elvis proud