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| "A Big Hunk o' Love" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Single cover art work for A Big Hunk O' Love by Elvis Presley | ||||
| Single by Elvis Presley | ||||
| B-side | "My Wish Came True" | |||
| Released | June 23, 1959[1] | |||
| Recorded | June 10, 1958 | |||
| Studio | RCA Studio B, Nashville[1] | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 2:12 | |||
| Label | RCA Victor | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Aaron Schroeder, Sidney Wyche | |||
| Producer(s) | Steve Sholes | |||
| Elvis Presley singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "A Big Hunk o' Love" (audio) on YouTube | ||||
"A Big Hunk o' Love" is a song originally recorded by Elvis Presley and released as a single on June 23, 1959[1] by RCA Victor, which topped the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks.[3]
The song was revived by Presley in 1972 during his engagements at the Las Vegas Hilton in February 1972 and was used regularly in his live shows until mid-1973. It was performed live for the last time on January 26, 1974. The song is included in the 1972 documentary Elvis On Tour and his 1973 show broadcast via satellite, Aloha from Hawaii. During this time period, it was played by the Elvis' TCB Band, and featured Glen D. Hardin and James Burton.
The song was written by Aaron Schroeder and Sidney Wyche, under the name Sid Jaxon and published by Elvis Presley's company Gladys Music, Inc. Aaron Schroeder (along with Wally Gold), also wrote "It's Now or Never" and "Good Luck Charm", both of which, like "A Big Hunk o' Love", were originally recorded by American rock and roll icon Elvis Presley.
Syd Wyche is best known for writing the jazz standard "Alright, Okay, You Win", whereas Aaron Schroeder co-wrote many hits in the rock`n`roll area, from "Fools Hall of Fame" (Pat Boone) to "Because They're Young" (Duane Eddy). In an interview conducted by Jan-Erik Kjeseth, he also revealed that in fact he worked with his partner Wally Gold in order to improve a song submitted by another writer, and the result was "It's My Party", a big hit for Lesley Gore. Schroeder and Gold tossed a coin as to whose name should go on the record, and Gold "won".
The song appeared on the 1959 compilation 50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can't Be Wrong, the 2002 career retrospective ELV1S: 30#1 Hits, and the 2016 compilation The Wonder of You.
- ^ a b c ELV1S: 30 #1 Hits (CD liner). Elvis Presley. RCA Records. 2002. pp. 11, 18. 68079-2.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ a b Breihan, Tom (February 7, 2018). "The Number Ones: Elvis Presley's "A Big Hunk O' Love"". Stereogum. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
It's a pretty standard rockabilly number..."A Big Hunk O' Love" isn't one of Presley's better rockers.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2010). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits (9th ed.). Billboard Books. p. 520. ISBN 978-0-8230-8554-5.