Overview
"Can't Help Falling in Love" is a song recorded by American singer Elvis Presley for the album Blue Hawaii (1961). It was written by Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore, and George David Weiss and published by Gladys Music, Inc. The melody is based on "Plaisir d'amour", a popular French love song composed in 1784 by Jean-Paul-Égide Martini. The song was initially written from the perspective of a woman as "Can't Help Falling in Love with Him", which explains the first and third line ending on "in" and "sin" rather than words rhyming with "you".
"Can't Help Falling in Love" was featured in Presley's 1961 film Blue Hawaii. It has also been recorded by many other artists, including Swedish pop group A-Teens, and the British reggae group UB40, whose 1993 version topped the US and UK charts. It was listed as one of the greatest songs of all-time by Rolling Stone, ranking #403 in the list's 2012 edition.
Background and release
Elvis Presley's version of the song topped the British charts in 1962, spending four weeks at no. 1. The single is certified Platinum by the RIAA, for US sales in excess of one million copies. In the United States, the song peaked at No. 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100 behind Joey Dee and the Starliters' "Peppermint Twist" and went to No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart for six weeks.
During Presley's late 1960's and 1970's live performances, the song was performed as the show's finale. Most notably, it was also sung in the live segment of his 1968 NBC television special, and as the closer for his 1973 Global telecast Aloha from Hawaii. A version with a faster arrangement was the closing number in Presley's final TV special, Elvis in Concert. "Can't Help Falling in Love" was also the last song he performed live, at his concert in Indianapolis at Market Square Arena on June 26, 1977.
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