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It's Now or Never (song)

"It's Now or Never"
Elvis presley nowornever.jpg
Single by Elvis Presley
B-side "A Mess of Blues"
Released July 5, 1960
Format Vinyl single
Recorded April 3, 1960, RCA Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Genre Pop
Length 3:15
Label RCA Victor
Writer(s) Wally Gold, Aaron Schroeder, Eduardo di Capua
Elvis Presley singles chronology
"Stuck on You" / "Fame and Fortune"
(1960)
"It's Now or Never"
(1960)
"Are You Lonesome Tonight?"
(1960)
"It's Now or Never"
Single by John Schneider
from the album Now or Never
B-side "Stay"
Released 1981
Genre Country
Length 3:22
Label Scotti Brothers
Writer(s) Wally Gold, Aaron Schroeder, Eduardo di Capua
John Schneider singles chronology
"It's Now or Never"
(1981)
"Them Good Ol' Boys Are Bad"
(1981)

"It's Now or Never" is a ballad recorded by Elvis Presley in 1960. It is one of two popular songs based on the Italian song "'O Sole mio" (music by Eduardo di Capua), the other being "There's No Tomorrow", recorded by U.S. singer Tony Martin in 1949, which inspired Presley's version. The lyrics were written by Aaron Schroeder and Wally Gold. The single is the second best-selling single by Presley, and one of the best-selling singles of all time.

In the late 1950s, while stationed in Germany with the U.S. Army, Presley heard Martin's recording. According to The New York Times, quoting from the 1986 book Behind The Hits, "he told the idea to his music publisher, , who was visiting him in Germany... Mr. Bienstock, who many times found songwriters for Presley, returned to his New York office, where he found songwriters, Mr. [Aaron] Schroeder and Wally Gold, the only people in that day. The two wrote lyrics in half an hour. Selling more than 20 million records, the song became number one in countries all around and was Presley's best selling single ever... a song [they] finished in 20 minutes to a half hour was the biggest song of [their] career."

In 1960, "It's Now or Never" was a number-one record in the U.S., spending five weeks at number one and the UK, where it spent eight weeks at the top in 1960 and an additional week at number one in 2005 as a re-issue, and numerous other countries, selling in excess of 25 million copies worldwide, Elvis Presley's biggest international single ever. Its British 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.

A live version featuring "'O Sole mio" is available on the 1977 live album Elvis in Concert. "'O Sole mio" is sung by tenor Sherrill Nielson.


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