"Wooden Heart" is a pop song recorded by Elvis Presley. The composition is based on a German folk song "Muss i denn" (lit. Must I then) and it was featured in the 1960 Elvis Presley film G.I. Blues. The song was a hit single for Presley in the UK Singles Chart, reaching No. 1 for six weeks in March and April 1961.[1][2]
| "Wooden Heart" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Picture sleeve for one of 1961 German singles | ||||
| Single by Elvis Presley | ||||
| from the album G.I. Blues | ||||
| A-side | "Blue Christmas" (USA 1964) | |||
| B-side | "Tonight is So Right for Love" (UK 1961) | |||
| Released |
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| Recorded | 28 April 1960 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 2:03 | |||
| Label | RCA | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Fred Wise, Ben Weisman, Kay Twomey, Bert Kaempfert[1] | |||
| Producer(s) | Steve Sholes[1] | |||
| Elvis Presley USA singles chronology | ||||
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| Elvis Presley UK singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Wooden Heart" (audio) on YouTube | ||||
| "Wooden Heart" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Joe Dowell | ||||
| B-side | "Little Bo Peep" | |||
| Released | June 1961 | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 2:01 | |||
| Label | Smash | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Fred Wise, Ben Weisman, Kay Twomey, Bert Kaempfert | |||
| Joe Dowell singles chronology | ||||
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Background
The song was published by Elvis Presley's company Gladys Music, Inc. In the United States, it was released in November 1964 as the B-side to "Blue Christmas". Presley performed the song live during his Dinner Show concert at the Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas in 1975, a recording available on the Elvis Presley live album Dinner At Eight.
A cover version by Joe Dowell on the Smash Records label made it to number one in the US at the end of August 1961, knocking Bobby Lewis' "Tossin' and Turnin'" off the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 after seven weeks. Dowell's version also spent three weeks at number one on the Easy Listening chart.[3]
"Wooden Heart", written by Fred Wise, Ben Weisman, Kay Twomey and German bandleader Bert Kaempfert,[1] was based on the German folk song, "Muss i denn", originating from the Rems Valley in Württemberg, south-west Germany, and arranged by Friedrich Silcher. "Wooden Heart" features several lines from the original folk song. Marlene Dietrich recorded a version of the song in the original German sometime before 1958, pre-dating Presley, which appears as a B-side on a 1959 version of her single "Lili Marlene", released by Philips in association with Columbia Records.[4] The Elvis Presley version was published by Gladys Music, Elvis Presley's publishing company. Bobby Vinton recorded his version in 1975 with those lines translated into Polish.
The Elvis Presley version features two sections in German, the first being the first four lines: "Muss i' denn zum Städtele hinaus". The second section is towards the end and is based on a translation of the English version (therefore not appearing in the original German folk lyrics): Sei mir gut, sei mir gut, sei mir wie du wirklich sollst, wie du wirklich sollst... ("Be good to me, be good to me, be to me how you really should, how you really should...").
Chart history
Elvis Presley
| Chart (1964) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Bubbling Under the Hot 100[14] | 107 |
| Chart (1965) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Bubbling Under the Hot 100[14] | 110 |
| Chart (1977) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[6] | 5 |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[15] | 2 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[10] | 3 |
| Chart (2005) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| France (SNEP)[16] | 94 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[10] | 23 |
| Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[17] | 56 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (1961) | Rank |
|---|---|
| Australia [5] | 3 |
| South Africa [13] | 1 |
| UK [18] | 3 |
Sales
| Region | Sales |
|---|---|
| Europe | 1,000,000[19] |
| Germany | 600,000[20] |
| Netherlands | 90,000[21] |
Joe Dowell
Gus Backus
| Chart (1960) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| West Germany (Official German Charts)[26] | 2 |
| US Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100[14] | 102 |
Editions
- (US) "Blue Christmas" b/w "Wooden Heart" Released: November 1964, RCA 447-0720
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Released on their 2015 Album Nobody's Children of previously unreleased material
- Bobby Vinton released it as a 45 single on ABC Records in 1975—U.S. #58[22]
References
External links
- Elvis News Network – G.I. Blues
- Joe Dowell biography
- "Muß i' denn zum Städtele hinaus", lyrics and translation
- Joe Dowell Collection, McLean County Museum of History