"
Can't Help Falling in Love" is a
pop ballad based on "
Plaisir d'amour", an 18th-century song which is sung by
Montgomery Clift in the 1949 film "
The Heiress" starring Clift and
Olivia de Havilland, with a musical score provided by
Aaron Copland. The pop ballad was originally recorded by American singer
Elvis Presley and published by Gladys Music, Presley's
publishing company. It was written by
Hugo Peretti,
Luigi Creatore, and
George David Weiss.
(The melody is based on "
Plaisir d'amour",
a popular romance composed in 1784 by
Jean-Paul-Égide Martini). "Can't Help Falling in Love" was featured in Presley's 1961 film,
Blue Hawaii. During the following four decades, it was recorded by numerous other artists, including
Tom Smothers, Swedish pop group
A-Teens, and the British
reggae group
UB40, whose 1993 version topped the
U.S. and
UK charts. Elvis Presley's version of the song topped the British charts in 1962. 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 1960s and 1970s 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 26 June 1977.
In 2015, the song was included on the
If I Can Dream album, on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of Presley's birth. The version uses archival voice recordings of Presley and his singers, backed by new orchestral arrangements performed by the
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
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