Elvis Presley’s dynamic stage presence, magnetic charisma, and signature fashion choices propelled him to stardom, solidifying his role as a pivotal influencer in music. The legend has several accolades to his name: three Grammy awards and a life achievement award at the age of 36. He also holds the record for, the most albums charted on the Billboard 200 and the most number-one albums by a solo artist on the UK Albums Chart.
However, despite the King of Rock and Roll’s fame, and established fanbase, one of his popular songs, “Return to Sender,” suffered a massive setback as it failed to clinch the number one position on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Elvis Presley’s song, “Return to Sender,” didn’t peak on Billboard Hot 100
“Return to Sender” was written by Winfield Scott and Otis Blackwell, and recorded by Presley. It was first featured in the 1962 film Girls! Girls! Girls! Upon its release, the song became a commercial hit and received praise for its lyrics and melody, climbing to the No. 2 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 and maintaining its presence on the chart for 16 weeks.
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However, contrary to the general opinion that Presley’s song didn’t hit the number one position because it had a similar name to Fergie’s song released around the same time, The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits revealed that Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons hit single, “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” maintained the top spot.
Winfield Scott speaks on how he started writing for Elvis Presley
In a 2008 interview with Elvis Australia, Winfield Scott talked about his journey in composing songs for the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll. “Otis Blackwell was a good friend of mine and convinced me to start writing for pop artists as opposed to just R&B performers,” Scott explained. “Otis had written several songs for Elvis, including classics like ‘Don’t Be Cruel’ and ‘All Shook Up,’ and he had learned just how much more rewarding it was to write for a star like Elvis.”
The writer also reminisced about his work on “Return to Sender”, and his later collaborations with Presley. “In early 1962, we struck gold and had three songs recorded in just a few weeks,” he stated. “‘Return to Sender’ and ‘We’re Comin’ In Loaded’ for the film Girls! Girls! Girls! and ‘Easy Question’ for the Pot Luck album,” he added. “We wrote ‘One Broken Heart For Sale,’ which became the hit single for the next movie [It Happened at the World’s Fair], and ‘Please Don’t Drag That String Around,’ which ended up on the B-side of ‘(You’re the) Devil In Disguise,’ A few years later, I wrote ‘Long Legged Girl’ with Leslie McFarland and, in 1970, Elvis recorded ‘Stranger in the Crowd’ which I had written on my own.”