The story behind the song
(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear is a classic 1957 rock and roll song famously recorded by Elvis Presley. It became one of the defining hits of his early career and a permanent staple of his musical legacy.
The song was written by the songwriting duo Kal Mann and Bernie Lowe. The rumor behind the song was that after Elvis received a massive influx of teddy bears as Christmas gifts from fans in December 1956, Kal Mann was inspired to write a song matching the singer’s newfound, playful association with the cuddly toys. This false rumor started from the August 7, 1956, issue of Look Magazine. Then again, the article also reported that blue-eyed Elvis had brown eyes. In 1957, Norm Pringle in an interview asked Elvis about this stuffed animal rumor and Elvis set the record straight telling him it began in a magazine article (see Sunday, January 6, 1957, Chapter 6 of Thirty Pieces of Silver: The Betrayal of Elvis Presley).
Elvis laid down this track on January 16, 1957, over at Paramount’s Scoring Stage in Hollywood. The song was made specifically for his second big movie, Loving You (1957), and Elvis actually performs it in the film itself. His famous band, the Blue Moon Boys, helped him out in the studio—Scotty Moore played guitar, Bill Black handled the bass, and D.J. Fontana was on drums. The Jordanaires added the iconic background vocals.
It achieved rare cross-genre dominance, reaching #1 on the Billboard Pop, Country, and R&B charts simultaneously during the summer of 1957. It spent one week in the #1 spot on the R&B chart and spent thirteen weeks going up and down on the R&B chart.
AT A GLANCE