The story behind the song
Elvis Presley dropped Don’t on January 7, 1958, and it immediately became his eleventh chart-topping hit across the United States. The song marked a shift away from his famous high-energy rockabilly sound, and it’s now recognized as one of his most gentle, emotionally raw, and popular pop ballads from the 1950s.
The story behind the song started on the Jailhouse Rock movie set back in 1957. Elvis went up to songwriter
Mike Stoller and asked him to write a “real pretty ballad.” That same weekend, the famous songwriting team of
Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller created the track. According to Stoller, Don’t was the first song they made specifically for Elvis that didn’t have their usual touch of irony or theatrical flair—instead, they made it as a genuine “heart song.”
AT A GLANCE