When Elvis Presley came home from the Army, he didn’t just step back into the spotlight — he lit it up. With the romance of “It’s Now or Never,” adapted from the Italian classic “’O Sole Mio,” the King of Rock ‘n Roll claimed his first post-Army No. 1 on this day in 1960. The song camped out for five weeks in the top spot, and did the same on the UK charts at the same time for eight weeks.

Presley released the song in July 1960, just months after returning from his two-year U.S. Army service.

However, it was Presley’s time in the Army that led to the song. He heard “’O Sole Mio” while serving in Germany and shared the song—along with the idea of covering it—with his publisher, Freddy Bienstock. Bienstock reached out to songwriters Aaron Schroeder and Wally Gold, who then wrote the English lyrics in about 30 minutes. The songwriters’ update brought the song 60 years into the future, added modern elements, and a dramatic build.  

Elvis Presley Adapted an Italian Classic

Their quick turnaround led to one of the biggest songs of their – and Presley’s – career. “It’s Now or Never” sold more than 20 million copies, which made it one of the singer’s best-selling singles. The song’s success put an exclamation on his return to entertainment following his departure from the Army and reinstated him as a pop culture icon.

The song also marked a more mature singing style for Presley, allowing him to highlight his vocal range and control. It’s a commonly covered song from his catalog, and its orchestration influenced other early ‘60s pop ballads.

The sound is one he fought for. Presley reportedly recorded “It’s Now or Never” in April of 1960 at RCA Studio B in Nashville. The vocal style didn’t come naturally for him, and it’s said that he struggled to sing the end of the song to his liking. An engineer offered to edit and splice the music together to achieve the impact the King wanted, but he declined and kept pushing himself.

Schroeder, who co-wrote Presley’s version of the song, was in the studio when he was struggling to record.  

Elvis is Back!

“Elvis wanted everything to be right; almost to the point of having tears in his eyes because he—Elvis—felt himself to be struggling to get the result that he envisaged in his head,” Schroeder said.

“It’s Now or Never” was first included on Presley’s album Elvis Is Back! in 1960.

Throughout his career, Presley sold more than 500 million records worldwide, enough to make him one of the best-selling solo artists in history. According to Graceland, Presley had at least 149 songs to appear on Billboard’s Hot 100 Pop Chart. Of those, 114 went Top 40, 40 went Top 10, and 18 went to No. 1. His chart-topping singles spent 80 weeks at No. 1. Presley charted 90 records and sent 10 of them to No. 1. Graceland clarifies that their numbers only reflect America’s pop charts.  

The singer was the first artist to have a No. 1 single on the Billboard charts in four different decades. He starred in 31 feature films and had two concert documentaries. His 1973 Aloha from Hawaii Via Satellite concert was the first by a solo artist broadcast globally and reached more than 1 billion viewers.

(Photo by Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images)