Words & Music:
Aaron Schroeder
Claude DeMetrius
Hal Blair
Bill Peppers
I was the one who taught her to kiss
The way that she kisses you now.
And you know the way she touches your cheek,
Well, I taught her how.
I was the one who taught her to cry
When she wants you under her spell.
The sight of her tears drives you out of your mind,
I taught her so well.
And then one day
I had my love as perfect as could be.
She lived, she loved, she laughed, she cried,
And it was all for me.
I'll never know who taught her to lie.
Now that it's over and done,
Who learned the lesson when she broke my heart?
I was the one.
And then one day
I had my love as perfect as could be.
She lived, she loved, she laughed, she cried,
And it was all for me.
I'll never know who taught her to lie.
Now that it's over and done,
Who learned the lesson when she broke my heart?
I was the one.
Recordingdate: 1956/01/11, first released on: single (album)
Musicians
Musicians who contributed to the first recording of I Was the One:
(guitar)
(guitar)
(guitar)
(bass)
(drums)
(piano)
(vocals)
(vocals)
(vocals)
Availability
Find available albums with I Was the One.
This was one of the first Elvis songs I heard. It was August 17, 1977, I was almost 8 years old when I put on one of my moms 45's to find out who Elvis Presley was. Boy did I find out!!! This song still takes me back to that day.
I was 9 years old when I first heard on the radio that a certain "Elvis" just died. The next day my mom bought the Elvis golden records #1 and I fell for this singer's voice and style. My favorite song was Heartbreak hotel. Later on, a uncle of mine told me about a nice melody that used to be the flip side of this tune back in the 50ties. I kept wondering what it sounded like until I finally had the chance to listen to it, I realized on that day that I guess I would keep discovering many other hits eventually...
I first heard it when I flipped over the Heartbreak Hotel 45 and let it spin. I actually liked it better than the 'A' side. Elvis does doo-wop! Man ,I wished he had sung more of this type of music. Perfect delivery, perfect record. But as Ive said before Elvis in the 50's to me, could do no wrong.
Heartbreak Hotel /I Was the One, was perhaps the first 78 I owned and I didn't manage to get this until the following year 1957. I Was the One was always my favourite side though.
I vividly remember a DJ on the BBC Light programme, as it was called then. About to play it and telling those listeners that hated Heartbreak Hotel to sit back and listen to the "B" side as it was completely different and really it should have been given the "A" side status.Both songs bring back memories of home and my schooldays
Definitely ranks as one of my all time favorites! And I think it represents some of the best work Elvis has done. According to DJ Fontana, it was also a song Elvis really liked.
... who invented pop music. Superb, Elvis at his best.
'I was the one'...who slaughtered this song (and others) during the sit-down, electric guitar segment of 'Elvis: That's The Way It Is' (though it didn't appear in the special edition).
Who is The King ?....great song, superb Elvis song !
Outstanding performance of the one and only King. These early songs represent the Rock n Roll years and to me that is Elvis as the incomparable artist. The youthful vibrant Elvis is a joy to hear and a treasure to value every day. In one of the famous live versions he already fools around with the lyrics, a trend he kept throughout his life time.
Wonderful song & performance.
Effortless and Flawless... which is probably the perfect way to sum up The King's voice full stop.
TCB
I really love the live performance of this song during the Dorsey Brothers Stage show. This was probably the first time he proved to have had a versatile voice and that he could really sung.
A wonderful song and rendition by Elvis. I still think it´s a little bit better than Heartbreak Hotel, and one of the greatest recordings of his career. It´s perfect and I´m glad he didn´t do throwaways of this one in the seventies. It´s impossible to improve, maybe even Elvis realized that.
A true Elvis gem, did Elvis sing it live or only in a reahersal?
A sublime song & rendition. Just wonderful.
The flipside of Elvis' first new RCA single "Heartbreak Hotel" in 1956, but so much more than just a flipside. An absolutely perfect performance by Elvis and the Jordinaires on a song that deserved to be an even bigger hit (it did hit #19 in the U.S.). With this one Elvis found his trademark style that he would use on so many great songs from "Don't Be Cruel" to "Treat Me Nice". It is a better track than the A-side and it is truly one of his best from the 50's. Five stars all the way.
This is such a splendid song and Elvis' renditions of it are all stellar. This is easily one of my most favorite Elvis songs from the 1950's. It's one of seventeen songs that Elvis recorded that was written by Aaron Schroeder.
Formed a great double sided hit with Heartbreak Hotel, and demonstrated his early appealing unique ballad style. It showed in just 18 months how much his vocal prowess on ballads had improved since the early Sun days.
A true rock 'n' roll ballad. The Jordanaires are perfect on this one. He tried it once in the seventies when a fan requested it, but clearly didn't care for it much, although in the fifties he said it was one of his favourites.
A 50's favorite of mine. 5 stars
As perfect as perfect can be! Elvis could do no wrong in the 50's to me. It's hard to pick simply one favorite song from that era. That said, this is one of them!
The Jordanaires were not yet part of Elvis' recording sessions at this time. However, there was one member there singing back-up on this song... Gordon Stoker, along with two other vocalists Ben Speer and Brock Speer.
This song is a true masterpiece and Elvis' renditions of it were all phenomenal.
The other sixteen songs that Elvis recorded that were co-written by Aaron Schroeder were "A Big Hunk O' Love", "Any Way You Want Me (That's How I Will Be)", "Apron Strings", "Dixieland Rock", "Don't Leave Me Now", "First In Line", "Good Luck Charm", "Got A Lot O' Livin' To Do", "I Got Stung", "In Your Arms", "It's Now Or Never", "Santa, Bring My Baby Back (To Me)", "Shoppin' Around", "Stuck On You", "Young And Beautiful" and "Young Dreams".
First heard it back in '56. Great song. Sometimes i'm more in the mood for it than Heartbreak Hotel.
Don't know how I ever missed giving a review on this tune... Flip side of "Heartbreak Hotel" and much superior to the supposed "A-Side". I would have been 11 years old back then in 1956 when I discovered Elvis Presley; my whole life changed music wise literally after my first 45RPM "Hound Dog" c/w "Don't Be Cruel".... 5-stars.
How good was this,,,, the words are so true to many of us. These B sides in the early years were just out of this world.
Elvis often performed this live in 56, listen to Little Rock, May 16th. Amazing sound quality. A fantastic song and my favourite ballad from the 50s. Pure sonic pleasure.