Words & Music:
Aaron Schroeder
Wally Gold
It's now or never,
come hold me tight
Kiss me my darling,
be mine tonight
Tomorrow will be too late,
it's now or never
My love won't wait.
When I first saw you
with your smile so tender
My heart was captured,
my soul surrendered
I'd spend a lifetime
waiting for the right time
Now that your near
the time is here at last.
It's now or never,
come hold me tight
Kiss me my darling,
be mine tonight
Tomorrow will be too late,
it's now or never
My love won't wait.
Just like a willow,
we would cry an ocean
If we lost true love
and sweet devotion
Your lips excite me,
let your arms invite me
For who knows when
we'll meet again this way
It's now or never,
come hold me tight
Kiss me my darling,
be mine tonight
Tomorrow will be too late,
it's now or never
My love won't wait.
Recordingdate: 1960/04/03, first released on: single (album)
Musicians
Musicians who contributed to the first recording of It's Now or Never:
(guitar)
(guitar)
(guitar)
(bass)
(drums)
(drums)
(piano)
(vocals)
(vocals)
(vocals)
(vocals)
(sax)
Availability
Find available albums with It's Now or Never.
Great move of course to do a classic like this, a pity he tried to imitate it too often afterwards.
Quite simply the reason I became an Elvis fan. As a child I used to listen to this record constantly in the mid seventies and to my ear everything about this record was perfect. I was too young to know or care about whether the King of Rock and Roll should be singing this kind of music after the triumphs of the fifties. All I knew was the voice was incredible and the music almost as good! And then when you flipped the record over you got (in Ireland anyway) Make Me Know It. Who WAS this man who sang such brilliant music and where can I get more of it? Finding out the answer to those questions has been such a continuing thrill for me and millions of others around the world.
Allowing for the number on multi-million selling albums contatining this recording, and including the worldwide single sales, it is probabaly the biggest selling RECORDING of all time.
Incredible performance and one of my favorites. What a voice our man had during this sessions. And yet some fans complained about the material, too much ballads and too little rock. I was surprised that the song wasn´t a part of the comeback special or his vegas comeback, where he found room for his other hits. I like the live readings in his final years though.
Loved the 1960 studio version. Perfect record. Hated the live 70's versions with the Spanish horns. Awful. Sounded like an imitator to me. Of all his great songs to revive on the concert stage, he should have let this one be remembered as it was on record.
When this came out back in 1960 it came as a complete surprise. A lot of fans regarded this as betrayal and the end of the Great Presley. Critics and authors still think that the Colonel manipulated Elvis into recording this kind of material that was aimed at a bigger market. Of course we all know now that Elvis loved Tony Martin's version of "O Sole Mio", in fact you can hear him singin' it on a homerecording that was made while in the army. Personally I adored it from the first time I heard it and it still thrills me today.
It stunned everyone when this recording was released. In the fifties he had already recorded songs like Blue Moon, so no real surprise in reference to the type of song. But what a voice change. Sublime! Luckily Elvis explored each and every corner of his musical talent. And ... one of those songs everybody seems to know.
The 1960s recording is absolute perfection but it was disappointing to hear the 70s version. I always got the impression that Elvis was embarrassed by his then earlier recordings but felt obligated to perform some of them Consequently the message in most cases was one of extreme boredom and apathy.
A true classic. The original still gives me chills. One of my Top Five Elvis singles of all time.
The original is a classic. No doubt about it. But I also enjoyed the 70s Concert versions of this song. I liked the horns and Elvis' vocal arrangement. And J.D. 's backing vocals were fun, too !
Since Elvis said it was his favorite song he's even recorded I was surprised to hear the very average treatment he gave to it in the 70's. On the other hand, the studio version, like so many of you have said, is without a doubt an absolute winner !
A classic that brings me back to the summer of 1960. Is the best of the big ballads that Elvis ever did. Even my parents liked it.
My very first Elvis record back in ´60. Loved it then and love it now.
nobody or no "ETA" can sing this song like elvis did!(no-one has yet managed to reach the last high note at the end of the song like Elvis does)i was laughing when i watched the "Worlds Greatest Elvis" itv programme shown on ITV2 in 2007 when the canadien(dressed in elvis army uniform)attempted to sing 'its now or never' and could not reach the 'high note' and ruined the song!(joe esposito even said he did a bad thing failing to attempt to sing the note at the end of the song)..an elvis classic and the very first song in chart history to attempt to mix OPRERA with POP music.(a brave thing that elvis did way back in 1960)10 out ten for this classic performance!!
An absolute masterpiece. I think this song convinced a lot of people of Elvis' talent as well; people who dismissed rock and roll could not dismiss this. Phenomenal! A true classic. I first heard it on the vinyl Legendary Performer Volume 2 (I think). I had just started to really love Elvis and did not have much of a collection at all. When I heard this track I almost could not believe it was him. I'd heard all the Sun stuff at that point, and most of the 50's rock, but nothing prepared me for this! The guy was a virtuoso. He could sing any style and totally own it.
Yes a complete classic and should have been included on Elvis Is Back LP too. Just imagine having film of Elvis doing this in the recording studios.
An absolute masterpiece - but also one of the first signs of Elvis turning succesfully to another kind of material as in the 50's. I would have loved it if he had stayed in the 'Big Hunk O Love/ I Got Stung/ King Creole-business during the 60's, and stayed in business with Leiber/Stoller.
Never liked the studio version, but I do like a lot of his Live versions..
For once i'm lost for words. It's five star +, it's a world wide #1, It's Elvis as never before, it's unbelieveable, it's elvis' only Uk gold single, it's a masterpiece, {now i'm repeating others} 1 of only 2 Elvis singles to be at #1 at Christmas in the Uk. It's release and impact was never repeated. And to think that the BBC banded it from the airwaves for a while..
I don't think Elvis was ever embarrassed about this song. This was as much Elvis as "Hound Dog" was.
what's the name of the talent program that refused presley in the mid fifties? I don't remember it, even having read about every once a while. but this song, is carved in rock for good.
To sitdown 68: The talent program you are referring was Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts
An absolute masterpiece and Elvis his greatest hit of his entire career with an estimated global sales of 28 million singles! This song evidenced that Elvis would not be a temporary rock 'n roll artist like the others but had a versatile talent that would stay on top of the bills for many years. Absolutely love the sound and his voice in the early 60s. Five stars.
My favorite version is on the 1977 album "Elvis in Concert" he goes from very low to very high, inhuman! His '60 version is also very good,but nothing beats the late one. 5 stars.
Only Elvis, the vocal god, could create a performance such as this.
The recording that was a turning point in his career and made him acceptable to a wider audience. The criticisms he had previously received from famous songsters and media alike had hurt him and it was his desire to be accepted as an out and out singer. This was finally achieved with this piece of magnificent pseudo opera and stunned everyone at the time of its release.
This is such a beautiful and iconic ballad and Elvis easily has the best renditions of it. It rightfully was a #1 smash hit for Elvis.
I'm an absolute fan from Elvis The Pelvis King of Rock, but this song makes me an absolute fan of Elvis Presley the crooner. This is easily one of best renditions from anyone in the music field. It touches and astonished everyone, from rock singers to classical singers. Presley was, already at 25 years, one of the greatest voices the world listened. Love this song, till eternity. My Elvis
While not a song I play a lot, one can not overlook the historical significance of this recording and Elvis' perfect vocals. Elvis took care of this song in concerts right up to the end and never did throwaway or half versions of it. I can only imagine Elvis fans hearing this one for the first time in 1960 and being blown away. With this song, the follow-up single "Are You Lonesome Tonight" and the LP "Something For Everybody", Elvis proved he was the best singer in the pop-rock market.
Elvis did a slightly flawed version many times in the 1970s... often omitting the first verse, and often wrongly singing...
Now that you're here (instead of "near")
The time is here at last.
I don't get people who wish that Elvis had stayed the same as he was in the 1950s. "It's Now or Never" was just as good if not better than anything he did in the '50s. "Elvis is Back!" was a fantastic album, and his first comeback. Without the slide in the mid 60s, the '68 TV special would not have had as big an impact is did. Without the '68 Comeback, we would not still be talking about Elvis in the 21st century.
This song is a true masterpiece and I've never skipped it while listening to any Elvis CD that it appears on.
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", "I Was The One", "In Your Arms", "Santa, Bring My Baby Back (To Me)", "Shoppin' Around", "Stuck On You", "Young And Beautiful" and "Young Dreams".