"Young Hearts" --> "Lost" Song from "Jailhouse Rock" !

[drjohncarpenter]

Many songs were submitted in the spring of 1957 for Elvis Presley's MGM film project, and many rejected.





Interestingly, not all were lost to history.

Sid Tepper and Roy C. Bennett's "Young Hearts" was originally submitted for MGM's "Jailhouse Rock" soundtrack in April 1957.

When Elvis passed on it, they gave "Young Hearts" to Jim Reeves, who cut it at RCA's Nashville studio a month later. But it stayed in the vaults until a year after his death, when RCA issued it in the summer of 1965.




Billboard - August 28, 1965


When you listen to Reeves, in a way you're hearing Jim "doing" an Elvis song!





Well, almost.


..
Jim Reeves, "Young Hearts" (RCA, 1965)
Recorded RCA Victor Studio, Nashville - May 31, 1957
Released: Up Through The Years, RCA LPM 3427 - Aug 1965

"Young Hearts"
(Sid Tepper, Roy C. Bennett)
© Anne Rachel Music, ASCAP

Young hearts can be foolish, and make a mistake

If they're not forgiven, young hearts can break

So kiss me my darling, hold me tight

Young lips make everything right

Young hearts can be crueler, young hearts can be blind

I'm sorry that mine dear, was one of that kind

If you can forgive me, kiss me and then

Our young hearts will be happy again

Young hearts can be foolish, and make a mistake

If they're not forgiven, young hearts can break

So kiss me my darling, hold me tight

Young lips make everything right

Young hearts can be crueler, young hearts can be blind

I'm sorry that mine dear, was one of that kind

If you can forgive me, kiss me and then

Our young hearts will be happy again





[Good Time Charlie]

Cool, new song to me. No doubt Elvis' version would have been better but still, doesn't sound like it would have rivalled anything that did appear on the Soundtrack to Jailhouse Rock.

[JonRomanovich]

Thanks Doc!

Elvis would've made this sound pretty cool! The "malt shop, Pat Boone, goody two shoes" aspect would have been gone, IMO.
Cool post!

[KiwiAlan]

Good song!

I can readily imagine Elvis doing this one.

[Rich_TCB]

Yeah, I can imagine Elvis singing this, too.

Thanks Doc

[pjdlibra]

Very interesting this song. thank you so much for this

[Justin]

Great job, Doc.

[drjohncarpenter]

I'm most proud of my "Jim Reeves / Jailhouse Rock" photo.

[davide]

Interesting,

I have the following numbers suggested by Tepper and Bennett as of a letter from Jean Aberbach to the Colonel, dated 30th March 1957.

Quarters,Nickles,and Dimes
Young Hearts
One More Day

Where does this info come from about the song 'Young Hearts' ?

Davide

[drjohncarpenter]

Where does this info come from about the song 'Young Hearts' ?

What information are you referring to?

Note that "One More Day" did make it into the film, albeit as sung by character actor Mickey Shaughnessy. How bummed Tepper and Bennett must have been!

[davide]

Where does this info come from about the song 'Young Hearts' ?

What information are you referring to?

Note that "One More Day" did make it into the film, albeit as sung by character actor Mickey Shaughnessy. How bummed Tepper and Bennett must have been!

Sorry - the info that I'm after is, that Elvis actually heard and rejected a demo of some kind, what evidence have we got for this?

Davide

[stevelecher]

I read an interview with one of the writers once and he lamented, "We sure didn't write that song for Mickey Shaughnessy."

Steve L.

[davide]

I read an interview with one of the writers once and he lamented, "We sure didn't write that song for Mickey Shaughnessy."

Steve L.

Also this :

Roy C Bennett interviewed by William Bram in ETMAHM No. 38 - 'One More Day'
William Bram : In Jailhouse Rock there is one of your songs sung by Mickey Shaughnessy called 'One More Day'. The song was written for Elvis,is that correct?
Roy C Bennett : Absolutely of course there was no pay-off because he never recorded it. It's never played except in the movie,no album sales.

Davide

[drjohncarpenter]

... Elvis actually heard and rejected a demo of some kind, what evidence have we got for this?

Elvis (and the Colonel) apparently had final approval on all songs considered for the MGM film, so the assumption is Elvis must have heard a songwriter's acetate demo.




Ernst Jorgensen, Elvis Presley: A Life In Music (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1998)

[midnightx]




Classic!

[KiwiAlan]

That quotation from Ernst' book would suggest that the song never got to Elvis for consideration whatsoever!

"Hill And Range got approval on the songs from MGM before they were sent on to RCA. The final vote, of course, rested with Elvis and The Colonel"

I take that to mean that MGM selected potential songs before they were submitted to Elvis. That would make sense as the studio commissioned the song writing based upon the script. So a song would have first gain MGM acceptance firstly.

This scenario conforms to the Colonels dictum that any commissioned movie song relected by Elvis could be offered to another artist. In this case Elvis never got to hear it.

By the nature of the song there is no doubt that they had Elvis in mind.

[drjohncarpenter]

That quotation from Ernst' book would suggest that the song never got to Elvis for consideration whatsoever!

"Hill And Range got approval on the songs from MGM before they were sent on to RCA. The final vote, of course, rested with Elvis and The Colonel"

I take that to mean that MGM selected potential songs before they were submitted to Elvis.

The path, at this point in 1957, seems to be:

Hill and Range (song submissions) ->
MGM (first stage approval) ->
RCA, Elvis, Colonel (second stage approval) ->
Elvis, Colonel (final approval)

The key here is Elvis made the final call.

That "One More Day" went in the film implies that the singer at some point heard the Tepper and Bennett tune, gave tacit approval for its use on the soundtrack and, by extension, found less interest in the other two songs submitted and rejected them.

Two Leiber and Stoller submissions did not make the soundtrack, and it seems a sure bet that Elvis reviewed everything they had to offer.

Certainly, more paperwork on this would be helpful.

A March 30, 1957 letter from publisher Jean Aberbach to Presley management presented the material prepared to date for possible use on the MGM film soundtrack:

Sid Tepper, Roy C. Bennett
Quarters, Nickles and Dimes
Young Hearts
One More Day

Jerry Lieber, Mike Stoller
Jailhouse Rock
Sands Of Time
Treat Me Nice
I Want To Be Free
Yeah, Yeah, Yeah

Ben Weisman
Lonesome Blue

Aaron Schroeder, Josephine Peoples
That Ain't Right

Rosemarie McCoy, Kelly Owens
Don't Be Afraid

The ones that made it to the sessions are in red. April brought more submissions, and three were put in the film:

Aaron Schroeder, Abner Silver
Young and Beautiful

Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller
Baby I Don't Care

Aaron Schroeder, Ben Weisman
Don't Leave Me Now

Oddly, Elvis had already waxed a version of "Don't Leave Me Now" in February that would be included on RCA's Loving You soundtrack album that summer, although this seems to be overlooked in most surveys of the Presley career.

[KiwiAlan]

That quotation from Ernst' book would suggest that the song never got to Elvis for consideration whatsoever!

"Hill And Range got approval on the songs from MGM before they were sent on to RCA. The final vote, of course, rested with Elvis and The Colonel"

I take that to mean that MGM selected potential songs before they were submitted to Elvis.

The path, at this point in 1957, seems to be:

Hill and Range (song submissions) ->
MGM (first stage approval) ->
RCA, Elvis, Colonel (second stage approval) ->
Elvis, Colonel (final approval)

The key here is Elvis made the final call.

.

That is my point.......if MGM did not give first stage approval then there was no point whatsoever to submit it to Elvis thus clearing the way for Jim Reeves version.

MGM would not submit a song they had no intention of using.


As material was written to script requirements then Tepper-Bennet would surely have known that "One More Day" was never to be sung by Elvis.

More paperwork would be more than welcome.

It is difficult to understand why "Don't Leave Me Now" was re-used, unless Elvis saw greater potential than what ultimately transpired.















'

[brian]

I wish Elvis had recorded a version of ''One more day''

''Young hearts'' is okay, but i can understand why it was rejected.

[keninlincs]

Thanks Doc ,an interesting post

[brian]

That quotation from Ernst' book would suggest that the song never got to Elvis for consideration whatsoever!

"Hill And Range got approval on the songs from MGM before they were sent on to RCA. The final vote, of course, rested with Elvis and The Colonel"

I take that to mean that MGM selected potential songs before they were submitted to Elvis.

The path, at this point in 1957, seems to be:

Hill and Range (song submissions) ->
MGM (first stage approval) ->
RCA, Elvis, Colonel (second stage approval) ->
Elvis, Colonel (final approval)

The key here is Elvis made the final call.

.

As material was written to script requirements then Tepper-Bennet would surely have known that "One More Day" was never to be sung by Elvis.

Davide posted a snippet of an interview with Roy C. Bennett that contradicts that.

[Sessionman]

Thanks Doc for the post ... loved the youtube link (never heard the song before).

I just let my imagination do the rest... and Elvis was there... all the way!!!

[Rtn 2 Sndr]

I'm most proud of my "Jim Reeves / Jailhouse Rock" photo.

It's a much better picture than some of the ones RCA composed during the seventies that show Jim wearing a leisure suit!

[Elvis4ever]

Doc you are the fountain of Elvis information. Very interesting back story on "Young Hearts" Where there any scenes filmed for Jailhouse Rock that still haven't see the light of day? I ask because I remember reading that there might of been a scene cut with Vince Everett pushing Micky Alba in the swimming pool. Appreciate any addtional info.

[stevelecher]

Doc:

Did you put the Girl Happy head on the Frankie and Johnny body?

Steve L.