THAT’S WHEN YOUR
HEARTACHES BEGIN
ELVIS PRESLEY
HEARTACHES BEGIN
ELVIS PRESLEY
Written by: Fisher/Raskin
Recorded by: Elvis Presley (1957)
Recorded by: Elvis Presley (1957)
THAT’S WHEN YOUR HEARTACHES
Begin’ found its first flush of fame
with the immensely popular American
black harmony group The Ink Spots. As their
name suggests, their heyday was back in the
pre-politically correct 1940s when they enjoyed a
string of hits with their rich melodic harmonies
and highly distinctive diction. Their most popular
songs were ‘Whispering Grass (Don’t Tell The
Trees)’, ‘If I Didn’t Care’, ‘Cow Cow Boogie’ and
‘Too Each His Own’ but it is entirely possible
that The Beatles may have been influenced by
hearing The Ink Spots’ version of ‘That’s When
Your Heartaches Begin’ (recorded in May 1941)
on the radio. It was not a big hit, however, and
it seems rather more likely that Elvis Presley’s
1957 cover was the version that prompted them
to make it part of their home recording session
Begin’ found its first flush of fame
with the immensely popular American
black harmony group The Ink Spots. As their
name suggests, their heyday was back in the
pre-politically correct 1940s when they enjoyed a
string of hits with their rich melodic harmonies
and highly distinctive diction. Their most popular
songs were ‘Whispering Grass (Don’t Tell The
Trees)’, ‘If I Didn’t Care’, ‘Cow Cow Boogie’ and
‘Too Each His Own’ but it is entirely possible
that The Beatles may have been influenced by
hearing The Ink Spots’ version of ‘That’s When
Your Heartaches Begin’ (recorded in May 1941)
on the radio. It was not a big hit, however, and
it seems rather more likely that Elvis Presley’s
1957 cover was the version that prompted them
to make it part of their home recording session
in the front room of Paul McCartney’s family
house in Allerton, Liverpool in 1960. Presley was
undoubtedly a fan of The Ink Spots and his version
is interesting for a couple of reasons. It gave
relatively early notice that he was not just a rocker
but really could sing a hugely melodic ballad with
a wide range; what’s more he performs the song
without any sense of parody, something that The
Beatles, even early on in their career, always found
hard to do with any mainstream material. On
their home tape recording they attempt a straight
interpretation of ‘That’s When Your Heartaches
Begin’ but also apply the same treatment
ironically to their own song ‘You’ll Be Mine’.
house in Allerton, Liverpool in 1960. Presley was
undoubtedly a fan of The Ink Spots and his version
is interesting for a couple of reasons. It gave
relatively early notice that he was not just a rocker
but really could sing a hugely melodic ballad with
a wide range; what’s more he performs the song
without any sense of parody, something that The
Beatles, even early on in their career, always found
hard to do with any mainstream material. On
their home tape recording they attempt a straight
interpretation of ‘That’s When Your Heartaches
Begin’ but also apply the same treatment
ironically to their own song ‘You’ll Be Mine’.
Elvis Presley, complete with eye shadow andstage prop guitar, gives an impromptu concert
in a five-and-dime store in the role of
Danny Fisher in King Creole, his last halfway
decent movie. Already he was starting to
impersonate himself, always a worrying career
move.
With songs like ‘That’s When YourHeartaches Begin’Presley showed that he
possessed a beautiful melodic voice capable
of handling ballads as well as rock ’n’roll
numbers.