Stuck on You” is a song by Elvis Presley, his first hit single after his two-year stint in the US Army. He recorded the song during March 1960, and the single was released within weeks and went to number one on the chart in late-April 1960, becoming his first number-one single of the 1960s and thirteenth overall. The song was written by Aaron Schroeder and J. Leslie McFarland and published by Gladys Music, Elvis Presley’s publishing company. The song has a relaxed tempo and features a simple melody with a catchy chorus. The lyrics describe the singer’s devotion to his lover, comparing his love for her to the embrace of a grizzly bear and stating that he is “stuck like glue”. The song’s success helped to re-establish Presley’s chart dominance in the wake of his military service.
When Elvis left the army in March 1960, no one knew that “Stuck on You” would be his next single record release. In its March 7, 1960, issue, Billboard reported the following: “RCA Victor has devised a most elaborate piece of distributive machinery for handling what is expected to be a smash hit—but the record hasn’t been recorded yet. Moreover, there is reason to believe that the song hasn’t even been chosen. The disk in question is the first by Elvis Presley since his return to the United States.”
Billboard also reported that RCA predicted the unnamed, unrecorded Presley single would sell about two million copies, but the company “conservatively” decided on an initial pressing of one million copies.
One million copies—instant Gold Record status—a phantom record to be manufactured and distributed to a public expected to buy it no matter what it sounded like. In 1960 such a circumstance in the recording industry was unheard of. Up until then, when recording companies released single disks—even by the most popular artists—success depended on two factors. First, getting radio stations to play the single on the air, and second, hoping the tune caught on with the public. With Elvis’ first single release of 1960, RCA simply assumed both would happen and prepared to manufacture a million copies.
On March 30, 1960, Variety reviewed the new record as follows. “Elvis Presley’s ‘Stuck on You’ takes over where he left off before the Army hitch, despite the intervening furor over rock ’n’ roll. It’s a swinging natural that won’t be stopped anywhere on the spinning circuit.”
Today “Stuck on You” is recognized as one of Elvis’ biggest hits of the 1960s. Within a month of its release in late March 1960, it sat atop Billboard’s Top 100 chart and stayed there for four weeks. Forgotten is the significance of the record, that it was a million-seller, a Gold Record, before anyone even knew the song’s title, much less heard it. Like no other song he ever recorded, Stuck on You testifies to Elvis Presley’s enduring and overwhelming popularity—that he could be exiled from the entertainment world’s spotlight for two years and return every bit as popular as when he left it. Can you think of any other recording artist that could have done the same? I can’t.
Video
Lyric
🎵 Let’s sing along with the lyrics! 🎤
You can shake an apple off an apple tree
Shake-a, shake- sugar,
But you’ll never shake me
Uh-uh-uh
No-sir-ee, uh, uh
I’m gonna stick like glue,
Stick because I’m
Stuck on youI’m gonna run my fingers thru your long black hair
Squeeze you tighter than a grizzly bear
Uh-uh-uh,
Yes-sir-ee, uh, uh
I’m gonna stick like glue
Stick, because I’m
Stuck on youHide in the kitchen, hide in the hall
Ain’t gonna do you no good at all
‘Cause once I catch ya and the kissin’ starts
A team o’ wild horses couldn’t tear us apartTry to take a tiger from this daddy’s side
That’s how love is gonna keep us tied
Uh-uh-uh
Yes-sir-ee, uh, uh
I’m gonna stick like glue
Stick, because I’m
Stuck on you
