Elvis Presley's version of this song was number one for 6 weeks in the UK, but it was not released as a single in the USA. Apparently RCA didn't think the song would be a hit in the USA, but a singer called Joe Dowell proved them wrong when his version became a smash hit there. I bet RCA bosses were kicking themselves when that happened. Lol:)
I believe that Elvis was still in the Army in Germany when he recorded this. I wonder how it did there.
I didn't know it was recorded that long before it came out. I don't currently have any info on the German issue, if I find anything out I'll post it on here.
Elvis had ten top 40 (US) hits during his army hitch. The songs had all been recorder prior to entering the service... They were released on a regular basis by RCA to keep Elvis in the spotlight while overseas... When he came back, he picked right up as if he had never been away...Very shrewd business people at RCA !
The old dude at my cousin's Classic Wax record shop tells me that " Wooden Heart" was released in the US in 1964 as the flip side of " Blue Christmas". It was also used in the movie " GI Blues".
Someone told me it was released later in the US as a B-side, but I couldn't remember which single it was. I know it wasn't an A-side in 1961 in the US like it was in the UK, hence the successful cover version there.
