You Don'T Have to Say You Love Me - Elvis Presley (1970) 9/7/22

The roots of today's "Great Song of 1970" took hold at the 1965 San Remo Music Festival in Italy.

"Io che non vivo (senza te" ("I, Who Can't Live Without You)") was introduced by Pino Donaggio, who had co-written the song with Vito Pallavicini. England's Dusty Springfield was participating in the festival that year, and although she didn't understand a word of Italian, the music and melody moved her to tears. As soon as she could get home with an English translation, she recorded the song, retitled "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me." Her strong mezzo soprano voice was perfect for the song, and she belted out a version that became a world-wide hit in 1966, reaching #1 in The UK and The Philippines, #2 in Australia, and #4 in Canada and the US. I've mentioned before that Elvis Presley had a good ear for material, and in 1970, he decided to record his own version. Session producer Felton Jarvis felt Elvis' second take was perfect, but The King knew he could do better. For take 3, he mustered up everything he had and put it into the song. The result turned out to be ANOTHER Great version of the song, reaching #1 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary Chart, #6 in Canada, and the number one song of the year in Japan! "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me:" a Great Song of 1970--Italian style--from Elvis Presley, following Dusty Springfield and Pino Donaggio! Elvis:

Dusty:

Pino: