Elvis Presley - Are You Lonesome Tonight? (L. Handman, R. Turk) ~ Erwin Lazaro 041

My dad is a GENIUS.  His name is Luis J. Lazaro Jr.  I'm always in awe of what he's accomplished.  I'm also in awe for what he's turned down, ALWAYS placing his family above his own needs.  I want to say, right from the start, that his employers need to thank ME directly.  My dad has been one of their SHINING LIGHTS for 40 years.  Though my mom and sister had their input, and our extended family lived close by, I was THE ONE who was THE MOST adamant for keeping my dad in Washington.  He could have made millions and millions of dollars for other companies, being continually recruited all over the world.  Instead, my dad has saved millions and millions of dollars for his employers, with his AMAZING GENIUS!  I am an ANGRY son when it comes to my dad's career.  His tenure HAS NOT given my dad what he deserves.  His employers may have something to do with it, but my ANGER mostly surrounds the politics of the environment in which he has worked for 40 years.  Yes, office politics are impossible to avoid, and YES, it can happen anywhere, regardless.  But, that's just IT!  My dad take ZERO S**T!  DAD DON'T PLAY THAT GAME!  And so, for 40 years, he has TOLERATED working within a hostile environment.  I'm not going to get into the details, BUT, if I was stationed at my dad's office and my job was to protect my dad from all "evil doers", I would have KICKED A LOT of A** for 40 years!!!  I admire my dad's RESOLVE for ALWAYS STANDING TALL!  40 YEARS OF BULLS**T!  MY DAD IS A BRAVE MAN.  NO COMPROMISE.  Yes, I'm ANGRY!  But, instead of acting on my anger, I continually pray, not just for my dad, for those who don't deserve my attention.  I pray for wisdom to overcome all.

My selfishness limited my dad's accomplishments.  I'm openly boasting about my father.  He deserves ALL of the attention.  In 1968, my dad was recruited from the Philippines.  As my dad made a name for himself, many, MANY companies, all over the world, tried to lure him away from Washington.  I stopped him fromdoing more.  Even so, my dad has acquired an amazing number of accolades.  Regardless of all of the S**T flying his way, his light COULD NOT be dimmed!  I would have to write so much more in order to list all of his accomplishments.  I AM SO PROUD OF MY DAD!

My dad has me, my sister, and our extended family, but, my dad is alone in his world.  He is alone in his greatness that inspires me and it's lonely at the TOP!  I'm dedicating another Elvis Presley song for my dad: "Are You Lonesome Tonight".  This one has no direct representation.  But, the emotional quality rings true for what my dad endures every day.  I'm still trying to win the lottery jackpot for you, dad, so I can get you outta there!  I will always love you, and honor you, with all of my heart X infinity!

From Wikipedia:
"Are You Lonesome To-night?" now often known as "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" is a popular song with music by Lou Handman and lyrics by Roy Turk.  It was first published in 1926, and most notably revived by Elvis Presley in 1960.  A number of artists recorded "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" in 1927.  Composer Lou Handman himself played piano while his sister Edith provided the vocals for a recording released on the Gennett label.  Vaughn DeLeath (also known as "The Original Radio Girl") recorded the song twice, first on June 13, as solo and later on September 21, as vocalist for The Colonial Club Orchestra. Around August 1927, another version was released by famed tenor Henry Burr.  The first charting version of "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" was recorded by Blue Barron for MGM Records in 1950.  Only a few weeks after Barron's recording, Al Jolson recorded a version of the song on April 28, 1950.

This led to the best-known recording, by Elvis Presley, recorded on April 4, 1960, and engineered by Nashville sound pioneer Bill Porter.  Colonel Parker (it was one of his wife's favorite songs) persuaded Elvis to record his own rendition of this song.  Elvis' version was based on the Blue Barron Orchestra in 1950 and the spoken part of the song (like Al Jolson's) was loosely based on Shakespeare's As You Like it using Jaques' speech on Act II Scene VII: "All the world's a stage, and all men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts."

Elvis, occasionally during live performances, would randomly change lyrics to give them humorous connotations.

Elvis's version was listed at #81 on Billboard's Greatest Songs of all time.