Never Ending

[MikeFromHolland]

.

The song Never Ending was written by Buddy Kaye (1918-2002) and Philip Springer (1926), both from the US.

Kaye scored number-one hits on the Billboard charts in 1945 with "Till The End Of Time", recorded by Perry Como, and in 1949 with "'A' You're Adorable (The Alphabet Song)", recorded by Como and the Fontaine Sisters. Among his most recognizable tunes in pop culture are the theme songs to the Famous Studios theatrical cartoons Little Lulu and Little Audrey; the international hit song "Speedy Gonzales", recorded by Pat Boone; and the co-written theme song to the television series I Dream of Jeannie. In 1976, he won a Grammy Award for best children's album for his production of The Little Prince, narrated by Richard Burton.

Besides Never Ending he co-wrote Almost, Change of Habit and Let Us Pray (all three with Ben Weisman).


Springer is probably best known for writing the classic Christmas song "Santa Baby". In a musical career spanning over 70 years, he is credited in 540 musical pieces, including composing songs for numerous well-known singers. In 2015 he still wrote about 35 songs per year according to his daughter Tamar (in 2015). Cliff Richard fans may know him from the Kaye-Springer composition The Next Time.


Never Ending was first recorded by Roger Douglass and released in August 1962 on Mercury Records as B-side for the single Church Bells Played Me The Blues/Never Ending. It was a promotional record only, aimed at Radio Broadcasts.

E3785060-24C8-49CD-9BDB-AB900D299008.jpeg

Later, on May 26, 1963, the song was recorded by Elvis in just three takes.





It was released on July 14, 1964 as b-side on the “Summer Vacation Special” single Such A Night/Never Ending (RCA Victor 47 8400).

2712EA6C-4372-4C06-B040-1CDEA46968AB.jpeg

Almost three years later it was added as a bonus on the Double Trouble soundtrack album and released in June 1967.

C5CEF349-7D06-4E7E-A1C4-98C47E2A8D36.png

The song wasn’t covered much. No versions I know of worth mentioning here.



Nice, posted just an hour ago:





Sources
https://davidneale.eu/elvis/originals/list7.html#S1394
https://secondhandsongs.com/work/114865/versions#nav-entity
https://youtube.com/c/RockFur2
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddy_Kaye
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Springer
https://portal.clubrunner.ca/2531/bulletin/View/5be3cfb5-da59-4ed0-bc45-7af3ea1b06ca
https://www.45cat.com/record/72017us
https://www.keithflynn.com/recording-sessions/630526.html#04
https://youtube.com/c/DaniAtkinson

.

[Ciscoking]

I really like that song...thank you for reminding me of it.

[londonflash]

A lovely recording although it goes on and on a bit.

[eric c]

part of the lost album sessions.
nice tune.
too bad the lost album ended up pieced out as bonus songs and singles.

[eric c]

249.jpg

recorded may 26/27 in '63:
•echoes of love
•please don't drag that string around
•devil in disguise
•never ending
•what now,what next,where to
•witchcraft
•finders keepers,losers weepers
•love me tonight

27/28:
•memphis,tn
•it's a long lonely highway
•ask me
•western union
•slowly but surely
•blue river

the makings of what might've been a really cool album.

[Christopher Brown]

Lovely song, with Elvis sounding really smooth. But what are 'bounders' when Elvis sings "Just as heaven has no bounders ..." We know he means boundaries, simplified to two syllables for the music to work, but he mispronounces it when he should sing 'bound-ries,' or is it my ears? Another topic could be created for words wrongly sung.

This example, plus A THING CALLED LOVE -- "Like the WORLD it covers our land ..." which he sings correctly the next time this line is repeated, i.e., "like the wind it covers our land ..." could be created to identify others.

[MikeFromHolland]

Lovely song, with Elvis sounding really smooth. But what are 'bounders' when Elvis sings "Just as heaven has no bounders ..." We know he means boundaries, simplified to two syllables for the music to work, but he mispronounces it when he should sing 'bound-ries,' or is it my ears? Another topic could be created for words wrongly sung.

This example, plus A THING CALLED LOVE -- "Like the WORLD it covers our land ..." which he sings correctly the next time this line is repeated, i.e., "like the wind it covers our land ..." could be created to identify others.

Douglass sings ‘Heaven has no bounding’, it looks indeed as if Elvis sings ‘bounders’. Can it be Southern dialect?

.

[MikeFromHolland]

recorded may 26/27 in '63:
•echoes of love
•please don't drag that string around
•devil in disguise
•never ending
•what now,what next,where to
•witchcraft
•finders keepers,losers weepers
•love me tonight

27/28:
•memphis,tn
•it's a long lonely highway
•ask me
•western union
•slowly but surely
•blue river

the makings of what might've been a really cool album.

Absolutely, Eric. But than again… think of all those soundtracks without the bonus songs …

.

[Christopher Brown]

It sounds like Roger sings three syllables - bound-er-ries.

[eric c]

recorded may 26/27 in '63:
•echoes of love
•please don't drag that string around
•devil in disguise
•never ending
•what now,what next,where to
•witchcraft
•finders keepers,losers weepers
•love me tonight

27/28:
•memphis,tn
•it's a long lonely highway
•ask me
•western union
•slowly but surely
•blue river

the makings of what might've been a really cool album.

Absolutely, Eric. But than again… think of all those soundtracks without the bonus songs …

.

true.
or maybe they could've combined them in a double album...a forerunner to the double features cd's...only in a vinyl set.

[Lee Wood]

Lovely song, with Elvis sounding really smooth. But what are 'bounders' when Elvis sings "Just as heaven has no bounders ..." We know he means boundaries, simplified to two syllables for the music to work, but he mispronounces it when he should sing 'bound-ries,' or is it my ears? Another topic could be created for words wrongly sung.

He clearly sings boundries, which is how the word is pronounced. The "a" in boundary is not pronounced.

[eric c]

Lovely song, with Elvis sounding really smooth. But what are 'bounders' when Elvis sings "Just as heaven has no bounders ..." We know he means boundaries, simplified to two syllables for the music to work, but he mispronounces it when he should sing 'bound-ries,' or is it my ears? Another topic could be created for words wrongly sung.

This example, plus A THING CALLED LOVE -- "Like the WORLD it covers our land ..." which he sings correctly the next time this line is repeated, i.e., "like the wind it covers our land ..." could be created to identify others.

to me it sounds like "bound-ries".

[drjohncarpenter]

"Never Ending." Then as now a song for the hard core. And it was a cover, which few knew then, since the original tanked.

One imagines hearing this B-side on a summer 1964 single was underwhelming to all those being swept up in the wave of the "British Invasion."

And how could the #1 artist in the world be given songs like this to record? The system was breaking down, and soon everything in the industry would change, thanks to four lads from Liverpool.

Oh, and for those agonizing over the issue, Elvis indeed sings the correct word "boundaries."

Am a bit surprised that no one has mentioned the new FTD which covers the 1963 and 1964 Nashville sessions to perfection, and includes this track.



Elvis Presley Devil In Disguise The 'Lost' Album Sessions (Follow That Dream, June 26, 2022)



.

[pmp]

I've always heard it as bound-ries, and the sheet music confirms it anyway.

It's a lovely little recording, and Elvis sings it beautifully.

But I do have to side with the Doc on this one. I adore the recording, but the material is still second rate. The style suited Elvis beautifully, but there must have been better songs out there in that style. I have no issue with the verses, but lets just remind ourselves of the Shakespearean depths of the lyrics of the chorus.

I bring you never ending
never ending
never ending
never ending
never ending
never ending love.

How long did it take Buddy Kaye to come up with that? And Kaye himself could do much better than that. He'd successfully added words to melodies by Chopin (Till the End of Time) and Rachmaninov (Full Moon and Empty Arms), so he wasn't without talent.

But this is the problem with so much of the 1962/3 studio recordings - Elvis sings beautifully, but the songs were second (sometimes third) class, and often attempts that I can only call hack-work to try and recreate the successes of other songs. We get it with the attempts at the Latin/bossa sounds with Fountain of Love and For the Millionth and the Last Time. Elvis was excellent at this music, but he shouldn't have been recording cheap cash-ins on that style of music. He should have been looking to the songs of Jobim and Bonfa (the latter he would finally get around to in 1968 with Almost in Love). The same is true of attempts to recreate the success of the vintage waltz Are You Lonesome Tonight. Elvis shouldn't have been recording I Feel That I've Known You Forever and Just for Old Times Sake, he should have been reaching back to the genuine articles by Irving Berlin, for example. To add to that, there was a rip-off of Return to Sender (Western Union) and, arguably, a second-hand version of There's Always Me (Love Me Tonight). And pretty much all of that is down to royalty/rights issues in all likelihood - which effected Elvis's work in the 1960s far more than it did in the 1970s, I might add.

I don't care that Elvis wasn't competing with the Beatles, or that he wasn't competing with any other chart act - especially 60 years after the event. I don't care that those songs I mention by Jobim, Bonfa, and Berlin wouldn't have got Elvis great chart hits. But they would at least have been of more substance and quality than the songs he was recording in those styles by inhouse second-rate imitators like Tepper and Bennett (for example).

No-one could have asked Elvis to sing the songs on Pot Luck and the 1963 session any better (although the arrangements could have been more developed), but it's the material that lets them down, and Never Ending (as much as I love it and wouldn't want to be without it) is a good example of that.

[r&b]

"Never Ending." Then as now a song for the hard core. And it was a cover, which few knew then, since the original tanked.

One imagines hearing this B-side on a summer 1964 single was underwhelming to all those being swept up in the wave of the "British Invasion."

And how could the #1 artist in the world be given songs like this to record? The system was breaking down, and soon everything in the industry would change, thanks to four lads from Liverpool.

Oh, and for those agonizing over the issue, Elvis indeed sings the correct word "boundaries."

Am a bit surprised that no one has mentioned the new FTD which covers the 1963 and 1964 Nashville sessions to perfection, and includes this track.



Elvis Presley Devil In Disguise The 'Lost' Album Sessions (Follow That Dream, June 26, 2022)



.

Because that was what the 60's were about Ballads, ballads, ballads with very little uptempo material to sink his teeth into by 1963, and when he got one he crooned it instead of rocked it like he used to. Elvis got old fast according to many of my friends back then and his sounded didnt change much up until 1968. It was dated by 1964, and yeah I was upset he wasnt competing with The Beatles by going in and cutting a killer studio album in 64 or 65. Thats what should have happened but he seemed like he didnt care. This song is so-so nicely sung but as I have mentioned one in a long line of ballads that started after the Army. Would have made a nice album cut but nothing special. As for the A side, one of my personal favorites but releasing it 4 years after the fact was too late. Still. more airplay might have made it a top 10 because it is so good. But he wasnt getting much airplay by 64, at least on NYC top 40 radio

[Buddy]

"Never Ending." Then as now a song for the hard core. And it was a cover, which few knew then, since the original tanked.

One imagines hearing this B-side on a summer 1964 single was underwhelming to all those being swept up in the wave of the "British Invasion."

And how could the #1 artist in the world be given songs like this to record? The system was breaking down, and soon everything in the industry would change, thanks to four lads from Liverpool.

Thats your point of you.
A year later Elvis had a number 1 Hit with Crying In The Chapel. Such A Night No.4 UK Ask Me 12 US I'm Yours & Such A Easy Question No. 11 US and Love Letters No.6 (UK) so I do not see what you see...

What I find very interesting how great Elvis was in other countries when not so successful in the US.

A Mess Of Blues No. 32 US No.2 UK

Wooden Heart US - UK No 1

Little Sister No.5 US No 1 Belgium

King Of The Whole Wide World No.30 US No.1 Norway

Kiss Me Quick US 34 Canada No.3

Jury US No. 78 Australia No.4

Fools Fall In Love US No 102 Norway No.11

Do The Clam No 21 US No.4 AUS

If Every Day Was like Christmas US No.99 UK No 9

Long Likely Highway US No.112 Schweden no.11

Suspicion US No.103 Belgium No.8

Guitar Man US No.43 Canada no.10

And Many More

[drjohncarpenter]

"Never Ending." Then as now a song for the hard core. And it was a cover, which few knew then, since the original tanked.

One imagines hearing this B-side on a summer 1964 single was underwhelming to all those being swept up in the wave of the "British Invasion."

And how could the #1 artist in the world be given songs like this to record? The system was breaking down, and soon everything in the industry would change, thanks to four lads from Liverpool.

Thats your point of you.
A year later Elvis had a number 1 Hit with Crying In The Chapel. Such A Night No.4 UK Ask Me 12 US I'm Yours & Such A Easy Question No. 11 US and Love Letters No.6 (UK) so I do not see what you see...

I don't think anyone sees what you see.

Also, "Crying In The Chapel" was not "a number 1 Hit." It reached #3 in Billboard and #4 in Cash Box in June 1965. And it was a track cut in October 1960, and pulled from the Nashville archives.

Desperate times.

[Lee Wood]

"Never Ending." Then as now a song for the hard core. And it was a cover, which few knew then, since the original tanked.

One imagines hearing this B-side on a summer 1964 single was underwhelming to all those being swept up in the wave of the "British Invasion."

And how could the #1 artist in the world be given songs like this to record? The system was breaking down, and soon everything in the industry would change, thanks to four lads from Liverpool.

Thats your point of you.
A year later Elvis had a number 1 Hit with Crying In The Chapel. Such A Night No.4 UK Ask Me 12 US I'm Yours & Such A Easy Question No. 11 US and Love Letters No.6 (UK) so I do not see what you see...

I don't think anyone sees what you see.

Also, "Crying In The Chapel" was not "a number 1 Hit." It reached #3 in Billboard and #4 in Cash Box in June 1965. And it was a track cut in October 1960, and pulled from the Nashville archives.

Desperate times.

Crying In The Chapel was number 1 in the UK, surrounded by the beat groups. Who'd have thought it?

[drjohncarpenter]

I don't think anyone sees what you see.

Also, "Crying In The Chapel" was not "a number 1 Hit." It reached #3 in Billboard and #4 in Cash Box in June 1965. And it was a track cut in October 1960, and pulled from the Nashville archives.

Desperate times.

Crying In The Chapel was number 1 in the UK, surrounded by the beat groups. Who'd have thought it?

Really? Wow, what a nice lift from one of Presley's most fervent secondary markets.

Also on the UK charts in 1965, "Do The Clam" at #19. Who'd have thought it?

[jurasic1968]

One thing is clear, Elvis in 6 years in US had only one top 10 hit, from October 1963 to April 1969, Crying in the Chapel in June 1965.

[Lee Wood]

I don't think anyone sees what you see.

Also, "Crying In The Chapel" was not "a number 1 Hit." It reached #3 in Billboard and #4 in Cash Box in June 1965. And it was a track cut in October 1960, and pulled from the Nashville archives.

Desperate times.

Crying In The Chapel was number 1 in the UK, surrounded by the beat groups. Who'd have thought it?

Really? Wow, what a nice lift from one of Presley's most fervent secondary markets.

Also on the UK charts in 1965, "Do The Clam" at #19. Who'd have thought it?

Don't knock it son. The English market is far more loyal than the American one. 21 number one hits, more than any other act in the UK.

You should give credit rather than make your usual disparaging remarks.

July 1965, a five year old gospel recording by a supposedly out of fashion rock 'n' roll singer goes to number one without any personal appearances, without any promotion. Below him The Hollies, Donovan, Sandie Shaw, The Kinks, The Yardbirds, The Byrds, and more.

As for your comment about Do The Clam, your point is? Meaningless, as with most of your stuff. Desperate times.

[drjohncarpenter]

Really? Wow, what a nice lift from one of Presley's most fervent secondary markets.

Also on the UK charts in 1965, "Do The Clam" at #19. Who'd have thought it?

Don't knock it son. The English market is far more loyal than the American one. 21 number one hits, more than any other act in the UK.

You should give credit rather than make your usual disparaging remarks.

Anyone may read credit was well-given to the UK, as I wrote:

". . . one of Presley's most fervent secondary markets."

[elvis-fan]

.

The song Never Ending was written by Buddy Kaye (1918-2002) and Philip Springer (1926), both from the US.

Kaye scored number-one hits on the Billboard charts in 1945 with "Till The End Of Time", recorded by Perry Como, and in 1949 with "'A' You're Adorable (The Alphabet Song)", recorded by Como and the Fontaine Sisters. Among his most recognizable tunes in pop culture are the theme songs to the Famous Studios theatrical cartoons Little Lulu and Little Audrey; the international hit song "Speedy Gonzales", recorded by Pat Boone; and the co-written theme song to the television series I Dream of Jeannie. In 1976, he won a Grammy Award for best children's album for his production of The Little Prince, narrated by Richard Burton.

Besides Never Ending he co-wrote Almost, Change of Habit and Let Us Pray (all three with Ben Weisman).


Springer is probably best known for writing the classic Christmas song "Santa Baby". In a musical career spanning over 70 years, he is credited in 540 musical pieces, including composing songs for numerous well-known singers. In 2015 he still wrote about 35 songs per year according to his daughter Tamar (in 2015). Cliff Richard fans may know him from the Kaye-Springer composition The Next Time.


Never Ending was first recorded by Roger Douglass and released in August 1962 on Mercury Records as B-side for the single Church Bells Played Me The Blues/Never Ending. It was a promotional record only, aimed at Radio Broadcasts.









Later, on May 26, 1963, the song was recorded by Elvis in just three takes.





It was released on July 14, 1964 as b-side on the “Summer Vacation Special” single Such A Night/Never Ending (RCA Victor 47 8400).




Almost three years later it was added as a bonus on the Double Trouble soundtrack album and released in June 1967.





The song wasn’t covered much. No versions I know of worth mentioning here.



Nice, posted just an hour ago:





Sources
https://davidneale.eu/elvis/originals/list7.html#S1394
https://secondhandsongs.com/work/114865/versions#nav-entity
https://youtube.com/c/RockFur2
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddy_Kaye
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Springer
https://portal.clubrunner.ca/2531/bulletin/View/5be3cfb5-da59-4ed0-bc45-7af3ea1b06ca
https://www.45cat.com/record/72017us
https://www.keithflynn.com/recording-sessions/630526.html#04
https://youtube.com/c/DaniAtkinson

.

Thoughtful post, Mike. Thanks for taking the time to put that together. I've always enjoyed Elvis' recording... it's amazing what he could do with a song.

[Spellbinder]

I don't think anyone sees what you see.

Also, "Crying In The Chapel" was not "a number 1 Hit." It reached #3 in Billboard and #4 in Cash Box in June 1965. And it was a track cut in October 1960, and pulled from the Nashville archives.

Desperate times.

Crying In The Chapel was number 1 in the UK, surrounded by the beat groups. Who'd have thought it?

Really? Wow, what a nice lift from one of Presley's most fervent secondary markets.

Also on the UK charts in 1965, "Do The Clam" at #19. Who'd have thought it?

Don't knock it son. The English market is far more loyal than the American one. 21 number one hits, more than any other act in the UK.

You should give credit rather than make your usual disparaging remarks.

July 1965, a five year old gospel recording by a supposedly out of fashion rock 'n' roll singer goes to number one without any personal appearances, without any promotion. Below him The Hollies, Donovan, Sandie Shaw, The Kinks, The Yardbirds, The Byrds, and more.

As for your comment about Do The Clam, your point is? Meaningless, as with most of your stuff. Desperate times.

????

[pmp]

I don't think anyone sees what you see.

Also, "Crying In The Chapel" was not "a number 1 Hit." It reached #3 in Billboard and #4 in Cash Box in June 1965. And it was a track cut in October 1960, and pulled from the Nashville archives.

Desperate times.

Crying In The Chapel was number 1 in the UK, surrounded by the beat groups. Who'd have thought it?

Really? Wow, what a nice lift from one of Presley's most fervent secondary markets.

Also on the UK charts in 1965, "Do The Clam" at #19. Who'd have thought it?

Don't knock it son. The English market is far more loyal than the American one. 21 number one hits, more than any other act in the UK.

You should give credit rather than make your usual disparaging remarks.

July 1965, a five year old gospel recording by a supposedly out of fashion rock 'n' roll singer goes to number one without any personal appearances, without any promotion. Below him The Hollies, Donovan, Sandie Shaw, The Kinks, The Yardbirds, The Byrds, and more.

As for your comment about Do The Clam, your point is? Meaningless, as with most of your stuff. Desperate times.

????

"Don't know much about geography..."