The Wild Origins of Rock’s Greatest Hits: Elvis, The Platters & a 12-Year-Old Star episode artwork

EPISODE · Nov 18, 2025 · 33 MIN

The Wild Origins of Rock’s Greatest Hits: Elvis, The Platters & a 12-Year-Old Star

from Professor of Rock

Coming up, it was the year rock n’ roll dominated the airwaves, and pop culture, and those who were desperately trying to control the status quo thought the world was coming to an end. These stories are crazy…you had a legendary lyricist who wrote Elvis Presley's hit Don't Be Cruel and All Shook Up which became some of the biggest hits of all time, and sold it for a couple of bucks.. then One of the most elegantly performed classics ever, The Great Pretender, by the Platters and was written on a commode during a break.. then there was the song written by a teacher and refrigerator repairman that gave Elvis his first #1 hit. Heartbreak Hotel. Plus Frankie Lymon who sang a love song that he never made a penny from, instead a notorious mobster took credit for the song and finally the scary song Tonight You Belong to Me that has begun one of the most famous urban legends ever where young sisters were threatened by a man with a knife to record one of the creepiest song ever and then when one refused, tragedy struck but is the story true?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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The Wild Origins of Rock’s Greatest Hits: Elvis, The Platters & a 12-Year-Old Star

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