Let It Be Me - 26 January 1970 Opening Show

Elvis' return to live performances in Las Vegas went better than he could ever have imagined. On the crest of a wave after the huge success of the TV special and then a highly satisfying recording session at American Sound Studios in his home town of Memphis followed by 57 consecutive sold out shows at the International Hotel all to critical acclaim.

Whilst the August 69 season relied heavily on rock 'n' roll he would change the setlist adding a more contemporay flavour with some covers and even added some more recent hits of his own.

One of the covers that Elvis chose was the Everly Brothers 1960 hit 'Let It Be Me'. Originally written by French duo Pierre Delanoë (lyrics) and Gilbert Bécaud (music) and titled 'Je t'appartiens' it was given English lyrics by Mann Curtis and called 'Let It Be Me'.

In the ten years between the Everly Brothers hit and Elvis including it in his live stage show it wa covered by many different acts and perfromers Nancy Sinatra, Bobby Gentry and Tom Jones amongst them. It is perhaps the version recorded by The Sweet Inspirations in 1967 which resonated most with Elvis as they had incorporated a gospel feel into their version and this is certainly evident in the Elvis version.

The version which would become the RCA master and would subsequently be released on the 1970 'On Stage' album was recorded almost three weeks later than this version on 17 February at the Midnight show.