{"id":32614,"date":"2022-02-13T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-02-13T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/?p=32614"},"modified":"2024-01-03T08:18:52","modified_gmt":"2024-01-03T16:18:52","slug":"matr-sting-bruce-springsteen-billy-joel-and-more-its-now-or-never","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2022\/02\/13\/matr-sting-bruce-springsteen-billy-joel-and-more-its-now-or-never\/","title":{"rendered":"MatR: Sting, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, and more: It&#8217;s Now or Never"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It isn&#8217;t just Elvis&#8217; best-selling single&#8211;it&#8217;s one of the best-selling singles of all time\u00a0<em>by anyone<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Elvis Presley released &#8220;It&#8217;s Now or Never&#8221; in the summer of 1960, and it immediately went to the top of the charts and stayed there for five weeks in the U.S. and eight weeks in the U.K. Before its run was over, &#8220;It&#8217;s Now or Never&#8221; registered more than twenty million purchases.<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"758\" height=\"427\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Uwelrtb8Oho?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<p>Elvis didn&#8217;t write &#8220;It&#8217;s Now or Never,&#8221; but he conceived it based on the Neapolitan song, &#8220;O Sole Mio.&#8221; He wasn&#8217;t shy about pointing that out in concert, going so far as to preface his performance of his own single with a faithful rendition of the original.<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"758\" height=\"427\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/tTZ66l8aRlY?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<p>So when Sting staged an Elvis-themed benefit concert for the Rainforest Foundation in 1995, it was only fitting that &#8220;It&#8217;s Now\u00a0 or Never&#8221; was presented in a similar live arrangement, &#8220;O Sole Mio&#8221; and all.<\/p>\n<p>There were plenty of artists on hand to take a swing at the verses; in the recording below, you&#8217;ll hear Sting kick things off before quickly handing the baton to Bruce and then to Billy Joel. But for the opening &#8220;O Sole Mio,&#8221; they turned to the late, great Jessye Norman, who turned in a breathtaking performance before joining the rest of the roster on the lighter, newer song.<\/p>\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-32614-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/NowOrNever.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/NowOrNever.mp3\">https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/NowOrNever.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n<p>To this day, those two lines and shared choruses represent the only time Bruce has ever covered &#8220;It&#8217;s Now or Never&#8221; in concert, but if all we&#8217;re destined to get is an ensemble number, at least we got quite the ensemble.<\/p>\n<p><strong>It&#8217;s Now or Never<br \/>\nFirst performed:<\/strong> April 12, 1995 (New York City, NY)<br \/>\n<strong>Last performed:<\/strong> April 12, 1995 (New York City, NY)<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One time only: Bruce joins Sting, Billy Joel, and more to cover Elvis&#8217; best-selling single.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32822,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[669,865,3408,3409,240],"class_list":["post-32614","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cover-me","category-meeting-across-the-river","tag-billy-joel","tag-elvis-presley","tag-its-now-or-never","tag-jessye-norman","tag-sting"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/nowornever.jpg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9w3Lk-8u2","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":13624,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2019\/10\/12\/matr-bruce-springsteen-sting-billy-joel-elton-john-and-friends-jailhouse-rock\/","url_meta":{"origin":32614,"position":0},"title":"MatR: Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Billy Joel, Elton John, and Friends &#8211; Jailhouse Rock","author":"Ken","date":"October 12, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"At an Elvis-themed benefit concert, Bruce joined Sting, Billy Joel, Elton John, Paul Simon, and more great performers on an encore of Elvis' classic \"Jailhouse Rock.\"","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Cover Me&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Cover Me","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/cover-me\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/jailhouse.jpg?fit=600%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/jailhouse.jpg?fit=600%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/jailhouse.jpg?fit=600%2C600&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":26454,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2021\/04\/12\/matr-sting-and-bruce-springsteen-guitar-man\/","url_meta":{"origin":32614,"position":1},"title":"MatR: Sting and Bruce Springsteen: Guitar Man","author":"Ken","date":"April 12, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"One time only: Bruce joins Sting for a rocking cover of Jerry Reed's and Elvis Presley's 1967 single.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Cover Me&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Cover Me","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/cover-me\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/guitar-man.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/guitar-man.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/guitar-man.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/guitar-man.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/guitar-man.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9736,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2019\/05\/21\/cover-me-mystery-train\/","url_meta":{"origin":32614,"position":2},"title":"Cover Me: Mystery Train","author":"Ken","date":"May 21, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"The biggest mystery about \"Mystery Train\" (besides why it's called that): why'd it take so long for Bruce to cover it?","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Cover Me&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Cover Me","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/cover-me\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/mystery.jpg?fit=500%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":23738,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2020\/12\/15\/matr-bruce-springsteen-and-john-eddie-aint-that-lovin-you-baby\/","url_meta":{"origin":32614,"position":3},"title":"MatR: Bruce Springsteen and John Eddie: Ain&#8217;t That Lovin&#8217; You Baby","author":"Ken","date":"December 15, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Twice only: Bruce covered Elvis Presley's 1964 hit during two appearances in the same week at Jersey Shore clubs.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Cover Me&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Cover Me","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/cover-me\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/aintthatlovin.jpg?fit=600%2C597&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/aintthatlovin.jpg?fit=600%2C597&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/aintthatlovin.jpg?fit=600%2C597&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15846,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2020\/02\/22\/matr-nicky-addeo-bruce-springsteen-and-friends-crying-in-the-chapel\/","url_meta":{"origin":32614,"position":4},"title":"MatR: Nicky Addeo, Bruce Springsteen and Friends: Crying in the Chapel","author":"Ken","date":"February 22, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"One time only: Bruce backs a special Wonder Bar house band of local legends on a cover of Darrell Glenn's classic \"Crying in the Chapel.\"","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Cover Me&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Cover Me","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/cover-me\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/crying-chapel.jpg?fit=982%2C1000&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/crying-chapel.jpg?fit=982%2C1000&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/crying-chapel.jpg?fit=982%2C1000&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/crying-chapel.jpg?fit=982%2C1000&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":26453,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2021\/04\/11\/matr-bruce-springsteen-and-robert-gordon-heartbreak-hotel\/","url_meta":{"origin":32614,"position":5},"title":"MatR: Bruce Springsteen and Robert Gordon: Heartbreak Hotel","author":"Ken","date":"April 11, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Bruce covered it throughout the Darkness Tour, but his first performance of Elvis' breakthrough hit was with a musician the song inspired.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Cover Me&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Cover Me","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/cover-me\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/heartbreakhotel.jpg?fit=1200%2C1190&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/heartbreakhotel.jpg?fit=1200%2C1190&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/heartbreakhotel.jpg?fit=1200%2C1190&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/heartbreakhotel.jpg?fit=1200%2C1190&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/heartbreakhotel.jpg?fit=1200%2C1190&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32614","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32614"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32614\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32825,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32614\/revisions\/32825"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32822"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32614"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32614"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32614"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}