LOVE TRAX: This Song Dates Back to 1784

It’s February and the month of LOVE – so all month long on Throwback Nation Radio, we’re playing your favorite THROWBACK LOVE TRAX! 

We’ll feature one popular love song from the 80s or 90s per day, and we’ll tell you the story behind the song.

Our first LOVE TRAX for February 1 is “Can’t Help Falling in Love” by UB40.

UB40 is an English reggae/pop band that’s been around since 1978.

They released “Can’t Help Falling in Love” in 1993. It hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed there for seven weeks.

It was on the soundtrack for the 1993 Sharon Stone film “Sliver,” the trailer for the 1997 film “Fools Rush In,” and the band and song also appeared in 1997’s “Speed 2: Cruise Control!”

The song was originally recorded by Elvis Presley for his 1961 album and film “Blue Hawaii.”

But the song’s roots go way, way back – all the way to 1784!

The melody is based on “Plaisir d’amour,” (translated to “Pleasure of Love”), a classical French love song. It was written by Jean-Paul-Égide Martini, originally from the perspective of a woman who couldn’t help falling in love with him!

So there you have it – the real story behind our first LOVE TRAX, “Can’t Help Falling in Love” by UB40.

Here are the three versions we reference: the first one in 1784, Elvis Presley’s in 1961, and finally, UB40’s version in 1993.