65 years ago, Elvis Presley brought a sprinkling of summer magic to the autumn season

Elvis Presley’s 1961 film *Blue Hawaii* brought a sun-soaked setting to audiences as autumn approached, with Presley playing Army veteran Chad returning to Hawaii. Its soundtrack helped fulfil manager Colonel Tom Parker’s aim of releasing an album each year and showed Presley’s growing reach beyond rock music into mainstream pop culture.

Released on 20 October 1961, the soundtrack blended Hawaiian influences with songs drawn from different eras, including the traditional “Aloha ‘Oe” and “Can’t Help Falling in Love”, based on an 18th-century French song. The latter became a concert staple: Presley performed it at the close of his 1973 satellite concert and at his final live show in 1977, helping cement its enduring place in popular music.