Return to Sender

 

"Return to Sender" has the distinction of being #1 among all of Elvis's #2 recordings. It spent 5 consecutive weeks in the runner-up spot in 1962. The catchy rhythm tune entered the Hot 100 on October 20 and reached #2 on November 17. It had the misfortune, however, of being released almost simultaneously with The Four Seasons' mega hit, "Big Girls Don't Cry." The Jersey Boys rode the top of the chart for 5 weeks, with "Return to Sender" right behind them the whole time. Never able to reach the tantalizingly close #1 spot, Elvis's song began its journey down the chart, exiting the Hot 100 in early February 1963. "Return to Sender" had spent 16 weeks on the chart, 9 of them in the top 10. Elvis would not have a bigger hit until "Suspicious Minds" over 6 years later.