On this day in 1956, Elvis becomes the first artist to knock himself out of the number one spot

As  Elvis enjoyed his commercial breakout in 1956, he released a number of songs to solidify his position as the most popular male artist at the time. Hound Dog, backed with Don’t Be Cruel was released in July and enjoyed a 14 week run at the top spot on the Billboard chart. 

The next big hit would come when songwriter Ken Darby prepared lyrics for an adaptation of a classic Civil War song, Aura Lee. Soon after an agreement was struck to have Presley perform the song in exchange for half of the songwriting credit. Darby joined Elvis in the studio where he claimed Presley’s ear for production and arrangement was remarkably strong and that he really took control in the studio, despite not being credited as a producer.

The song was released on the 28th of September and debuted at the number two on the Best Sellers in Stores pop singles chart. It quickly rose through the Billboard charts to eventually knock Hound Dog from number one, making Presley the first artist to replace himself at the top. Presley’s talent and likelihood of being one of the top male artists for the 1950’s was becoming increasingly clear.