"I Want You, I Need You, I Love You" is a song written by Maurice Mysels and Ira Kosloff. It is best known for being Elvis Presley's seventh single release on the RCA Victor label, produced by Steve Sholes. It was released in May 1956, becoming Presley's second number 1 single on the country music charts, and peaking at number 3 on the US Billboard Top 100 chart, a predecessor to the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.
Recording
During April 1956, Variety reported that Presley's sixth RCA Victor single, "Heartbreak Hotel", had sold one million copies. RCA Victor producer Steve Sholes wanted a strong single for the next release, aware that there was not much good material available. It had cost $1,000 ($12,000 in 2025) to fly Presley and his band in by a private flight, and Sholes let Presley's manager, Colonel Tom Parker, know that he was unsatisfied with the work and required material urgently for a second album. Pre-orders of over 300,000 were the biggest ever in the history of the company. At the time of its release, Presley had three songs in the Top 20: "Heartbreak Hotel/I Was the One", "My Baby Left Me", and "I Want You, I Need You, I Love You". On June 5, 1956, Presley performed the song on The Milton Berle Show, as well as an early version of "Hound Dog"
In popular culture
John Lennon mentioned the song in the final interview he recorded on December 8, 1980, noting, "If I hear Elvis, I heard him singing "I Want You, I Need You, I Love You" the other day, I mean I was just in heaven. I mean, of course I was going back to my youth and remembering the dates, and what was going on when I heard that music.”
The song “Two Out of Three Ain't Bad” (1977) was inspired by the song's title, with the chorus lamenting, "I want you, I need you, but there ain't no way I'm ever gonna love you".