Hold me close, hold me tight
Make me thrill with delight
Let me know where I stand from the start
I want you, I need you, I love you
With all my heart

Ev'ry time that you're near
All my cares disappear
Darling, you're all that I'm living for
I want you, I need you, I love you
More and more

I thought I could live without romance
Before you came to me
But now I know that
I will go on loving you eternally

Won't you please be my own?
Never leave me alone
'Cause I die ev'ry time we're apart
I want you, I need you, I love you
With all my heart

RCA 20-6540, 1956, I Wan't You, I Need You, I Love You / My Baby Left Me (78)

Studio Nashville, Tennessee, April 14, 1956

Elvis recorded I Want You I Need You I Love You, which was written by Maurice Mysels (Mysels's name was misspelled "Myself" on the 78 RPM release and on the first pressings of the 45 RMP release) and Ira Kosloff on April 11, 1956, at RCA's Nashville studios. While flying to Nashville, Elvis's plane almost crashed. Reportedly, he was so shook that he could record only the one song and was on his way back to Memphis by noon. Background vocals were provided by Gordon Stoker, Ben Speer, and Brock Speer. Marvin Hughes played piano. I Want You I Need You I Love You was the only Elvis song on which Hughes played piano. The original release was a splice of takes # 14 and # 17. I Want You I Need You I Love You had a 24-week stay on Billboard's Top 100 chart, peaking at # 3. It reached number one for two weeks on the Country Best-Selling chart, number one for one week on the Country Jukebox chart, and # 10 on the rhythm & blues chart. Sales exceeded one million copies.

Elvis sang I Want You I Need You I Love You on The Milton Berle Show (June 5, 1956) and The Steve Allen Show (July 1, 1956). On the Berle show, he once sang the lyrics as "I need you, I miss you, I want you". Both appearances featured the Jordanaires as backup vocalists.

In 1976 an alternate take in which Elvis rearranged the lyrics appeared on the LP Elvis - A Legendary Performer, Volume 2.