| The Letter | |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Wayne Newton |
| Album: | Moods & Moments |
| Genre: | Country[1] |
| Label: | Curb |
| Producer: | Johnny Minick, Rick Goodman, Wayne Newton |
| Prev Title: | I Know So |
| Prev Year: | 1991 |
"The Letter" is a 1992 single by American singer Wayne Newton from his album Moods & Moments. The song peaked at number one on Cashbox's Top 100 Country Singles chart in July 1992 and took an additional five months to reach number one on Cashbox's Top 100 Pop Singles chart in December 1992. Although the song peaked at number one in Cashbox, "The Letter" did not appear in any of Billboard's charts and was not mentioned at all by Billboard.
In a 1991 interview with Ralph Emery on Nashville Now, Newton revealed that "The Letter" was based on a discarded note written by Elvis Presley in 1976 during his final stay at the Las Vegas Hilton.[2] Years after Presley's death, Newton bought Presley's note in June 1991 at a Sotheby's auction for $13,200.[3] Newton wrote "The Letter" after receiving requests to provide copies of Presley's note to his fans.[2] In the lyrics for "The Letter", Newton sings about Elvis's loneliness and includes a word for word reading of Elvis's note that he bought at Sotheby's.[4]
Cash Box said Newton transformed "The Letter" from a fan favorite to a religious awakening.[5]
On July 11, 1992, "The Letter" peaked at number one on the Cashbox Top 100 Country Singles chart.[6] After remaining on the Cashbox Top 100 Pop Singles chart for almost six months,[7] "The Letter" reached number one on December 12, 1992.[8] Despite peaking at number one in Cashbox, "The Letter" did not chart on any Billboard chart, though it was reviewed by the magazine and did appear on Billboard's music-videos Clip List for a few months, as TNN (The Nashville Network) listed it among its rotation of videos.[9] The circumstances of the song's sole performance on Cash Box and not on Billboard or local station charts led to widespread accusations of chart fixing at the time. No official finding was ever released.
In 1992, Newton released a music video for "The Letter". In the music video, Newton performs at The Hilton and reads out Presley's note.[10]