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mahatmakanejeeves

(57,768 posts)
Sat Jan 28, 2023, 10:22 AM Jan 2023

On January 27, 1956 RCA Victor released "Heartbreak Hotel."

Heartbreak Hotel



A-side label of US single

Single by Elvis Presley
B-side: "I Was the One"
Released: January 27, 1956
Recorded: January 10, 1956
Studio: RCA Victor (Nashville)
Genre: Blues, rock and roll, rockabilly
Length: 2:08
Label: RCA Victor
Songwriter(s): Mae Boren Axton, Tommy Durden, Elvis Presley

"Heartbreak Hotel" is a song recorded by American singer Elvis Presley. It was released as a single on January 27, 1956, Presley's first on his new record label RCA Victor. It was written by Mae Boren Axton and Tommy Durden, with credit being given also to Presley.

A newspaper article about the suicide of a lonely man who jumped from a hotel window inspired the song. Axton presented the song to Presley in November 1955 at a country music convention in Nashville. Presley recorded it on January 10, 1956, in a session with his band, the Blue Moon Boys, the guitarist Chet Atkins and the pianist Floyd Cramer. "Heartbreak Hotel" comprises an eight-bar blues progression, with heavy reverberation throughout the track, to imitate the character of Presley's Sun recordings.

The single topped the Billboard Top 100 for seven weeks, Cashbox's Pop singles chart for six weeks, and the Country and Western chart for seventeen weeks as well as reaching No. 3 on the R&B chart, becoming Presley's first million-seller, and one of the best-selling singles of 1956. "Heartbreak Hotel" achieved unheard of feats as it reached the top 5 of Country and Western, Pop, and Rhythm 'n' Blues charts simultaneously. It was eventually certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. Presley had first performed "Heartbreak Hotel" during a live show in December 1955 during a tour of the Louisiana Hayride; it gained popularity after his appearance on Stage Show in March 1956. It became a staple of Presley's repertoire in live appearances, last performed by him on May 29, 1977, at the Civic Center in Baltimore.

{snip}

Background and writing



Presley stripped to his waist after escaping from a fan riot, during the concerts performed in Jacksonville, Florida between May 12–13

The song was written in 1955, by Mae Boren Axton, a high school teacher with a background in musical promotion, and Jacksonville based singer–songwriter Tommy Durden. The lyrics were based on a report supposedly in The Miami Herald about a man who had destroyed all his identity papers and jumped to his death from a hotel window, leaving a suicide note with the single line, "I walk a lonely street". Songfacts.com says they were unable to locate the Miami Herald story. They labeled it an urban legend. In 2016, an article in Rolling Stone magazine suggested that the story in reality originated from a report about a painter and criminal, Alvin Krolik, whose marriage had failed and who wrote a unpublished autobiography including the line "This is the story of a person who walked a lonely street." Krolik's story was published in news media, and received further publicity after he was shot and killed in an attempted robbery in El Paso, Texas. On August 25, 1955, the El Paso Times reported Krolik's death under the headline "Story Of Person Who Walked Lonely Street".

{snip}

This cover was included on the first record album I ever bought. It's total greatness.



STAN FREBERG - Heartbreak Hotel 💔 (1956)

BenBop1965

24.8K subscribers

43,366 views Oct 22, 2010 #Presley #Elvis #Parody
50s Rock And Roll (Elvis Presley Parody ) Capitol Records CL14608 flip side is "Rock Island Line"
Stan Freberg (born Stanley Friberg; August 7, 1926 - April 7, 2015) was an American author, recording artist, voice actor, comedian, radio personality, puppeteer and advertising creative director, whose career began in 1944.
He remained active in the industry into his late 80s, more than 70 years after entering it.

#Elvis #Presley #Parody

Okay, if you insist:



Elvis Presley - Heartbreak Hotel (Official Audio)

Elvis Presley

3.26M subscribers

23,315,066 views Jun 4, 2013 #ElvisPresley #HeartbreakHotel #OfficialAudio
"Heartbreak Hotel" by Elvis Presley
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Lyrics:
Where I'll be, I'll be so lonely, baby
Well, I'm so lonely
I'll be so lonely, I could die

#ElvisPresley #HeartbreakHotel #OfficialAudio



Elvis Presley Heatrbreak Hotel Live (1956`)

John56517

5.26K subscribers

1,611,465 views Dec 26, 2012
Elvis Presley singing Heartbreak Hotel in 1956`
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