Heartbreak Hotel
| "Heartbreak Hotel" | ||||||||
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| Single by Elvis Presley | ||||||||
| B-side | "I Was the One" | |||||||
| Released | January 27, 1956 | |||||||
| Format | 10-inch 78 rpm & 7-inch 45 rpm records | |||||||
| Recorded | January 10, 1956, RCA Victor Studios, Nashville, Tennessee | |||||||
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| Length | 2:08 | |||||||
| Label | RCA Victor | |||||||
| Writer(s) | ||||||||
| Producer(s) | Steve Sholes | |||||||
| Elvis Presley singles chronology | ||||||||
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"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 Tommy Durden and Mae Boren Axton.
A newspaper article about the suicide of a lonely man who jumped from a hotel window inspired the lyrics. Axton presented the song to Presley in November 1955 at a country music convention in Nashville. Presley agreed to record it, and did so 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 Billboard's Top 100 chart for seven weeks, Cashbox's pop singles chart for six weeks, was number one on the Country and Western chart for seventeen weeks and reached number three 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 would eventually be 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, but the song gained strong 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, Maryland.
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