Heartbreak Hotel
"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.[1] 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.
For other uses, see Heartbreak Hotel (disambiguation)."Heartbreak Hotel"
January 27, 1956
January 10, 1956
2:08
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.[2] 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.
In 1995, "Heartbreak Hotel" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, and in 2004 Rolling Stone magazine named it one of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time". That year it was also included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's "500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll". A rock and roll standard, "Heartbreak Hotel" has been covered by several rock and pop acts, including Willie Nelson and Leon Russell, who recorded a duet version that topped the Country charts in 1979.
RCA reissued "Heartbreak Hotel" on CD in 2006 on its 50th anniversary featuring the 1956 black and white EP cover.
Early cover types[edit]
Radio humorist Stan Freberg parodied "Heartbreak Hotel" immediately after its release, because the vocals on the original record featured a heavy use of reverb.[55] In the cover, the lead singer repeatedly asks for "more echo on [his] voice."[1] When Presley recorded "Hound Dog" a few months later, he had taken over the role of producer, using what he learned at Sun Records (although Sholes was still credited) and decided not to use echo.[20]
Connie Francis recorded the song for her 1959 album Rock 'n' Roll Million Sellers; this album also features "Don't Be Cruel". Country singer Johnny Cash parodied the song in 1959 on the television show Town Hall Party, imitating Presley's characteristic crib and hip movements.[56][57] Before the performance Cash explained that it was "an impersonation of a rock and roll singer impersonating Elvis, is what this really is".
Beatles historian Mark Lewisohn noted that, at first as The Quarrymen then later as the Beatles, the group performed "Heartbreak Hotel" live from 1957 until 1961 (in Liverpool then later in Hamburg and elsewhere).[58] It is unclear whether the lead vocal was by John Lennon or Paul McCartney or both. A recorded version has not been forthcoming. However, McCartney (using Bill Black's upright bass) did a version for a documentary Elvis - Viva Las Vegas, which also appears on DVD.
Later renditions[edit]
Part of the original personnel of the 1956 recording released their own versions, Chet Atkins recorded it for the 1963 album The Guitar Genius,[59] and also, Presley's lead guitarist Scotty Moore recorded the song for his 1964 album The Guitar that Changed the world.[60] Willie Nelson and Leon Russell had a number one cover version in 1979 on the country charts, it was Russell's only number one hit on the charts.[61]
Paul McCartney later also made another cover of the song in Chaos and Creation at Abbey Road, performing it with Bill Black's bass.[62][63]
Others who have covered the song include Ann-Margret, who would later co-star with Presley in the 1964 motion picture Viva Las Vegas,[64] The Cadets,[65][66] Delaney Bramlett, Justin Timberlake, Cher, Roger Miller, Bob Dylan,[67] Bruce Springsteen,[68] John Cale,[20] Merle Haggard,[69] Tom Jones,[70] Dax Riggs,[71] Roger McGuinn,[72] Suzi Quatro,[73] Van Halen,[74] Jimi Hendrix,[75] Neil Diamond,[76] Lynyrd Skynyrd,[20] Guns N' Roses,[77] Tones on Tail,[78] and Queen + Adam Lambert.[79] In Canada, a version by "The Scoundrelz" reached #60 in 1966,[80] and another by "Frijid Pink" reached #38 in 1971.[81]
In the 1992 film Honeymoon in Vegas, Billy Joel made a version of "Heartbreak Hotel" and "All Shook Up",[82] while the same year in True Romance, actor Val Kilmer performed an a cappella version.[83] Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman covered the song in a medley with Prince's "Kiss", for the 2006 Warner Bros. film Happy Feet.[84] The song was also featured in Alvin and the Chipmunks' 1990 television special Rockin' Through the Decades, as part of the fifties medley and its soundtrack and again for the 2007 video game Alvin and the Chipmunks.[85]
Bibliography