Heartbreak Hotel
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "Heartbreak Hotel" | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
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| Single by Elvis Presley | ||
| B-side(s) | I Was the One | |
| Released | January 27, 1956 | |
| Format | single | |
| Recorded | January 10, 1956 | |
| Genre | Rock and roll | |
| Length | 2:08 | |
| Label | RCA Records | |
| Writer(s) | Mae Boren Axton, Thomas Durden | |
| Producer(s) | Steve Sholes | |
| Chart positions | ||
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| Elvis Presley singles chronology | ||
| "I Forgot to Remember to Forget" (1955) |
"Heartbreak Hotel" (1956) |
"I Want You, I Need You, I Love You" (1956) |
- For the Whitney Houston song, see Heartbreak Hotel (Whitney Houston song).
"Heartbreak Hotel" is a rock and roll song by Elvis Presley, with Bill Black (bass), Scotty Moore (guitar), D.J. Fontana on the drums, and Elvis on rhythm guitar as the main supporting musicians. Recorded in January 1956 in Nashville, the song introduced Presley to the American national music consciousness. It was released as a single with the b-side song "I Was The One" on January 27, 1956. "Heartbreak Hotel" became the first No.1 pop record by Elvis.
"Heartbreak Hotel" was produced by Steve Sholes who used a hallway at the studio to get an unusual echo for the single. "Heartbreak Hotel"'s lyrical matter deals with the singer's sadness, implicitly that following the end of a romantic relationship. It uses the metaphor of a hotel to represent this emotional state.
It was written by Thomas Durden and Mae Boren Axton, a teacher at Dupont Jr.-Sr. High School in Jacksonville, Florida, and the mother of singer/songwriter/actor Hoyt Axton. The song was later ranked #45 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and is a Grammy Hall of Famer.
In 1956, Presley sang the song live and introduced it at the Tommy Dorsey TV Show, on February 11. He also sang it on March 1 and March 24 of that year, and on his third and last appearance at the Ed Sullivan Show, also on CBS, on January 6, 1957. Cumulative viewers for these first television performances are estimated at over 60 million. In 1968, he also sang it on his celebrated "Comeback TV Special", in a medley with Hound Dog and All Shook Up. Because the vocals on the original record featured heavy use of reverb, the song was immediately lampooned in radio humorist Stan Freberg's parody of the song, where the lead singer repeatedly asks for "more echo on [his] voice." The song is an example of simple verse form.
There is now a real hotel named after the song, and located across from Graceland, in Memphis, Tennessee.
A movie with the same title, based on a mythical incident involving the kidnapping of Elvis Presley, was released theatrically in 1988. It starred David Keith as Elvis Presley, and Tuesday Weld and was directed by Chris Columbus.
There are numerous cover versions of the song, including one by avant garde musician John Cale, although the mood of the song was significantly more unsettling than Elvis's version. Tommy Emmanuel has recently included this song into his repertoire and only involves him on lead guitar and vocals.
Three other songs, also entitled "Heartbreak Hotel" were released as singles, one by the Jacksons, (later renamed "This Place Hotel"), a second by Whitney Houston, whose mother, gospel singer Cissy Houston performed in several Elvis recordings, both in the studio and live, as a member of the Sweet Inspirations. A third song called "Heartbreak Hotel" was performed by C. C. Catch. None of these songs are connected to Elvis's song.
U2 wrote a song called "A Room At The Heartbreak Hotel." It is a b-side to their "Angel of Harlem" single, released in 1988.
