Elvis Presley enters the music charts for the first time, with "Heartbreak Hotel".
"Heartbreak Hotel" is a song recorded by American rock and roll musician 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.
No comments:
Post a Comment