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On this day, March 3, back in 1956, Elvis Presley’s first single reached the top 100, hitting number 68. Before the month was out, it was at number nine, and eventually, on May 5, 1956, it reached the number one spot on the Billboard 100. But that single, Heartbreak Hotel, was written after a tragedy about a man’s death made headlines.
Heartbreak Hotel was first written in October 1955 by Mae Boren Axton, a high school teacher, alongside Tommy Durden, a singer-songwriter from Jacksonville. Both of the writers were massive Elvis fans and aimed to get this song in front of him to perform.
They attempted to hold a meeting with Elvis’ manager, Colonel Tom Parker, a few times, getting rejected each time. But eventually, he submitted and agreed to meet up with them. Parker loved the track and agreed to connect Axton and Durden with Elvis to see what he thought of it. Naturally, he adored the song and agreed to record it as soon as possible.
Elvis did not know at first, however, just how tragic the story of the real Heartbreak Hotel was.
When Elvis met Axton and heard the demo for the first time he reportedly screamed: “Hot dog, Mae, play that again!”
He then went on to listen to Heartbreak Hotel ten times over. In doing so, he memorised the lyrics and jumped straight into the recording booth to lay down the groundwork for his own version of the song. It was his first single with RCA Records.
The single was released on January 27, 1956, but didn’t start getting mainstream airtime until March. Once it hit the top ten, things really took off for the star.
Heartbreak Hotel sold 300,000 copies in a matter of weeks. By the end of its run, it had sold over one million copies. In the process, it became Elvis’ first-ever gold-certified record.
In 1995, Heartbreak Hotel was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. In 2004, Rolling Stone Magazine called it one of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
His next number-one single came later that year in the form of Don’t Be Cruel.
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