Heartbreak Hotel

On April 21, 1956, Elvis Presley's first hit record, "Heartbreak Hotel" became a number one hit.

The song was inspired by the suicide of a young man who left a note with the line, "I walk a lonely street."  On November 10, 1955, Presley heard the song for the first time and said he would record it.  Mae Boren Axton, a co-writer of the song, offered Presley a third of the royalties if he made the song his first single release from his new label, RCA.

This was Elvis' first #1 hit on the US Billboard pop charts.  In 1995, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, and was re-released in 1996 to coincide with the fortieth anniversary of its recording.   It was ranked #45 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2004.

There is now a real hotel named after the song located across the street from Presley's home, Graceland, in Memphis, Tennessee. It features 128 rooms and offers 24-hour Presley videos for its guests.

Song Facts
Elvis Presley's Heartbreak Hotel