Heartbreak Hotel

Elvis Presley's first single for RCA Victor, "Heartbreak Hotel," arrived on January 27, 1956, and immediately rewrote the rules of popular music. Written by Mae Boren Axton and Tommy Durden (with a co-credit to Presley), the song was sparked by a newspaper story about a man who jumped from a hotel window. Presley recorded it on January 10, 1956, with his band the Blue Moon Boys, plus guitarist Chet Atkins and pianist Floyd Cramer. Built on an eight-bar blues progression and drenched in reverb to echo his Sun Records sound, the track exudes a dark, lonely swagger. It topped the Billboard Top 100 for seven weeks, spent seventeen weeks at number one on the Country and Western chart, and reached number 3 on the R&B chart, a rare feat that saw it hit the top 5 on all three charts at once. The single sold over a million copies, earning a double platinum certification. Presley debuted the song live in December 1955 on the Louisiana Hayride tour, but it exploded after his March 1956 appearance on Stage Show. "Heartbreak Hotel" became a live staple; he performed it for the last time on May 29, 1977, in Baltimore. In 1995, it entered the Grammy Hall of Fame, and Rolling Stone ranked it among the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. It also made the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's list of 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll. Countless artists have covered it, including Willie Nelson and Leon Russell, whose duet topped the country charts in 1979.

The single's B-side, "I Was the One," was written by Aaron Schroeder, Claude DeMetrius, Hal Blair, and Bill Peppers. It reached number 19 on the Billboard Top 100. The recording sessions for both tracks took place at RCA Victor's Studio B in Nashville, a space that later hosted countless country and rock classics. The session marked Presley's first collaboration with guitarist Chet Atkins, who played rhythm guitar, and pianist Floyd Cramer, whose distinctive "slip-note" style would become a hallmark of the Nashville sound.

Jill Johnson and Carola Häggkvist are Swedish artists who have recorded cover versions of "Heartbreak Hotel" for their own albums or compilations, though no collaborative album under this title exists in official discographies. Johnson's version appeared on her 1998 album Kärlekens skuggor, and Carola's on her 1983 album Frun på Eklaholm. The inclusion of these artists in the metadata likely reflects later compilation appearances rather than a joint project.[edit]