Heartbreak hotel

The composition is an example of a simple verse form based on an eight-beat blues progression. The song was written by Thomas Durden and May Boren Exton, a high school teacher at Dupont Jr.-Sr. High School in Jacksonville , Florida , the mother of singer Hoyt Exton .

The text of the song “Heartbreak Hotel” talks about the end of a romantic relationship, using a metaphor for the hotel as an emotional state. In 1955, the daily newspaper The Miami Herald published an article about one suicide. An unknown person who destroyed the identity card left a suicide note with the words: “I walk a lonely street” ^[1] , which gave the idea to the song.

It is known that Presley made a promise to May Boren Exton in the fall of 1955, which will record the "Heartbreak Hotel". She was the first song Presley recorded on RCA Records . The song was recorded on January 10, 1956 in a Nashville studio, accompanied by Bill Black ( bass ), Scotty Moore ( guitar ), DJ Fontana ( drums ) and Floyd Cramer ( piano ). The single was released on January 27, 1956 with "I Was the One" on the back.

The song debuted on February 11, 1956, when Presley performed her CBS television show ( Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey Show). In addition, the singer also performed “Heartbreak Hotel” on the same show on March 1 and 24, as well as during his third (and last) appearance on the “ Ed Sullivan Show ” on January 6, 1957. The number of viewers at the time of the broadcast exceeded 60 million people. In 1968, Presley performed it at the Elvis television concert, including Hound Dog and All Shook Up in a rock and roll medley .

Given the intensive use of reverberation when recording a song, it was subjected to pamphlet by radio-humorist Stan Freberg in his parody of the song, where the presenter repeatedly repeats “ more echo on [his] voice ” .

Heartbreak Hotel has been No. 1 for 8 weeks on the Billboard Pop Singles Chart. In addition, the song took 1st place for 17 weeks on the Billboard Country Chart and 3rd place on the Billboard Rhythm & Blues Chart.

In 2006, more than 50 years after the release of the hit, Heartbreak Hotel again reached number one on the Billboard Hot Singles Sales Chart.

The song is # 45 on the 2004 Rolling Stone Magazine’s list of “ 500 Greatest Songs of All Time ” and also includes the Grammy Hall of Fame .

Currently, there is a real hotel named after the famous song - Elvis Presley's Heartbreak Hotel Memphis in Memphis . The hotel is located at 3677 Elvis Presley Boulevard Memphis Memphis (Tennessee) .

Based on the mythical incident of Elvis Presley ’s abduction , the film, Broken Heart Hotel , was released in 1988 .

There are many cover versions of the song, including the avant-garde musician John Cale , whose mood in the song was significantly darker than the original version of Elvis's song. This version was first performed at his concert on June 1, 1974 with the participation of Kevin Ayers , Brian Eno , and Nico .

Australian guitarist Tommy Emmanuel recorded the song using vocals and a guitar .

Dred Zeppelin , a reggae performer and imitator of Elvis Presley , made a medley of songs “Heartbreak Hotel” and a song by Led Zeppelin - Heartbreaker , giving it the name “Smoothie (At the End of a Lonely Street)”. This record was included in the debut album of Dred Zeppelin - Un-Led-Ed and De-jah Voodoo .

Three other versions of the song, also called "Heartbreak Hotel", were released by the single . The song was recorded by The Jackson 5 (later renamed This Place Hotel ), the second version was by Whitney Houston . The third version of the song “Heartbreak Hotel” was performed by German pop singer CC Catch . None of these songs are related to the original version of Elvis Presley's song .

Paul McCartney recorded the Heartbreak Hotel with Bill Black's bass at Abbey Road Studios .

Merle Haggard included his own version of the song “Heartbreak Hotel” in the 1977 album , “My Farewell to Elvis” ( English My Farewell To Elvis ).

American hard rock band Van Halen performed a song on the 1983 music tour - Diver Down World Tour . Van Halen also performed a song at one of their live concerts in the 1970s .

Jimi Hendricks included the song in a medley with other Elvis Presley songs - Blue Suede Shoes and Trouble .

Bruce Springsteen performed a song at one of his live concerts.

Legendary guitarist Chet Atkins recorded a cover version of the song.

George Harrison of The Beatles recalled in an interview that Heartbreak Hotel was the first rock and roll song he had ever heard.

Heartbreak Hotel was also a favorite of Jim Morrison of The Doors . The Doors performed the Heartbreak Hotel of her 1970 in Detroit with Jim and Ray Manzarek .

Led Zeppelin performed the Heartbreak Hotel during their 1972 music tour. The record is still considered officially unreleased.

Recording the song “Heartbreak Hotel” performed by Willy Nelson and Leon Russell reached # 1 position in 1979 in the country music charts.

Kate Richards of The Rolling Stones talked about the song: "When I first heard the Heartbreak Hotel, I already knew what I wanted to do in life . "

Sha Na Na recorded the song “Heartbreak Hotel”.

Fats Domino recorded his own version of the song “Heartbreak Hotel”.

Instrumental versions of "Heartbreak Hotel" were recorded at the beginning of the rock band Tommy & The Tom Toms in 1960 . The project was produced by Major Bill Smith (nickname is Bill Smith Combo) and released under the label Chess Records (# 1773).

The legendary rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd recorded the song.

Country Legend - Roger Miller made a cover version of the song “Heartbreak Hotel” for his 1966 music album , “Words” .

In 2007, famous singer Justin Timberlake performed “Heartbreak Hotel” at one of his concert performances.

Fonzy and Henry Winkler performed a song on the television series Happy Days in the 1970s .

Tanya Tucker recorded the song in the 1970s .

US President Bill Clinton presented a cover version of the song “Heartbreak Hotel”, playing it on a saxophone in the famous American program - The Arsenio Hall Show in the 1990s during his election campaign .

Tom Jones made a cover version of the song "Heartbreak Hotel". Jones admitted that Elvis's work inspired him to become a singer : “For the first time, when I heard“ Heartbreak Hotel “. She gave me hope that I too could become a famous performer. I knew that I had a voice and singing ability. After that, Elvis and I became great friends. ”

Byrds' Roger McGuin recorded the song "Heartbreak Hotel." He stated that “Heartbreak Hotel” was the first rock record he heard in 1956 . After listening, he asked his parents to buy him a guitar . McGwin wrote: “Elvis Presley and his single“ Heartbreak Hotel ”inspired me to the point where I wanted to get a guitar to do what he did.”

Canadian singer Gisele Mackenzie performs Heartbreak Hotel at the 1956 television show Your Hit Parade .

The cover versions of the song were also made by Ann Margret , Frijid Pink , Homer and Jethro , Conway Tuitti , Delaney and Bonnie , Katie Melua and Pat Boone .

In early 2004, Stephanie Burland recorded a cover version of the song.

The Vandals recorded a cover version of the song, completely changing the lyrics and sound. The song was included in the album - Peace Thru Vandalism , entitled - "HB Hotel".

Another version of the song is used in the Karaoke Revolution Volume 2 video game.

The famous wrestler Rock performed the "Heartbreak Hotel" in Memphis ( Elvis Presley mine) during his WWE match against humanity. The text of his version of the songs was different from the original: “ When the Rock Baby left him / He found a new place of residence / This is at the end of Jebroni Drive / Smeckdown Hotel!” Dwayne is also a big fan of Elvis .

• In 2005, Uncut Magazine named Elvis Presley 's first performance of the song "Heartbreak Hotel" in 1956 as one of the most important cultural events of the rock and roll era .
• Serbian rock musician , journalist and writer Dejan Kukic included the song “Heartbreak Hotel” in the list of forty-six songs that changed the history of popular music in his book “45 Revolutions: Stories About Songs” ( Serbian. 45 obrtaja: Priče o pesmama) .
• "Heartbreak Hotel" is the name of the rebel shelter in the musical " We Will Rock You ".
• A few lines from the song were included in the novel by the Canadian writer Margaret Atwood - “ The Handmaid 's History ”.

• Single Patty Loveless - "Blue Side of Town" was included in the album of the singer - Honky Tonk Angel ( 1988 ). In “And it's Heartbrak Hotel. Yes I know it well. I hang around. The Blue Side of Town.)
• U2 wrote a song called “A Room At The Heartbreak Hotel”, which is the B-side of the band's single , Angel of Harlem , released in 1988 . A cover version of the song was also recorded by Hugh Jackman for the 2006 animated film Do It Feet , where Nicole Kidman's voice is mixed with Kiss singing.
• Heartbreak Hotel is mentioned in Larry Williams ' Short Fat Fannie: “Once when I visited the Heartbreak Hotel”.
• Heartbreak Hotel is mentioned in the song Dire Straits - “Calling Elvis”.
• Meryl Streep performs a parody of Shel Sylvestenn’s song “I'm Checking Out of This Heartbreak Hotel” in the final scene of the film “ Postcards from the Edge ”.
• “Heartbreak Hotel” is mentioned in the Arctic Monkeys song “Piledriver Waltz”.
• Mentioned in the Eruption song “ One way ticket ”
• CC Catch has a song with that title

• Michael Gray " Obituary of Thomas Durden, " The Guardian , 1999-10-28, Retrieved April 19 , 2007 . (eng.)