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kev136
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On this day in music history: April 21, 1956 - “Heartbreak Hotel” by Elvis Presley hits #1 on the Billboard Best Sellers chart for 8 weeks, it also tops the Country singles chart for 14 weeks on March 17, 1956, and also peak at #5 on the Rhythm & Blues chart. Written by Mae Boren Axton, Tommy Durden and Elvis Presley, it is the first pop chart topper for the Tupelo, MS born singer. Songwriter Mae Axton is inspired to write the song after she reads a newspaper article in which a young man has committed suicide by jumping out of a hotel window. In the suicide note that he leaves behind, the phrase “I walk a lonely street” is written. Collaborating with fellow songwriter Tommy Durden, the pair finish writing it together. After pitching the song to a few other artists that turn it down, Axton meets Elvis in November 1955 right after he has signed with RCA Victor Records. Playing the song for Presley, he agrees to record it, but only after Elvis’ manager Col. Tom Parker insists that the singer also receive a writing credit. It is recorded at RCA Studios in Nashville, TN on January 10, 1956. Presley records his vocals in the concrete stairwell of the studio to duplicate the trademark slap echo sound of his Sun Records recordings.The song is Presley’s first single released on RCA Victor Records, in spite of the fact that several RCA executives express their initial dislike of the song. Released on January 27, 1956, the single initially gets off to a slow start before he performs it on the CBS variety show “Stage Show” hosted by bandleaders Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey. The appearance creates an immediate demand for the record. Entering the Billboard Sellers chart at #19 on March 10, 1956, it rockets to the top of the chart six weeks later. Regarded as one of Elvis’ signature songs, and as an important record marking the sea change in popular music, “Hotel” is inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame in 1995. “Heartbreak Hotel” is certified 2x Platinum in the US by the RIAA.