Nov 10th in Pop History

On this day, November 10th, in:

• 1955 - In his Nashville hotel room, songwriter Mae Axton plays Elvis Presley a demo of a song she's co-written called Heartbreak Hotel. This song would launch the singing career of Elvis into the musical stratosphere. It would create explosive momentum early on for his later emergence as the King of Rock and Roll.

Heartbreak Hotel was released as a single on January 27, 1956, Presley's first on his new record label RCA Victor. It was written by Tommy Durden and Mae Boren Axton, with credit being given also to Presley.

The single topped Billboard’s Top 100 chart for seven weeks, Cashbox’s pop singles chart for six weeks, was # 1 on the Country and Western chart for seventeen weeks and reached # 3 on the R&B chart, becoming Presley's first million-seller, and one of the best-selling singles of 1956. Heartbreak Hotel achieved unheard of feats as it reached the top 5 of Country and Western, pop, and Rhythm 'n' Blues charts simultaneously. It would eventually be certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. Presley first performed Heartbreak Hotel during a live show in December 1955, but the song gained strong popularity after his appearance on Stage Show in March 1956. It became a staple of Presley's repertoire in live appearances, last performed by him on May 29, 1977, shortly before his untimely death.

A newspaper article about the suicide of a lonely man who jumped from a hotel window inspired the lyrics. Mae Axton was known in the music industry as the "Queen Mother of Nashville." She co-wrote music with many others besides Elvis Presley, including the likes of Willie Nelson, Reba McEntire, and Blake Shelton. Axton presented the song to Presley in November 1955 at a country music convention in Nashville. Presley agreed to record it, and did so on January 10, 1956. In 1995 Heartbreak Hotel was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, and in 2004 Rolling Stone magazine named it one of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.