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Heartbreak Hotel |
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Written by: Mae Boren Axton, Tommy Durden, Elvis Presley Recorded: January 10, 1956, RCA Studios, Nashville Released master is take 7. Single:w/ "I Was The One", 47-6420, January 27, 1956 Also re-released as Gold Standard Series, 447-0605, March 1959 RIAA Certified: 2X Multi-Platinum (as of 07/15/1999) Highest U.S. Charts Positions: #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 (In 2006, the CD single, which also contained "I Was The One", reached #1 again.) #1 on Cash Box chart #1 on Billboard's Country chart #5 on Billboard's R&B chart The second single ever to make all 3 of Billboard's charts, the first being Carl Perkins' "Blue Suede Shoes". 1st LP release: Elvis Golden Records Vol 1 - April 1958 |
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Stylistically, "Heartbreak Hotel" was not quite like anything else Elvis did, and yet it became a sort of signature song of his in the early days. Partly because it was his first nation-wide hit and his first million-selling single, but also because he performed it on many of his early TV appearances, and it became part of the image associated with him in the public mind. Although not typical of what he'd do later with his hit songs, it still remains a great "first glimpse" of Elvis as a singer! |
Other Spins(What did the critics and fans say?)"Heartbreak Hotel" is a classic performance, yet when it is analyzed it appears so simple that one cannot recall a time when one did not know it. It is all the more effective for being so restrained. This may seem surprising in view of Presley's early image, but the beat is held back; the smouldering intensity and wounded defiance is conveyed entirely by the voice. "Heartbreak Hotel" is a basic blues, with a syncopated throb. The key, E minor, fits Presley's voice like a glove, and when the bass guitar enters before "Heartbreak" in the line "...down at the corner of Lonely Street at Heartbreak Hotel..." the interest quickens, leading to the second time, with quiet, insistent drums and guitar. Floyd Cramer's piano is ideal: it is impossible to imagine this song without his phrases high on the piano pattering like sad rain. The whole performance is outstanding. Robert Matthew-Walker, Elvis Presley: A Study in Music, 1979 ...Having begun to perform "Heartbreak Hotel" at his concerts, he was able to get an acceptable take of the song early in his recording session of January 10, 1956, with Scotty Moore taking a slashing electric guitar solo and Floyd Cramer playing some bluesy piano. The spare arrangement, which frequently came to a full stop, was dominated by Presley's melodramatic vocal; it was an excellent showcase for the young singer. ... William Ruhlmann, from the AllMusic review of "Heartbreak Hotel" Check out other Elvis fans' opinions on the Elvis News page for Heartbreak Hotel Check out other opinions at Rate Your Music "Heartbreak Hotel" Links
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Well, since my baby left me I've found a new place to dwell It's down at the end of lonely street At Heartbreak Hotel, and I'll be I'll be so lonely, baby I'm so lonely I'll be so lonely I could die. And although it's always crowded you still can find some room For broken hearted lovers to cry there in their gloom, and they'll be They'll be so lonely baby They'll be so lonely They'll be so lonely they could die Well, the bell hop's tears keep flowin' The desk clerk's dressed in black Well they've been so long on lonely street They'll never, they'll never look back, and they're so They'll be so lonely, baby Well they're so lonely Well they're so lonely they pray to die Hey now, if your baby leaves you And you've got a tale to tell Just take that walk down lonely street To Heartbreak Hotel where you'll be You'll be so lonely, baby Well you'll be lonely You'll be so lonely you could die Repeat second verse |
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