Heartbreak Hotel

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"Heartbreak Hotel" (later renamed "This Place Hotel") is also the title of a 1980 single by The Jacksons, and a different song also titled "Heartbreak Hotel" was a hit in 1999 for Whitney Houston with guest vocalists Faith Evans and Kelly Price. Neither song was a remake of the Presley hit.

"Heartbreak Hotel" is a rock and roll song by Elvis Presley, with Bill Black (bass), Scotty Moore (guitar), and D.J Fontana on the drums as the main supporting musicians. Recorded in January 1956, the song introduced Presley to the US' national music consciousness. It was released as a single with the b-side song "I Was The One" on January 27, 1956.

"Heartbreak Hotel"'s lyrical matter deals with the singer's sadness, implicitly that following the end of a romantic relationship. It uses the metaphor of a hotel to represent this emotional state.

It was written by Thomas Durden and Mae Boren Axton, the mother of singer/songwriter/actor Hoyt Axton.

The song achieved high chart success with pop (#1), R&B (#1) and Country music (#5) audiences.

The vocals feature heavy use of reverb. This fact was later lampooned in radio humorist Stan Freberg's parody of the song, where the lead singer repeatedly asks for "more echo on [his] voice." The song is an example of simple verse form.

There is now a real hotel named after the song, and [located] across from Graceland, in Memphis, Tennessee.

A movie by the same title, based on a mythical incident involving the kidnapping of Elvis Presley, was released theatrically in 1988. It starred David Keith, and Tuesday Weld and was directed by Chris Columbus.

There are numerous cover versions of the song, including one by avant garde musician John Cale, although the mood of the song was significantly more unsettling than Elvis's version.

Three other different songs, also entitled "Heartbreak Hotel" were released as singles, one by the Jacksons, (later renamed "This Place Hotel"), one by Whithney Houston, whose mother, gospel singer Cissy Houston appears in several Elvis recordings, both in the studio, and live, as a member of the Sweet Inspirations. The third song, called 'Heartbreak Hotel' was perfomed by C.C.Catch. This song has nothing to do with the Elvis' song.

External links:

http://www.elvis.com/epheartbreakhotel/

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