The Surprisingly Tragic Story That Inspired Elvis Presley’s “Heartbreak Hotel”

Elvis Presley had many massive hits throughout his tenure. Among that list is “Heartbreak Hotel.” This mid-tempo ballad helped to skyrocket Presley to fame. Uncover the surprisingly tragic story behind this track, below.

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The Surprisingly Tragic Story That Inspired Elvis Presley’s “Heartbreak Hotel”

Songwriters Mae Boren Axton and Tommy Durden were inspired to write “Heartbreak Hotel” after reading a suicide note in the paper. The man left behind a simple phrase: “I walk a lonely street.” That sentiment of loneliness became the spark behind this timeless hit.

Well, since my baby left me

Well, I found a new place to dwell

Well, it’s down at the end of Lonely Street

At Heartbreak Hotel

Where I’ll be, I’ll be so lonely, baby

Well, I’m so lonely

I’ll be so lonely, I could die

Despite the song’s tragic origins and somber themes, there is an airyness to this song that made it a shoo-in for radio play. It was a transcendent rock song. It not only helped to launch Presley’s career, it became a powerful source of inspiration for future generations of rockers.

“Then, ‘Since my baby left me’—it was just the sound … That was the first rock and roll I heard,” Keith Richards once said. “It was a totally different way of delivering a song, a totally different sound, stripped down, no bullshit, no violins and ladies’ choruses and schmaltz, totally different. It was bare right to the roots that you had a feeling were there but hadn’t yet heard. I’ve got to take my hat off to Elvis. The silence is your canvas, that’s your frame, that’s what you work on; don’t try and deafen it out. That’s what ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ did to me. It was the first time I’d heard something so stark.”

Although it’s always crowded

You still can find some room

For broken hearted lovers

To cry there in their gloom

Be so, they’ll be so lonely, baby

They get so lonely

They’re so lonely, they could die

Revisit “Heartbreak Hotel,” below.

(Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)