Elvis PresleyImage via Cover Images
By
Karly B.
Published 40 minutes ago
Karly B. is a music news journalist at Collider, specializing in the Western and Asian music industries. With a Bachelor of Science degree in Digital Media and Web Technology, she has dedicated part of her career to covering the latest music trends, breaking news, and album releases.
Her work also appears in various other publications, such as the South Korean-focused music publication Kpop Wise, where she serves as a contributor and interviewer.
Beyond her work in IT and journalism, Karly is an avid Tudor history buff. She operates her own historical blog, 'Before the Queen's Crown, ' which explores the life and legacy of Queen Elizabeth I.
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Elvis Presley is undoubtedly the King of rock 'n' roll. His music, a mash-up of country, gospel, and rhythm and blues, not only revolutionized the 1950s and beyond, but his distinct voice, electric dance moves, and magnetic persona did too. Beyond his influence on music, his talent graced the big and small screen, and he defined what it meant to be a triple threat. Today, his legacy is synonymous with the word' icon.' During his lifetime, few could outmatch his charisma and talent. And although today he is primarily synonymous with his more upbeat songs, such as "Hound Dog" and "Jailhouse Rock", as ardent fans of his will know, many of his more somber songs are just as good, perhaps even greater. Case in point, one of his most heartbreaking and revered ballads has a conflicting yet a very unusual and sordid backstory.
Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel" May Have Been Inspired by True Events
In 1968, following his widely televised comeback special, several media outlets proclaimed Elvis Presley the single greatest living music performer. The title of greatest music performer was not given without merit to the then 33-year-old. By the time of his tragic death in 1977, Presley was already one of the best-selling solo artists of all time. To his credit, he has achieved seventeen number-one singles and eight number-one albums, starred in seventeen top-ten films, and won three Grammy Awards. However, despite his global fame, many others helped propel Elvis into stardom, including the many talented songwriters behind some of his greatest hits. Two such people were revered American songwriters, Mae Boren Axton and Tommy Duren, who penned "Heartbreak Hotel". Written in the mid-1950s, the song recounts the tale of a heartbroken, severely depressed man who checks into a lowly hotel after losing his one true love. The lyrics go as follows: 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.
Initially, RCA records reported that the song was inspired by a real newspaper article, which relayed the story of a man who jumped to his death out of a hotel window and left only a single note that read, "I walk a lonely street." However, further investigation shows no such news story. Furthermore, according to a 2016 Rolling Stone Magazine report, the song may have been actually inspired by an artist and criminal named Alvin Krolik, who wrote an unpublished autobiography that included the line, “This is the story of a person who walked a lonely street.” Krolik was later killed in a failed robbery attempt and in the August 1955 edition of the El Paso Times, there was a story which covered it with the headline title: “Story Of Person Who Walked Lonely Street.” Regardless of the real story behind "Heartbreak Hotel", released in January 1956, the single went on to become a massive hit for Elvis, reaching the Billboard Hot 100 for an impressive 7 weeks. It was later certified double platinum and inducted into the Grammy Award Hall of Fame.
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Posts 1 By Karly B. May 14, 2025Elvis Presley Didn't Always Like His Own Songs
Elvis Presley the King of Rock n' Roll.Image via Archive Photos//CNN
Despite his renowned fame and personal love for music, Elvis Presley wasn't always pleased with his work. In fact, according to his stepbrother Bill Stanley, he couldn't listen to his own music. When asked why, Stanley stated in an interview with The Guardian, that Presley responded: "Billy, I know I can always do it better. When I hear my own music, all I want to do is go fix it. But I can’t, because it’s already been done."
One of the tracks Presley stated was his least favorite song of his ever was the 1969 track "Suspcious Minds." In fact, according to the publication American Songwriter, the crooner not only didn't want to sing the song live, but he also hated it! “I hate this… song, I really do,” Presley once said during a performance of “Suspicious Minds” in Las Vegas. However, fans loved the song (a rendition by the American singer Mark James) and it went on to become a major hit for Elvis, reaching number one on the Billboard Top 100 chart, so he begrudgingly played it a lot during concerts.
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