Glenn Reeves (born Floyd Glenn Reeves December 29, 1930 - November 19, 1998) was an American rockabilly singer-songwriter and radio deejay . He released eight singles in his recording career, but is best-remembered for his demo of the song " Heartbreak Hotel " which later became Elvis Presley 's first number one hit.
135-397: " Heartbreak Hotel " is a song recorded by American singer Elvis Presley . It was released as a single on January 27, 1956, Presley's first on his new record label RCA Victor . It was written by Mae Boren Axton and Tommy Durden , with credit being given also to Presley. A newspaper article about the suicide of a lonely man who jumped from a hotel window inspired the song. Axton presented
270-538: A cover of Carl Perkins ' rockabilly anthem " Blue Suede Shoes ". In February, Presley's " I Forgot to Remember to Forget ", a Sun recording released the previous August, reached the top of the Billboard country chart . Neal's contract was terminated and Parker became Presley's manager. RCA Victor released Presley's self-titled debut album on March 23. Joined by five previously unreleased Sun recordings, its seven recently recorded tracks included two country songs,
405-772: A jury-rigged echo effect that Sam Phillips dubbed "slapback". A single was pressed with "That's All Right" on the A-side and "Blue Moon of Kentucky" on the reverse. The trio played publicly for the first time at the Bon Air club on July 17, 1954. Later that month, they appeared at the Overton Park Shell , with Slim Whitman headlining. Here Elvis pioneered " Rubber Legs ", his signature dance movement. A combination of his strong response to rhythm and nervousness led Presley to shake his legs as he performed: His wide-cut pants emphasized his movements, causing young women in
540-519: A 1946 blues number, Arthur Crudup's " That's All Right ". Moore recalled, "All of a sudden, Elvis just started singing this song, jumping around and acting the fool, and then Bill picked up his bass, and he started acting the fool, too, and I started playing with them." Phillips quickly began taping; this was the sound he had been looking for. Three days later, popular Memphis disc jockey Dewey Phillips (no relation to Sam Phillips) played "That's All Right" on his Red, Hot, and Blue show. Listener interest
675-499: A C in music in eighth grade. When his music teacher said he had no aptitude for singing, he brought in his guitar and sang a recent hit, "Keep Them Cold Icy Fingers Off Me". He was usually too shy to perform openly and was occasionally bullied by classmates for being a " mama's boy ". In 1950, Presley began practicing guitar under the tutelage of Lee Denson , a neighbor. They and three other boys, including two future rockabilly pioneers, brothers Dorsey and Johnny Burnette —formed
810-471: A July 28 concert in Jacksonville, this time interviewing him for the local media. According to author Albert Goldman , Axton made writing Presley's first big hit one of her ambitions. Rumors had been circulating in the press for several weeks that Presley, who had begun his career at Sun Records , was ready to move to RCA Victor to help launch him nationally. Axton played the demo to him in his room at
945-487: A billion worldwide. He was commercially successful in many genres, including pop , country, rockabilly, rhythm and blues, adult contemporary , and gospel . He won three Grammy Awards , received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award at age 36, and has been inducted into multiple music halls of fame . He holds several records, including the most RIAA -certified gold and platinum albums,
1080-453: A bouncy pop tune, and what would centrally define the evolving sound of rock and roll : "Blue Suede Shoes"—"an improvement over Perkins' in almost every way", according to critic Robert Hilburn —and three R&B numbers that had been part of Presley's stage repertoire, covers of Little Richard , Ray Charles , and The Drifters . As described by Hilburn, these were the most revealing of all. Unlike many white artists ... who watered down
1215-678: A champagne party", a Newsweek critic wrote. Amid his Vegas tenure, Presley, who had acting ambitions, signed a seven-year contract with Paramount Pictures . He began a tour of the Midwest in mid-May, covering fifteen cities in as many days. He had attended several shows by Freddie Bell and the Bellboys in Vegas and was struck by their cover of " Hound Dog ", a hit in 1953 for blues singer Big Mama Thornton by songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller . It became his new closing number. After
1350-681: A dance venue in Memphis. When Presley played, teenagers rushed from the pool to fill the club, then left again as the house western swing band resumed. Presley quickly grew more confident on stage. According to Moore, "His movement was a natural thing, but he was also very conscious of what got a reaction. He'd do something one time and then he would expand on it real quick." Amid these live performances, Presley returned to Sun studio for more recording sessions. Presley made what would be his only appearance on Nashville 's Grand Ole Opry on October 2; Opry manager Jim Denny told Phillips that his singer
1485-548: A duet version that topped the Country charts in 1979. RCA reissued "Heartbreak Hotel" on CD in 2006 on its 50th anniversary featuring the 1956 black and white EP cover. The song was written in 1955, by Mae Boren Axton , a high school teacher with a background in musical promotion, and Jacksonville, Florida -based singer–songwriter Tommy Durden . The lyrics were based on a report supposedly in The Miami Herald about
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#17327918942701620-497: A fissure in the massive mile-thick wall of post-war regimentation, standardization, bureaucratization, and commercialization in American society and let come rushing through the rift a cataract from the immense waters of sheer, human pain and frustration that have been building up for ten decades behind it. The song was mentioned in the chorus of Patty Loveless 's 1988 single " Blue Side of Town ". President Bill Clinton performed
1755-540: A four-record deal with Decca Records . He recorded in 1957 and 1958 with little success, and later focused on the music scene in Florida disc jockeying on WQIK Radio and hosting his own country music show. In the 1970s and 1980s, Reeves became the executive producer of Jamboree USA , a long-running barn dance show, while promoting several successful country music festivals. Reeves died of cancer in 1998 at 67 years old. In 2011, Bear Family Records released Johnny on
1890-461: A local vocal quartet, the Songfellows, and another for the band of Eddie Bond . Phillips, meanwhile, was always on the lookout for someone who could bring to a broader audience the sound of the black musicians on whom Sun focused. In June, he acquired a demo recording by Jimmy Sweeney of a ballad, "Without You", that he thought might suit Presley. The teenaged singer came by the studio but
2025-536: A loose musical collective. During his junior year, Presley began to stand out among his classmates, largely because of his appearance: he grew his sideburns and styled his hair. He would head down to Beale Street , the heart of Memphis' thriving blues scene, and admire the wild, flashy clothes at Lansky Brothers . By his senior year, he was wearing those clothes. He competed in Humes' Annual "Minstrel" Show in 1953, singing and playing " Till I Waltz Again with You ",
2160-641: A man who had destroyed all his identity papers and jumped to his death from a hotel window, leaving a suicide note with the single line, "I walk a lonely street". Songfacts.com says they were unable to locate the Miami Herald story. They labeled it an urban legend . In 2016, an article in Rolling Stone magazine suggested that the story in reality originated from a report about a painter and criminal, Alvin Krolik, whose marriage had failed and who wrote
2295-403: A minute to a basset hound wearing a top hat and bowtie. As described by television historian Jake Austen, "Allen thought Presley was talentless and absurd ... [he] set things up so that Presley would show his contrition". Allen later wrote that he found Presley's "strange, gangly, country-boy charisma, his hard-to-define cuteness, and his charming eccentricity intriguing" and worked him into
2430-515: A monopoly on broadcasting in Britain at the time, didn't consider it fit for general entertainment and placed it on its "restricted play" list. Presley made his national television debut on January 28, appearing on CBS ' Stage Show , starring Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey . As Stage Show ' s ratings had been slipping, producer Jack Philbin agreed to have Presley on because he was relatively cheap at $ 1,250 (about $ 14,116 in 2023); after looking at
2565-418: A national celebrity. Accompanying Presley's rise to fame, a cultural shift was taking place that he both helped inspire and came to symbolize. The historian Marty Jezer wrote that Presley began the "biggest pop craze" since Glenn Miller and Frank Sinatra and brought rock and roll to mainstream culture: As Presley set the artistic pace, other artists followed. ... Presley, more than anyone else, gave
2700-399: A pair of bestselling singles, the ballads " It's Now or Never " and " Are You Lonesome Tonight? ", along with the rest of Elvis Is Back! The album features several songs described by Greil Marcus as full of Chicago blues "menace, driven by Presley's own super-miked acoustic guitar, brilliant playing by Scotty Moore, and demonic sax work from Boots Randolph . Elvis' singing wasn't sexy, it
2835-414: A pastor at the family's church. Presley recalled, "I took the guitar, and I watched people, and I learned to play a little bit. But I would never sing in public. I was very shy about it." In September 1946, Presley entered a new school, Milam, for sixth grade. The following year, he began singing and playing his guitar at school. He was often teased as a "trashy" kid who played hillbilly music . Presley
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#17327918942702970-526: A photograph of the singer, Philbin exclaimed, "He's a guitar-playing Marlon Brando !" Despite the single having been released only a day before to coincide with Presley's national television debut, the Dorsey brothers did not allow Presley to perform it on their show because it didn't work well in rehearsals. For his second appearance, on February 4, Presley was again aware that he could not perform "Heartbreak Hotel". However, at his third appearance on Stage Show
3105-459: A police guard because somebody'd always try to take a crack at him." The trio became a quartet when Hayride drummer Fontana joined as a full member. In mid-October, they played a few shows in support of Bill Haley , whose " Rock Around the Clock " track had been a number-one hit the previous year. Haley observed that Presley had a natural feel for rhythm, and advised him to sing fewer ballads. At
3240-516: A popular local television show. Pressed on whether he had learned anything from the criticism of him, Presley responded, "No, I haven't... I don't see how any type of music would have any bad influence on people when it's only music. ... how would rock 'n' roll music make anyone rebel against their parents?" The next day, Presley recorded "Hound Dog", " Any Way You Want Me " and " Don't Be Cruel ". The Jordanaires sang harmony, as they had on The Steve Allen Show ; they would work with Presley through
3375-445: A problem while recording Presley. RCA Victor had always insisted their performers stay still as they sang so the microphone would pick up the vocals; even the slightest tilt of the head would result in missing sound. Sholes had told Presley to stand on a painted X on the floor, telling him "Whatever you do, don't move". During the recording of "I Got a Woman", Sholes noticed that Presley's voice and guitar were not always being picked up by
3510-794: A recent hit for Teresa Brewer . Presley recalled that the performance did much for his reputation: I wasn't popular in school ... I failed music—only thing I ever failed. And then they entered me in this talent show ... when I came onstage, I heard people kind of rumbling and whispering and so forth, 'cause nobody knew I even sang. It was amazing how popular I became in school after that. Presley, who could not read music , played by ear and frequented record stores that provided jukeboxes and listening booths. He knew all of Hank Snow 's songs, and he loved records by other country singers such as Roy Acuff , Ernest Tubb , Ted Daffan , Jimmie Rodgers , Jimmie Davis , and Bob Wills . The Southern gospel singer Jake Hess , one of his favorite performers,
3645-549: A recording session when an engine died and the plane almost went down over Arkansas . Twelve weeks after its original release, "Heartbreak Hotel" became Presley's first number-one pop hit. In late April, Presley began a two-week residency at the New Frontier Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip . The shows were poorly received by the conservative, middle-aged hotel guests, "like a jug of corn liquor at
3780-544: A show in La Crosse, Wisconsin , an urgent message on the letterhead of the local Catholic diocese's newspaper was sent to FBI director J. Edgar Hoover . It warned that Presley is a definite danger to the security of the United States. ... [His] actions and motions were such as to rouse the sexual passions of teenaged youth. ... After the show, more than 1,000 teenagers tried to gang into Presley's room at
3915-400: A slow, grinding version accentuated with exaggerated body movements. His gyrations created a storm of controversy. Jack Gould of The New York Times wrote, Mr. Presley has no discernible singing ability. ... His phrasing, if it can be called that, consists of the stereotyped variations that go with a beginner's aria in a bathtub. ... His one specialty is an accented movement of
4050-402: 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
4185-510: A suggestion from Presley, Sholes used a hallway at the studio to get an unusual echo for the single. Sholes was attempting to recapture the Sun Records sound, but he was unaware that Sun founder Sam Phillips had used two tape recorders and a slight time delay to create it on previous Presley recordings. When Phillips first heard "Heartbreak Hotel", he remarked that it was a "morbid mess". Most others at RCA agreed, declaring "Heartbreak Hotel"
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4320-401: A terrible choice of song, especially after hearing that the finished recording sounded nothing like Presley's Sun recordings . Internal memos from the time show that every one of RCA's executive corps disliked it so much that one of them insisted "We certainly can't release that one". In an interview, Durden conceded that he did not recognize his song after Presley had made the changes to it in
4455-515: A unpublished autobiography including the line "This is the story of a person who walked a lonely street." Krolik's story was published in news media, and received further publicity after he was shot and killed in an attempted robbery in El Paso, Texas . On August 25, 1955, the El Paso Times reported Krolik's death under the headline "Story Of Person Who Walked Lonely Street". Krolik's death
4590-606: A week later, Sholes pressured CBS to give consent. Subsequently, Presley and his band performed "Heartbreak Hotel" with borrowed instruments (their own were being driven to Florida in preparation for a tour) with the backing of the Dorsey Brothers ' orchestra. On February 22, the song entered the Billboard pop chart at number 68, and the Country and Western chart at number nine. Within two months, "Heartbreak Hotel" reached number one on both charts. It also made top five on
4725-483: A year's worth of Saturday-night appearances. Trading in his old guitar for $ 8, he purchased a Martin instrument for $ 175 (equivalent to $ 2,000 in 2023) and his trio began playing in new locales, including Houston , Texas, and Texarkana , Arkansas. Presley made his first television appearance on the KSLA-TV broadcast of Louisiana Hayride . Soon after, he failed an audition for Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts on
4860-478: 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." In 1995, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame , and was re-released in 1996 to coincide with the 40th anniversary of its recording. In a 1975 interview, John Lennon recalled his friend Don Beatty's introducing him to Presley's music. Lennon said that his family rarely had
4995-733: Is later used when he is performing at The Dorsey Brothers Stage Show, with Meyers lip-synching. In 2015, "Heartbreak Hotel" was named as The #2 Song of the Rock Era in the book The Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era: 1955–2015 . In his solo song "Piledriver Waltz", written for the EP Submarine , Alex Turner of the Arctic Monkeys , references going for breakfast at "The Heartbreak Hotel." Radio humorist Stan Freberg parodied "Heartbreak Hotel" immediately after its release, because
5130-476: Is unclear whether the lead vocal was by John Lennon or Paul McCartney or both. A recorded version has not been forthcoming. However, McCartney (using Bill Black's upright bass) did a version for a documentary Elvis – Viva Las Vegas , which also appears on DVD. Part of the original personnel of the 1956 recording released their own versions, Chet Atkins recorded it for the 1963 album The Guitar Genius , and also, Presley's lead guitarist Scotty Moore recorded
5265-541: The Billboard Top 100 for seven weeks, Cashbox ' s Pop singles chart for six weeks, and the Country and Western chart for seventeen weeks as well as reaching No. 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
5400-622: The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for sales and streams exceeding 200,000 units. Presley performed the song during most of his live shows between 1956 and 1977, and for the last time on May 29, 1977, at the Civic Center in Baltimore, Maryland . The song has been released on almost every Presley compilation album since 1956, and alternative takes have surfaced on several compilation albums. "Heartbreak Hotel"
5535-474: The CBS television network. By early 1955, Presley's regular Hayride appearances, constant touring, and well-received record releases had made him a regional star. In January, Neal signed a formal management contract with Presley and brought him to the attention of Colonel Tom Parker , whom he considered the best promoter in the music business. Having successfully managed the top country star Eddy Arnold , Parker
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5670-418: The best-selling Christmas album ever in the United States , with eventual sales of over 20 million worldwide. After the session, Moore and Black—drawing only modest weekly salaries, sharing in none of Presley's massive financial success—resigned, though they were brought back on a per diem basis a few weeks later. On December 20, Presley received his draft notice, though he was granted a deferment to finish
5805-494: The "comedy fabric" of his program. Just before the final rehearsal for the show, Presley told a reporter, "I don't want to do anything to make people dislike me. I think TV is important so I'm going to go along, but I won't be able to give the kind of show I do in a personal appearance." Presley would refer back to the Allen show as the most ridiculous performance of his career. Later that night, he appeared on Hy Gardner Calling ,
5940-430: The 1960s to making Hollywood films and soundtrack albums, most of them critically derided. Some of Presley's most famous films included Jailhouse Rock (1957), Blue Hawaii (1961), and Viva Las Vegas (1964). In 1968, he returned to the stage in the acclaimed NBC television comeback special Elvis , which led to an extended Las Vegas concert residency and a string of highly profitable tours. In 1973, Presley gave
6075-552: The 1960s. A few days later, Presley made an outdoor concert appearance in Memphis, at which he announced, "You know, those people in New York are not gonna change me none. I'm gonna show you what the real Elvis is like tonight." In August, a judge in Jacksonville , Florida, ordered Presley to tame his act. Throughout the following performance, he largely kept still, except for wiggling his little finger suggestively in mockery of
6210-547: The 1964 motion picture Viva Las Vegas , The Cadets , Delaney Bramlett , Justin Timberlake , Cher , Roger Miller , Bob Dylan , Bruce Springsteen , John Cale , Merle Haggard , Tom Jones , Dax Riggs , Roger McGuinn , Suzi Quatro , Van Halen , Jimi Hendrix , Neil Diamond , Lynyrd Skynyrd , Guns N' Roses , Tones on Tail , and Queen + Adam Lambert . In Canada, a version by "The Scoundrelz" reached #60 in 1966, and another by " Frijid Pink " reached #38 in 1971. In
6345-609: The 1992 film Honeymoon in Vegas , Billy Joel made a version of "Heartbreak Hotel" and " All Shook Up ", while the same year in True Romance , actor Val Kilmer performed an a cappella version. Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman covered the song in a medley with Prince 's " Kiss ", for the 2006 Warner Bros. film Happy Feet . The song was also featured in Alvin and the Chipmunks ' 1990 television special Rockin' Through
6480-453: The Allen and Berle shows, Sullivan had opined that Presley "got some kind of device hanging down below the crotch of his pants—so when he moves his legs back and forth you can see the outline of his cock. ... I think it's a Coke bottle. ... We just can't have this on a Sunday night. This is a family show!" Sullivan publicly told TV Guide , "As for his gyrations, the whole thing can be controlled with camera shots." In fact, Presley
6615-564: The Andrew Jackson Hotel on November 10, 1955. Upon hearing the demo, Presley exclaimed "Hot dog, Mae, play that again!", and listened to it ten times, memorizing the song. After signing with RCA on November 21, 1955, Presley accepted Axton's offer of a third of the royalties if he made the song his first single on his new label. Presley performed the song for the first time in Swifton, Arkansas , on December 9, 1955, and declared to
6750-574: The Beatles were recording, we’d often ask George Martin for "the Elvis echo". – Paul McCartney , 2005 As well as the Blue Moon Boys , his regular backing band of Moore, the bassist Bill Black and the drummer D.J. Fontana , Presley was joined by two established RCA Victor musicians: Chet Atkins (who also helped Sholes produce the session) on guitar and Floyd Cramer on piano. Following
6885-513: The Civic Center in Baltimore . 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 ". That year it was also included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 's "500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll". A rock and roll standard , "Heartbreak Hotel" has been covered by several rock and pop acts, including Willie Nelson and Leon Russell , who recorded
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#17327918942707020-486: The Country Disc Jockey Convention in early November, Presley was voted the year's most promising male artist. After three major labels made offers of up to $ 25,000, Parker and Phillips struck a deal with RCA Victor on November 21 to acquire Presley's Sun contract for an unprecedented $ 40,000. Presley, aged 20, was legally still a minor, so his father signed the contract. Parker arranged with
7155-491: The Decades , as part of the fifties medley and its soundtrack and again for the 2007 video game Alvin and the Chipmunks . US Billboard Top 100 US Cashbox pop singles chart US Country and Western US Rhythm & Blues Records 1 1 1 5 UK Singles Chart 2 UK Singles Chart Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), known mononymously as Elvis ,
7290-540: The One", a song that was also recorded during Presley's RCA Victor debut sessions. Billboard magazine praised it as "a strong blues item wrapped up in his usual powerful style and a great beat". However, "Heartbreak Hotel" was less-than-warmly received by the British music press. The New Musical Express wrote that, "If you appreciate good singing, I don't suppose you'll manage to hear this disc all through." BBC, which held
7425-413: The R&B chart, the first Presley single to chart there. This resulted in "Heartbreak Hotel" becoming only the second single in history to reach all three Billboard charts, after Carl Perkins ' " Blue Suede Shoes ". The song spent a total of twenty-seven weeks in the top 100. By April, "Heartbreak Hotel" became a million-seller, earning Presley his first RIAA -certified gold record , and going on to be
7560-480: The Valley ". At the end of the show, Sullivan declared Presley "a real decent, fine boy". Two days later, the Memphis draft board announced that Presley would be classified 1-A and would probably be drafted sometime that year. Each of the three Presley singles released in the first half of 1957 went to number one: " Too Much ", " All Shook Up ", and " (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear ". Already an international star, he
7695-680: The album's cover image, "of Elvis having the time of his life on stage with a guitar in his hands played a crucial role in positioning the guitar ... as the instrument that best captured the style and spirit of this new music." On April 3, Presley made the first of two appearances on NBC 's The Milton Berle Show . His performance, on the deck of the USS Hancock in San Diego , California, prompted cheers and screams from an audience of sailors and their dates. A few days later, Presley and his band were flying to Nashville, Tennessee for
7830-529: The audience that it would be his first hit. "Heartbreak Hotel" was the second song Presley recorded at RCA Victor , following " I Got a Woman ", during his debut session at 1525 McGavock Street in Nashville on January 10, 1956. Presley arrived at the studio with the song ready to record without seeking RCA's approval, and although producer Steve Sholes was not sure that it would be a success, he recorded "Heartbreak Hotel" believing that Presley knew what he
7965-451: The audience to start screaming. Moore recalled, "During the instrumental parts, he would back off from the mic and be playing and shaking, and the crowd would just go wild." Soon after, Moore and Black left their old band to play with Presley regularly, and disc jockey/promoter Bob Neal became the trio's manager. From August through October, they played frequently at the Eagle's Nest club,
8100-513: The auditorium. ... Indications of the harm Presley did just in La Crosse were the two high school girls ... whose abdomen and thigh had Presley's autograph. Presley's second Milton Berle Show appearance came on June 5 at NBC 's Hollywood studio, amid another hectic tour. Milton Berle persuaded Presley to leave his guitar backstage. During the performance, Presley abruptly halted an up-tempo rendition of "Hound Dog" and launched into
8235-537: The base, and bought an extra set of fatigues for everyone in his outfit. Presley was promoted to sergeant on February 11, 1960. While in Bad Nauheim , Presley, aged 24, met 14-year-old Priscilla Beaulieu . They would marry after a seven-and-a-half-year courtship. In her autobiography, Priscilla said that Presley was concerned that his 24 months in the military would ruin his career. In Special Services , he would have been able to perform and remain in touch with
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#17327918942708370-454: The bestselling " Hard Headed Woman ", and " One Night " in 1958, and " (Now and Then There's) A Fool Such as I " and the number-one " A Big Hunk o' Love " in 1959. RCA Victor also generated four albums compiling previously issued material during this period, most successfully Elvis' Golden Records (1958), which hit number three on the LP chart. Presley returned to the U.S. on March 2, 1960, and
8505-645: The biggest-selling single of 1956. "Heartbreak Hotel/I Was the One" was certified Platinum on March 27, 1992, and 2× Platinum on July 15, 1999, by the RIAA. The song also became Presley's first charting single in the United Kingdom. It made its debut on the UK Singles Chart in May 1956; it peaked at number two the next month and stayed on the charts for 22 weeks. In November 2022, it was certified silver by
8640-478: The bland clothes he had worn on the first two shows, he stepped out in the outlandish costume of a pasha , if not a harem girl. From the make-up over his eyes, the hair falling in his face, the overwhelmingly sexual cast of his mouth, he was playing Rudolph Valentino in The Sheik , with all stops out." To close, displaying his range and defying Sullivan's wishes, Presley sang a gentle black spiritual, " Peace in
8775-551: The body ... primarily identified with the repertoire of the blond bombshells of the burlesque runway. Ben Gross of the New York Daily News opined that popular music "has reached its lowest depths in the 'grunt and groin' antics of one Elvis Presley. ... Elvis, who rotates his pelvis ... gave an exhibition that was suggestive and vulgar, tinged with the kind of animalism that should be confined to dives and bordellos ". Ed Sullivan , whose variety show
8910-443: The country field", "but there was a curious blending of the two different musics in both". This blend of styles made it difficult for Presley's music to find radio airplay. According to Neal, many country-music disc jockeys would not play it because Presley sounded too much like a black artist and none of the R&B stations would touch him because "he sounded too much like a hillbilly ." The blend came to be known as "rockabilly". At
9045-719: The final occasion on which Black was to perform with Presley. On March 24, 1958, Presley was drafted into the United States Army at Fort Chaffee in Arkansas. His arrival was a major media event. Hundreds of people descended on Presley as he stepped from the bus; photographers accompanied him into the installation. Presley announced that he was looking forward to his military service, saying that he did not want to be treated any differently from anyone else. Between March 28 and September 17, 1958, Presley completed basic and advanced training at Fort Hood , Texas, where he
9180-456: The first concert by a solo artist to be broadcast around the world, Aloha from Hawaii . However, years of prescription drug abuse and unhealthy eating severely compromised his health, and Presley died unexpectedly in August 1977 at his Graceland estate at the age of 42. Presley is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with sale estimates ranging from 500 million records to over
9315-583: The first time I'd heard something so stark. Led Zeppelin 's lead singer Robert Plant stated that the song "changed his life." He recalled hearing it for the first time when he was 8 years old: It was so animal, so sexual, the first musical arousal I ever had. You could see a twitch in everybody my age. All we knew about the guy was that he was cool, handsome and looked wild. Critic Robert Cantwell wrote in his unpublished memoir Twigs of Folly : The opening strains of "Heartbreak Hotel", which catapulted Presley's regional popularity into national hysteria, opened
9450-420: The following year. The Rolling Stones ' guitarist Keith Richards wrote in his 2010 autobiography that "Heartbreak Hotel" had a huge effect on him. Beyond Presley's singing itself, it was the total effect of his sound and his silence that so totally affected Richards: Then, "Since my baby left me"—it was just the sound ... That was the first rock and roll I heard. It was a totally different way of delivering
9585-623: The forthcoming film King Creole . A couple of weeks into the new year, " Don't ", another Leiber and Stoller tune, became Presley's tenth number-one seller. Recording sessions for the King Creole soundtrack were held in Hollywood in mid-January 1958. Leiber and Stoller provided three songs, but it would be the last time Presley and the duo worked closely together. As Stoller later recalled, Presley's manager and entourage sought to wall him off. A brief soundtrack session on February 11 marked
9720-514: The gritty edges of the original R&B versions of songs in the '50s, Presley reshaped them. He not only injected the tunes with his own vocal character but also made guitar, not piano, the lead instrument in all three cases. It became the first rock and roll album to top the Billboard chart, a position it held for ten weeks. While Presley was not an innovative guitarist like Moore or contemporary African American rockers Bo Diddley and Chuck Berry , cultural historian Gilbert B. Rodman argued that
9855-499: The label in the same year. A frequent collaborator with him was Mae Boren Axton , a high school teacher with a background in musical promotion who co-wrote all four of Reeves' TNT sides. Axton, who was tasked with writing a song for Elvis Presley , worked most frequently with steel guitarist Tommy Durden , culminating with the basis for the song " Heartbreak Hotel ", in October 1955. The duo asked for Reeves' help, but remarked it
9990-614: The leading figure of the newly popular rock and roll ; though his performative style and promotion of the then-marginalized sound of African Americans led to him being widely considered a threat to the moral well-being of white American youth. In November 1956, Presley made his film debut in Love Me Tender . Drafted into military service in 1958 , he relaunched his recording career two years later with some of his most commercially successful work. Presley held few concerts, however, and guided by Parker, proceeded to devote much of
10125-553: The lineup of Presley's classic quartet and RCA Victor acquired his contract in a deal arranged by Colonel Tom Parker , who managed him for the rest of his career. Presley's first RCA Victor single, " Heartbreak Hotel ", was released in January 1956 and became a number-one hit in the US. Within a year, RCA Victor would sell ten million Presley singles. With a series of successful television appearances and chart-topping records, Presley became
10260-593: The man. He has a right to say what he wants to say. He is a great success and a fine actor, but I think he shouldn't have said it. ... This is a trend, just the same as he faced when he started years ago. Leiber and Stoller were again in the studio for the recording of Elvis' Christmas Album . Toward the end of the session, they wrote a song on the spot at Presley's request: " Santa Claus Is Back in Town ", an innuendo -laden blues. The holiday release stretched Presley's string of number-one albums to four and would become
10395-406: The microphone. Presley explained to Sholes that he had to "jump around to sing it right. It's something that just happens—just a part of the way I sing". Sholes arranged for the whole studio to be re-miked so that Presley's voice and guitar could be picked up from anywhere in the studio, and recording continued. It’s so full of mystery, and it’s never lost that for me. The echo is just stunning. When
10530-671: The most albums charted on the Billboard 200 , the most number-one albums by a solo artist on the UK Albums Chart , and the most number-one singles by any act on the UK Singles Chart . In 2018, Presley was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom . Elvis Aaron Presley was born on January 8, 1935, in Tupelo, Mississippi , to Gladys Love ( née Smith ) and Vernon Presley. Elvis' twin Jesse Garon
10665-417: The order. The single pairing "Don't Be Cruel" with "Hound Dog" ruled the top of the charts for eleven weeks—a mark that would not be surpassed for thirty-six years. Recording sessions for Presley's second album took place in Hollywood in early September. Leiber and Stoller, the writers of "Hound Dog", contributed " Love Me ". Allen's show with Presley had, for the first time, beaten The Ed Sullivan Show in
10800-796: The owners of Hill & Range Publishing, Jean and Julian Aberbach , to create two entities, Elvis Presley Music and Gladys Music, to handle all the new material recorded by Presley. Songwriters were obliged to forgo one-third of their customary royalties in exchange for having Presley perform their compositions. By December, RCA had begun to heavily promote its new singer, and before month's end had reissued many of his Sun recordings. On January 10, 1956, Presley made his first recordings for RCA Victor in Nashville. Extending his by-now customary backup of Moore, Black, Fontana, and Hayride pianist Floyd Cramer —who had been performing at live club dates with Presley—RCA Victor enlisted guitarist Chet Atkins and three background singers, including Gordon Stoker of
10935-447: The performance, crowds in Nashville and St. Louis burned him in effigy . His first motion picture, Love Me Tender , was released on November 21. Though he was not top-billed, the film's original title— The Reno Brothers —was changed to capitalize on his latest number-one record: "Love Me Tender" had hit the top of the charts earlier that month. To further take advantage of Presley's popularity, four musical numbers were added to what
11070-591: The popular Jordanaires quartet. The session produced the moody " Heartbreak Hotel ", released as a single on January 27. Parker brought Presley to national television, booking him on CBS's Stage Show for six appearances over two months. The program, produced in New York City, was hosted on alternate weeks by big band leaders and brothers Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey . After his first appearance on January 28, Presley stayed in town to record at RCA Victor's New York studio. The sessions yielded eight songs, including
11205-493: The public, but Parker had convinced him that to gain popular respect, he should serve as a regular soldier. Media reports echoed Presley's concerns about his career, but RCA Victor producer Steve Sholes and Freddy Bienstock of Hill and Range had carefully prepared: armed with a substantial amount of unreleased material, they kept up a regular stream of successful releases. Between his induction and discharge, Presley had ten top-40 hits, including " Wear My Ring Around Your Neck ",
11340-732: The radio on, unlike other members of the Beatles who grew up under its influence. Beatty showed Lennon a picture of Presley that appeared along with the charts on the New Musical Express , and Lennon later heard "Heartbreak Hotel" on Radio Luxembourg . Lennon has said: When I first heard "Heartbreak Hotel", I could hardly make out what was being said. It was just the experience of hearing it and having my hair stand on end. We'd never heard American voices singing like that. They always sang like Sinatra or enunciate very well. Suddenly, there's this hillbilly hiccuping on tape echo and all this bluesy stuff going on. And we didn't know what Elvis
11475-403: The ratings. Sullivan booked Presley for three appearances for an unprecedented $ 50,000. The first, on September 9, 1956, was seen by approximately 60 million viewers—a record 82.6 percent of the television audience. Actor Charles Laughton hosted the show, filling in while Sullivan was recovering from a car accident. According to legend, Presley was shot only from the waist up. Watching clips of
11610-522: The record as a birthday gift for his mother, or that he was merely interested in what he "sounded like". Biographer Peter Guralnick argued that Presley chose Sun in the hope of being discovered. In January 1954, Presley cut a second acetate at Sun—"I'll Never Stand in Your Way" and "It Wouldn't Be the Same Without You"—but again nothing came of it. Not long after, he failed an audition for
11745-460: The record industry's largest company, Presley had accounted for over fifty percent of the label's singles sales. Presley made his third and final Ed Sullivan Show appearance on January 6, 1957—on this occasion indeed shot only down to the waist. Some commentators have claimed that Parker orchestrated an appearance of censorship to generate publicity. In any event, as critic Greil Marcus describes, Presley "did not tie himself down. Leaving behind
11880-466: The report of the suicide "stunned" her, and she told Durden, "Everybody in the world has someone who cares. Let's put a Heartbreak Hotel at the end of this lonely street". They were interrupted by the arrival of Glenn Reeves , a local performer who had previously worked with Axton. The duo asked Reeves to help with the song, but after hearing the title he remarked that it was "the silliest thing I've ever heard", and left them to finish it themselves. The song
12015-695: The same places that Glenn did on the dub" Durbin later recalled. It was Presley's first record for RCA Records and also the first of a string of number one hits. Reeves continued to work with Axton and Durden on compositions like "Honey Bop" for Wanda Jackson and "Rockin' Country Style", a rock and roll tune which Reeves recorded in June 1956 for Atco Records . Both "Rockin' Country Style" and an earlier single distributed by Republic Records were produced by Murray Nash in Nashville. When Atco showed no interest in renewing his recording contract , Nash and Axton advertised Reeves's services around Nashville and secured
12150-529: The second greatest and most important cultural event of the rock and roll era. Paul McCartney , who participated in Uncut ' s poll stated, "It's the way [Presley] sings it as if he is singing from the depths of hell. His phrasing, use of echo, it's all so beautiful. Musically, it's perfect." Heartbreak Hotel , a film based on a mythical incident involving the kidnapping of Presley, was released theatrically in 1988. It starred David Keith as Elvis Presley and
12285-575: The session was captured on tape. The results, none officially released for twenty-five years, became known as the " Million Dollar Quartet " recordings. The year ended with a front-page story in The Wall Street Journal reporting that Presley merchandise had brought in $ 22 million on top of his record sales, and Billboard ' s declaration that he had placed more songs in the top 100 than any other artist since records were first charted. In his first full year at RCA Victor, then
12420-517: The somewhat stumbling rhythm" showed "the unmistakable emotion and the equally unmistakable valuing of emotion over technique." Assessing the musical and cultural impact of Presley's recordings from "That's All Right" through Elvis , rock critic Dave Marsh wrote that "these records, more than any others, contain the seeds of what rock & roll was, has been and most likely what it may foreseeably become." Presley returned to The Ed Sullivan Show , hosted this time by its namesake, on October 28. After
12555-487: The song as "strange and almost morbid". Axton, however, agreed to a publishing deal with Buddy Killen , a young Nashville bass player working as a song plugger for a new publishing company called Tree Publishing . With a publishing deal in place, Axton arranged through Presley's manager Colonel Tom Parker to present the song to Presley at the annual Country Music Disc Jockey Convention in Nashville, Tennessee , where he
12690-499: The song for his 1964 album The Guitar that Changed the world . Willie Nelson and Leon Russell had a number one cover version in 1979 on the country charts, it was Russell's only number one hit on the charts. Paul McCartney later also made another cover of the song in Chaos and Creation at Abbey Road , performing it with Bill Black 's bass. Others who have covered the song include Ann-Margret , who would later co-star with Presley in
12825-651: The song in 1959 on the television show Town Hall Party , imitating Presley's characteristic crib and hip movements. Before the performance Cash explained that it was "an impersonation of a rock and roll singer impersonating Elvis, is what this really is". Beatles historian Mark Lewisohn noted that, at first as the Quarrymen then later as the Beatles, the group performed "Heartbreak Hotel" live from 1957 until 1961 (in Liverpool then later in Hamburg and elsewhere). It
12960-416: The song on tenor saxophone during his appearance on The Arsenio Hall Show on June 3, 1992. In 2004, it was ranked number 45 on Rolling Stone ' s list of " The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time ", the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame included it in its unranked list 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll and in 2005, Uncut magazine ranked the first performance of "Heartbreak Hotel" in 1956 by Presley as
13095-477: The song to Presley in November 1955 at a country music convention in Nashville. Presley recorded it on January 10, 1956, in a session with his band, the Blue Moon Boys , the guitarist Chet Atkins and the pianist Floyd Cramer . "Heartbreak Hotel" comprises an eight-bar blues progression, with heavy reverberation throughout the track, to imitate the character of Presley's Sun recordings . The single topped
13230-422: The studio, including the tempo , phrasing, lyrics, and overall sound. In subsequent recordings, these major modifications to the existing material became a normal procedure for Presley who took over the role of producer, although Sholes was still credited. Phillips said Sholes "was not a producer. Steve was just at every session." "Heartbreak Hotel" was released as a single on January 27, 1956, with B-side "I Was
13365-406: The swooning and screaming of teenage girls in the 1940s, decried rock and roll as "brutal, ugly, degenerate, vicious. ... It fosters almost totally negative and destructive reactions in young people. It smells phoney and false. It is sung, played and written, for the most part, by cretinous goons. ... This rancid-smelling aphrodisiac I deplore." Asked for a response, Presley said: I admire
13500-582: The time, Presley was billed as "The King of Western Bop", "The Hillbilly Cat", and "The Memphis Flash". Presley renewed Neal's management contract in August 1955, simultaneously appointing Parker as his special adviser. The group maintained an extensive touring schedule. Neal recalled, "It was almost frightening, the reaction that came to Elvis from the teenaged boys. So many of them, through some sort of jealousy, would practically hate him. There were occasions in some towns in Texas when we'd have to be sure to have
13635-596: The two concerts he performed in September at the Mississippi–Alabama Fair and Dairy Show, fifty National Guardsmen were added to the police detail to prevent a ruckus. Elvis , Presley's second RCA Victor album, was released in October and quickly rose to number one. The album includes "Old Shep", which he sang at the talent show in 1945, and which now marked the first time he played piano on an RCA Victor session. According to Guralnick, "the halting chords and
13770-521: The vocals on the original record featured a heavy use of reverb . In the cover, the lead singer repeatedly asks for "more echo on [his] voice." When Presley recorded " Hound Dog " a few months later, he had taken over the role of producer, using what he learned at Sun Records (although Sholes was still credited) and decided not to use echo. Connie Francis recorded the song for her 1959 album Rock 'n' Roll Million Sellers ; this album also features " Don't Be Cruel ". Country singer Johnny Cash parodied
13905-454: The young a belief in themselves as a distinct and somehow unified generation—the first in America ever to feel the power of an integrated youth culture. The audience response at Presley's live shows became increasingly fevered. Moore recalled, "He'd start out, 'You ain't nothin' but a Hound Dog,' and they'd just go to pieces. They'd always react the same way. There'd be a riot every time." At
14040-454: Was honorably discharged three days later. The train that carried him from New Jersey to Tennessee was mobbed all the way, and Presley was called upon to appear at scheduled stops to please his fans. On the night of March 20, he entered RCA's Nashville studio to cut tracks for a new album along with a single, " Stuck on You ", which was rushed into release and swiftly became a number-one hit. Another Nashville session two weeks later yielded
14175-503: Was "not bad" but did not suit the program. In November 1954, Presley performed on Louisiana Hayride —the Opry ' s chief, and more adventurous, rival. The show was broadcast to 198 radio stations in 28 states. His nervous first set drew a muted reaction. A more composed and energetic second set inspired an enthusiastic response. Soon after the show, the Hayride engaged Presley for
14310-405: Was "the silliest thing I've ever heard" after he heard the title of the track. Nonetheless, Axton recorded an initial version with Durden before Reeves returned, and agreed to record his own demo of "Heartbreak Hotel" in a style similar to Presley's. Reeves refused an offer to be co-credited with the song, but, when Presley recorded it, he duplicated Reeves's own phrasing; "Elvis was even breathing in
14445-465: Was a devotee of Mississippi Slim 's radio show. He was described as "crazy about music" by Slim's younger brother, one of Presley's classmates. Slim showed Presley chord techniques. When his protégé was 12, Slim scheduled him for two on-air performances. Presley was overcome by stage fright the first time but performed the following week. In November 1948, the family moved to Memphis, Tennessee . Enrolled at L. C. Humes High School , Presley received
14580-743: Was a significant influence on his ballad -singing style. Presley was a regular audience member at the monthly All-Night Singings downtown, where many of the white gospel groups that performed reflected the influence of African American spirituals . Presley listened to regional radio stations, such as WDIA , that played what were then called "race records": spirituals, blues, and the modern, backbeat -heavy rhythm and blues . Like some of his peers, he may have attended blues venues only on nights designated for exclusively white audiences . Many of his future recordings were inspired by local African-American musicians such as Arthur Crudup and Rufus Thomas . B.B. King recalled that he had known Presley before he
14715-448: Was an American singer and actor. Known as the " King of Rock and Roll ", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century . Presley's energized performances and interpretations of songs, and sexually provocative dance moves , combined with a singularly potent mix of influences across color lines during a transformative era in race relations , brought both great success and initial controversy . Presley
14850-555: Was attracting fans even where his music was not officially released: The New York Times reported that pressings of his music on discarded X-ray plates were commanding high prices in Leningrad . Presley purchased his 18-room mansion, Graceland , on March 19, 1957. Before the purchase, Elvis recorded Loving You —the soundtrack to his second film , which was released in July. It was his third straight number-one album. The title track
14985-530: Was awarded by the Broadcast Music Incorporated in its Country music Awards. It was re-released in 1971 for the UK market, where it charted at number 10. In 1979, following Presley's death, author Robert Matthew-Walker wrote: "Heartbreak Hotel became one of the legendary rock performances. For many people it is Elvis Presley, and it continues to excite and fascinate listeners. Heartbreak Hotel
15120-517: Was born in Tupelo, Mississippi ; his family relocated to Memphis, Tennessee , when he was 13. His music career began there in 1954, at Sun Records with producer Sam Phillips , who wanted to bring the sound of African-American music to a wider audience. Presley, on guitar and accompanied by lead guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black , was a pioneer of rockabilly , an uptempo, backbeat -driven fusion of country music and rhythm and blues . In 1955, drummer D. J. Fontana joined to complete
15255-411: Was delivered 35 minutes before, stillborn . Presley became close to both parents, especially his mother. The family attended an Assembly of God church, where he found his initial musical inspiration. Vernon moved from one odd job to the next, and the family often relied on neighbors and government food assistance. In 1938, they lost their home after Vernon was found guilty of altering a check and
15390-416: Was devastated and never the same; their relationship had remained extremely close—even into his adulthood, they would use baby talk with each other and Presley would address her with pet names. On October 1, 1958, Presley was assigned to the 1st Medium Tank Battalion, 32d Armor , 3d Armored Division , at Ray Barracks , West Germany, where he served as an armor intelligence specialist. On November 27, he
15525-573: Was directed by Chris Columbus . In 1999, Elvis Presley Enterprises purchased a Wilson World Hotel branch and after several renovations, opened it and named the hotel after the song, located across the street from Presley's home, Graceland , in Memphis, Tennessee . In the CBS miniseries Elvis , a two-part, four hour television movie that explores Elvis Presley's life, a scene depicts Presley (played by Jonathan Rhys Meyers ) wanting to record "Heartbreak Hotel" when he first arrives at RCA . The song
15660-426: Was doing. Recording at RCA Victor was a different experience for Presley and his band, who were used to a more relaxed atmosphere at Sun Studio . Guitar player Scotty Moore later commented, "It was a larger studio than Sun's and more regimented - they called everything by a tape number. We would sit around at Sun, eat hamburgers and then somebody would say, 'Let's try something.'" Almost immediately Sholes discovered
15795-660: Was eventually certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America . Presley had first performed "Heartbreak Hotel" during a live show in December 1955 during a tour of the Louisiana Hayride ; it gained 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, at
15930-457: Was jailed for eight months. In September 1941, Presley entered first grade at East Tupelo Consolidated, where his teachers regarded him as "average". His first public performance was a singing contest at the Mississippi–Alabama Fair and Dairy Show on October 3, 1945, when he was 10; he sang "Old Shep" and recalled placing fifth. A few months later, Presley received his first guitar for his birthday; he received guitar lessons from two uncles and
16065-469: Was not a suicide, so it could not have inspired the song to Tommy Durden. Axton and Durden give different accounts of how the song was written. Durden's account is that he had already written the song and performed it with his band the Swing Billys before he presented it to Axton. Axton's account is that Durden had written only a few lines of the song and asked her to help him finish it. She says that
16200-436: Was originally a straight acting role. The film was panned by critics but did very well at the box office. Presley would receive top billing on every subsequent film he made. On December 4, Presley dropped into Sun Records, where Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis were recording, and had an impromptu jam session along with Johnny Cash . Though Phillips no longer had the right to release any Presley material, he made sure that
16335-455: Was popular when they both used to frequent Beale Street. By the time he graduated high school in June 1953, Presley had singled out music as his future. In August 1953, Presley checked into Memphis Recording Service , the company run by Sam Phillips before he started Sun Records . He aimed to pay for studio time to record a two-sided acetate disc : " My Happiness " and " That's When Your Heartaches Begin ". He later claimed that he intended
16470-433: Was pornographic." The record "conjured up the vision of a performer who could be all things", according to music historian John Robertson: "a flirtatious teenage idol with a heart of gold; a tempestuous, dangerous lover; a gutbucket blues singer; a sophisticated nightclub entertainer; [a] raucous rocker". Released only days after recording was complete, it reached number two on the album chart. Glenn Reeves Reeves
16605-581: Was promoted to private first class and on June 1, 1959, to specialist fourth class . While on maneuvers, Presley was introduced to amphetamines and became "practically evangelical about their benefits", not only for energy but for "strength" and weight loss. Karate became a lifelong interest: he studied with Jürgen Seydel , and later included it in his live performances. Fellow soldiers have attested to Presley's wish to be seen as an able, ordinary soldier despite his fame, and to his generosity. He donated his Army pay to charity, purchased television sets for
16740-751: Was raised in Shamrock, Texas ; while in high school he formed his first band which played Western swing music. He studied briefly at the University of Houston before serving in the Korean War . After returning from the military, he received a position as a radio deejay on KCTX (AM) Radio in Childress . In 1955, Reeves recorded his debut single "I'm Johnny on the Spot" for record producer Bob Tanner's TNT Records. Reeves recorded an additional single for
16875-416: Was shown head-to-toe. Though the camerawork was relatively discreet during his debut, with leg-concealing closeups when he danced, the studio audience reacted with screams. Presley's performance of his forthcoming single, the ballad " Love Me Tender ", prompted a record-shattering million advance orders. More than any other single event, it was this first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show that made Presley
17010-437: Was singing about ... It took us a long time to work what was going on. To us, it just sounded as a noise that was great George Harrison described "Heartbreak Hotel" as a "rock n roll epiphany" when in 1956, at age 13, he overheard it while riding his bike at a neighbor's house. Some have said that "Heartbreak Hotel" turned that well-mannered schoolboy into a guitar-crazed truant who would audition for John Lennon's Quarrymen
17145-400: Was such that Phillips played the record repeatedly during the remaining two hours of his show. Interviewing Presley on-air, Phillips asked him what high school he attended to clarify his color for the many callers who had assumed that he was black. During the next few days, the trio recorded a bluegrass song, Bill Monroe 's " Blue Moon of Kentucky ", again in a distinctive style and employing
17280-450: Was temporarily assigned to Company A, 2d Medium Tank Battalion, 37th Armor . During the two weeks' leave between his basic and advanced training in early June, he recorded five songs in Nashville. In early August, Presley's mother was diagnosed with hepatitis , and her condition rapidly worsened. Presley was granted emergency leave to visit her and arrived in Memphis on August 12. Two days later, she died of heart failure at age 46. Presley
17415-622: Was the Jailhouse Rock EP . Presley undertook three brief tours during the year, continuing to generate a crazed audience response. A Detroit newspaper suggested that "the trouble with going to see Elvis Presley is that you're liable to get killed". Villanova students pelted the singer with eggs in Philadelphia , and in Vancouver the crowd rioted after the show ended, destroying the stage. Frank Sinatra, who had inspired
17550-516: Was the nation's most popular, declared Presley "unfit for family viewing". To Presley's displeasure, he soon found himself being referred to as "Elvis the Pelvis", which he called "childish". The Berle shows drew such high ratings that Presley was booked for a July 1 appearance on NBC's The Steve Allen Show in New York. Allen , no fan of rock and roll, introduced a "new Elvis" in a white bowtie and black tails. Presley sang "Hound Dog" for less than
17685-666: Was to be named the most promising male country star of 1955. Axton had been hired earlier in the year to publicise the Hank Snow Jamboree concerts at the Gator Bowl Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida , which included Presley in the line up. During one concert Axton observed the reaction of the audience to Presley's performance, in which a crowd of screaming fans chased him back to his dressing room and ripped his clothes off to take as souvenirs. Axton followed Presley's career closely after this incident, and met him at
17820-444: Was unable to do it justice. Despite this, Phillips asked Presley to sing other numbers and was sufficiently affected by what he heard to invite two local musicians, guitarist Winfield "Scotty" Moore and upright bass player Bill Black , to work with Presley for a recording session. The session, held the evening of July 5, proved entirely unfruitful until late in the night. As they were about to abort and go home, Presley launched into
17955-427: Was working with the new number-one country singer, Hank Snow . Parker booked Presley on Snow's February tour. By August, Sun had released ten sides credited to "Elvis Presley, Scotty and Bill"; the latest recordings included a drummer. Some of the songs, like "That's All Right", were in what one Memphis journalist described as the "R&B idiom of negro field jazz"; others, like "Blue Moon of Kentucky", were "more in
18090-529: Was written by Leiber and Stoller, who were then retained to write four of the six songs recorded at the sessions for Jailhouse Rock , Presley's next film. The songwriting team effectively produced the Jailhouse sessions and developed a close working relationship with Presley, who came to regard them as his "good-luck charm". "He was fast," said Leiber. "Any demo you gave him he knew by heart in ten minutes." The title track became another number-one hit , as
18225-534: Was written within an hour, and Durden recorded it onto Axton's tape recorder. Reeves returned, and after hearing the song he was asked to provide a voice demo for Axton in the style of Elvis Presley. Reeves obliged, but once again turned down the offer of a writing credit for his input. Axton approached the popular singing duo the Wilburn Brothers , and offered them the chance to record "Heartbreak Hotel". However, Doyle and Teddy Wilburn declined, describing
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