"Heartbreak Hotel" was released on 27 January 1956.
Written by Mae Boren Axton and Tommy Durden, the song was 21-year-old Elvis Presley's first release for his new label, RCA, which had purchased his contract with Sun Records in November 1955.
Axton and Durden famously disagreed about who wrote what part of the song when, but they agree that they offered it to a number of singers before Axton met Presley when he performed in July 1955 and then Axton played him a demo of the song in November and Presley agreed to record it (he performed it live for the first time in December).
Presley was backed by his band of bassist Bill Black, drummer D.J. Fontana, and guitarist Scotty Moore, as well as studio musicians Chet Atkins (who co-produced with Steve Sholes), and Floyd Cramer. When hearing the studio recording, RCA executives disliked it so much they insisted that it not be released. Presley, however, was confident the song would be a hit.
The single entered the Billboard chart at #68 in late February, and reached #1 less than 2 months later (it also peaked at #1 on the Country chart and #5 on the R&B chart), his first #1 record. By April the song had sold more than 1 million copies, becoming Presley's first gold record, and would be the top-selling single of the year.
