Heartbreak Hotel
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"Heartbreak Hotel" is a song written by Mae Boren Axton and Tommy Durden and released as a Elvis single in January, 1956. Thirty-three years later, The Residents recorded it for the 1989 album The King & Eye, and performed it on the "Baby King" portion of their Cube-E stage show, a total of 75 times between September 21st 1989 and November 23rd 1990.
Background
The lyrics were based on a report supposedly in The Miami Herald about 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. Once Elvis released the song as a single, it topped charts and became his first "million-seller" single. Heartbreak Hotel achieved unheard of feats as it reached the top 5 of Country and Western, Pop, and Rhythm 'n' Blues charts simultaneously. It was eventually certified double platinum. 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".
The Residents' version
When developing their Cube-E project The Residents decided this song would be a perfect fit due to its popularity and dark origins. As stated earlier it was performed for the entity of the Cube-E tour but is noticeably absent from many notable releases such as "Cube-E Holland" and "Cube-E Dynasone 3EZ". It was also revisited in 2004 for "The King & Eye: RMX" but does not have much more notable history. As with all songs on "The King & Eye" a demo does exist for this song.
Lyrics
Well, since my baby left me I found a new place to dwell Down at the end of Lonely Street At Heartbreak Hotel
Where I'll be, I'll be so lonely, baby I'll be lonely I'll be so lonely, I could die
Well, although it's always crowded You still could find some room For broken-hearted lovers To cry there in their gloom
They'll be so, they'll be so lonely, baby Be so lonely They'll get so lonely, they could die
Well, now, if your baby leaves you You need a place to dwell Just take a walk down Lonely Street To, to, to, to
You'll be so lonely, baby You will be lonely You'll be so lonely, you could die
Releases
- The King & Eye (1989) [Version 1]
- The King & Eye: RMX (2004) [Version 2]
- Cube-E box set (2006) [Version 3]
- Cube-E Box (2020) [Version 1] [Version 3] [Version 4] [Version 5]