“Heartbreak Hotel” was Elvis Presley’s first monster hit, topping the Billboard Hot 100 for seven weeks, the Country & Western chart for seventeen weeks, and even reaching #3 on the R&B chart–all at the same time.
It didn’t start out that way, though.
Elvis released “Heartbreak Hotel” on January 27, 1956, just a day ahead of his national television debut on Stage Show. The plan was for Elvis to perform it live the next night, but the song fell flat during the pre-show rehearsal. The show’s hosts axed it, so Elvis performed “Shake, Rattle and Roll” and “I Got a Woman” instead.
Elvis was invited back a week later, but again he was barred from playing his new single, so he performed “Baby Let’s Play House” and “Tutti Frutti” to lower ratings than his first appearance.
Only on February 11, his third consecutive weekly appearance, did the Dorsey Brothers relent. Elvis drove up to New York City during a snowstorm to perform his new song (along with “Blue Suede Shoes“) backed by the house orchestra. With little time to rehearse, it wasn’t the tightest performance, but it did the trick.
“Heartbreak Hotel” entered the Billboard Pop and Country & Western charts eleven days later; within two months, it would be sitting on top of both.
Listening to the radio during that initial chart climb was nine-year-old Robert Gordon. When Gordon heard Elvis’ breakthrough hit, he immediately resolved to become a rocker himself. He made his recording debut eight years later, moved to New York City in 1970, and joined the punk band Tuff Darts a few years after that.
Despite being in a punk band, Gordon never lost his fascination with Elvis, and covers of Presley’s songs frequently showed up in his sets. Gordon was often compared to early Elvis, and in 1977 he decided to lean into it, recording a rockabilly album with Link Wray.
When Elvis died that same year, Gordon’s Presley-esque album began getting airplay, bringing him to the attention of Bruce Springsteen.
Bruce noticed Gordon’s Elvis resemblance as well. He’d written a song with Elvis in mind and had hoped to convince The King to record it. That was impossible now, but Bruce wanted to make sure the song found a home with a singer who could do justice to it.
So in late 1977, Bruce sent “Fire” to Robert Gordon with his blessing to record it, and Gordon fell in love with the song. He pleaded with Bruce to perform on the track, which is how Bruce came to be in the studio with Gordon on December 1, 1977, playing the piano on Gordon’s cover.
They must have had a great time in the studio that day, because the very next night Bruce made a surprise on-stage guest appearance at Gordon’s gig at NYU. They didn’t play “Fire” that night, though–instead, they played the song that inspired Gordon to become a musician in the first place.
And that’s how Bruce came to cover “Heartbreak Hotel” for the first of what eventually amount to two dozen times. In the recording of that debut performance below, Robert and Bruce trade lead vocals, with Bruce sounding particularly, um, heartbroken.
When Bruce went out on tour for Darkness on the Edge of Town the following year, he added “Heartbreak Hotel” as a frequent cover, beginning with his legendary performance at the Roxy on July 7, 1978 (with a particular inspired solo by Roy).
Bruce continued to perform “Heartbreak Hotel” throughout the Darkness Tour, and he played it with Robert Gordon a couple more times in 1979 as well. But after a one-off performance with the Stone Pony’s house band Cats on a Smooth Surface in 1982, Bruce left the song in the rearview mirror.
Almost forty years down the road, Bruce has yet to revisit “Heartbreak Hotel.”
Heartbreak Hotel
First performed: December 2, 1977 (New York City, NY)
Last performed: June 13, 1982 (Asbury Park, NJ)
I was fortunate to see the first time he played it, some of the other times and the last time and those pergormances were absolutely wonderful. My grandma was a big Elvis fan and would have love Bruces’ rendition. Thanks for your blog. I love it
Why do you call this series MatR?
Short for “Meeting Across the River.” Seemed like a clever series title when I started, and then after a while I realized that the headlines were getting too long. I’d come up with a new title, but I’m too far in (and too lazy) to go back and retitle.
Wow–“Professor, play it here!” (“Heartbreak Hotel”, The Roxy, 7.7.78) Roy’s inspired piano fill does justice to Floyd Cramer’s playing on the Elvis original and Bruce’s “slapback” vocals of shouts, hiccups and screams match the spirit of The King’s groundbreaking performance. Amazing. Appreciation is highlighted hearing this R n’ R classic separate from the show. Thanks, Ken. “That’s a special for you!”–No doubt.
What a Ripper, just goes to show the Boys got talent in spade and what a find, it’s great.