On This Day in 1999, We Said Goodbye to the Unsung Songwriter Behind Elvis Presley’s Breakthrough Hit

Tommy Durden, the co-writer of Elvis Presley’s breakthrough hit “Heartbreak Hotel”, died at home in Michigan on 17 October 1999, aged 79. The song helped launch Presley’s career and became a number one hit on both the pop and country charts.

Durden began as a steel guitarist and played with acts including Johnny Cash and Tex Ritter. He developed the song with Mae Boren Axton, drawing on a “lonely street” lyric; an account that it came from a newspaper report about a man who died at a hotel is unverified. Released in January 1956, “Heartbreak Hotel” spent 27 weeks in the top 100, and its royalties supported Durden for decades.