Heartbreak Hotel 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". 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 the report of the suicide "stunned" her, and she
Heartbreak Hotel since 1956, and alternative takes have surfaced on several compilation albums. "Heartbreak Hotel" 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 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."