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 song's royalties to Elvis, as well as adding Elvis' name to the list of songwriters for the song. "Heartbreak Hotel" was released as a single on January 27, 1956, with B-side "I Was the One", a song that was also recorded during Presley's RCA Victor debut sessions. "Billboard" magazine praised it as "a strong blues item wrapped up in his usual powerful style and a great beat". However, "Heartbreak Hotel" was less-than-warmly received by the British music press. The "New Musical Express" wrote that, "If you appreciate good singing, I don't suppose you'll manage to hear this disc all through".