Heartbreak Hotel told Durden, "Everybody in the world has someone who cares. Let's put a Heartbreak Hotel at the end of this lonely street". They were interrupted by the arrival of Glenn Reeves, a local performer who had previously worked with Axton. The duo asked Reeves to help with the song, but after hearing the title he remarked that it was "the silliest thing I've ever heard", and left them to finish it themselves. The song was written within an hour, and Durden recorded it onto Axton's tape recorder. Reeves returned, and after hearing the song he was asked to provide a
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".