29 Years Ago Today, We Lost the “Queen Mother of Nashville” Who Wrote Elvis Presley’s First No. 1 and Helped Launch the Careers of Willie Nelson, Blake Shelton

On this day (April 9) in 1997, Mae Boren Axton drowned in her hot tub after suffering a heart attack in her Hendersonville, Tennessee, home. She was 82 years old. Axton was a largely unsung hero of country and early rock music. She co-wrote Elvis Presley’s first No. 1 and introduced him to his longtime manager. Additionally, her work in public relations helped launch the careers of Willie Nelson, Blake Shelton, and other stars, earning her the nickname “Queen Mother of Nashville.”

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Axton was born Mae Boren in Bardwell, Texas, and relocated to Oklahoma when she was two years old. After high school, she attended what is now East Central University and the University of Oklahoma, earning a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a teaching certificate. She met and married John Axton. Together, they had two children, one of whom was the country singer Hoyt Axton.

[RELATED: The Surprisingly Tragic Story That Inspired Elvis Presley’s “Heartbreak Hotel”]

The family later moved to Jacksonville, Florida, where Boren Axton became an English teacher. According to Travel OK, this is where she began forming connections to the music industry. She started writing songs with Tommy Durden and Glen Reeves, a pair of local musicians. Additionally, Boren Axton became Hank Snow’s publicist. She also worked as a radio announcer and music promoter, which helped her make more connections. Among those connections were Fred Rose, Colonel Tom Parker, and Stephen H. Sholes, head of RCA Victor’s Nashville division.

Mae Boren Axton’s Impact on the Music World

The work Mae Boren Axton did in the 1950s and ’60s is the stuff of legend. She introduced an up-and-comer from Mississippi to Colonel Tom Parker, who would be his manager for decades to come. Additionally, she reportedly pressured Stephen H. Sholes to sign Presley to RCA Victor.

She did more than introduce Presley to his longtime manager and help him land his first record deal, though. Boren Axton also co-wrote “Heartbreak Hotel” with Tommy Durden.

He found inspiration for the song in a newspaper clipping about a man who died by suicide. The note he left simply stated, “I walk a lonely street.” Boren Axton told Durden, “Tommy, everyone in the world has someone who cares, regardless of how good or bad, rich or poor, how high or low their status in life. So, when that somebody or somebodies read or hear about this, they’ll be brokenhearted. Let’s put a heartbreak hotel at the end of his lonely street.” Twenty minutes later, the song was finished.

Boren Axton gave Presley a co-writing credit on the song so he could earn royalties from it. This became incredibly lucrative when it became his first No. 1 single and was the best-selling song of 1956.

Boren Axton did a little bit of everything in the music business. She helped run Hoyt Axton’s Bullfrog Records, was a publicist for a long list of artists, and produced some memorable hit songs. Additionally, she started her own label, DPJ Records, in the early 1990s.

Mae Boren Axton was reportedly instrumental in launching Blake Shelton’s career in the early 1990s. Additionally, she convinced Willie Nelson to move to Nashville and pursue songwriting as a career.

There is no way to know what the music world would look like without Boren Axton’s contributions. However, it almost certainly wouldn’t be the same.

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