On This Day in 1999, We Lost the Lyricist Behind One of Elvis Presley’s Biggest Songs—Based on a Newspaper Clipping of a Man’s Final Words

On October 17, 1999, the world lost one of its most underrated songwriters. Thomas Durden, born on December 15, 1919, passed away at the age of 79 on this very day in 1999. The American songwriter and steel guitarist was responsible for penning Elvis Presley’s 1956 breakthrough track, “Heartbreak Hotel”. No matter how you spin it, Presley might not have had such a big career starting in the mid-1950s if it weren’t for Durden.

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The Legacy of Thomas Durden and “Heartbreak Hotel”

Thomas Durden was born in Georgia but spent much of his childhood in Jacksonville, Florida, where he first picked up the slide and steel guitar. He performed with the band The Westernaires in the early 1950s before joining the country outfit Smilin’ Jack Herring and His Swingbillys.

While working with that latter band, Durden started to put together the lyrics for what would become “Heartbreak Hotel”. Durden drew inspiration from a newspaper story of a man’s suicide note, namely the line where the man likens life to “a lonely street.”

When the song was half-written, he took it to disc jockey and publicist Mae Boren Axton and singer/songwriter Glenn Reeves. Reeves turned it down, but Axton offered to compose a tune to go with the lyrics. She recorded an early version of the song with Durden.

Later, Reeves recorded “Heartbreak Hotel” for Durden. Axton was working on a song for Elvis Presley at the time, and decided to present the demo to the King at a disc jockey convention in Nashville, Tennessee. Presley and his manager agreed to record it, provided Presley could receive a co-writing credit. Durden accepted, and Presley’s version of  “Heartbreak Hotel” hit the airwaves in 1956. It became his very first record to hit No. 1, effectively launching one of the most famous careers in rock and roll.

After “Heartbreak Hotel”, Thomas Durden continued to write music with Axton and Reeves. Notably, he wrote “Honey Bop” for Wanda Jackson in 1958. Sadly, his subsequent works failed to reach the success of “Heartbreak Hotel”. Durden continued to write music through the end of the 1950s and later returned to playing the steel guitar for the likes of Johnny Cash, Tex Ritter, and other musicians. He recorded several albums in his later years. In 1994, he was inducted into the Michigan Country Music Hall of Fame.

Thomas Durden deserves more credit for his contribution to the world of rock and roll, in my opinion. His legacy lives on not only in “Heartbreak Hotel”, but also in his songwriting and steel guitar contributions to numerous musicians in the 20th century.

Photo by The Legacy Collection/THA/Shutterstock