Elvis Quiz...?!
Question: In 1956 Elvis recorded his biggest country hit that went to #1 for 17 weeks and stayed on the charts for 27 weeks.
Anyone know what song this was?
Answers: In 1956 Elvis recorded his biggest country hit that went to #1 for 17 weeks and stayed on the charts for 27 weeks.
Anyone know what song this was?
It was "Heartbreak Hotel".
Several major record labels had shown interest in signing Presley. On November 21, 1955, Parker and Phillips negotiated a deal with RCA Victor Records to acquire Presley's Sun contract for an unprecedented $35,000.[61][62]
To increase the singer's exposure, Parker finally brought Presley to television (in March 1955, Presley had failed a TV audition for Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts). He had the singer booked for six of the Dorsey Brothers' Stage Show (CBS), beginning January 28, 1956, when he was introduced by Cleveland DJ Bill Randle. Parker also obtained a lucrative deal with Milton Berle (NBC) for two appearances.
On January 27, Presley's first RCA single, "Heartbreak Hotel", was released. By April it reached number one in the U.S., and sold a million copies. On March 23, RCA released the first Presley album: Elvis Presley. As with the Sun recordings, the majority of the tracks were songs by or from country artists.[63]
From April 23, he had a two-week booking at the Venus Room of the New Frontier Hotel, Las Vegas—billed this time as "the Atomic Powered Singer". His performances were badly received, by critics and guests (it was an older, more conservative audience). However, Presley, Scotty and Bill saw Freddie Bell and the Bellboys live in Vegas, and liked their version of Leiber and Stoller's "Hound Dog". By May 16, Presley had added the song to his own act.[64]
A few days after an April 3 appearance for The Milton Berle Show in San Diego, Presley, Moore and and Black flew to Nashville for a recording session. The pilot got lost, made two unscheduled landings and after further mishaps along the way, all three were badly shaken.[65] After more hectic touring, Presley returned to The Milton Berle Show on June 5 and performed "Hound Dog" (without his guitar). After singing it uptempo, he then began a slower version. His exaggerated, straight-legged shuffle around the microphone stand stirred the audience—as did his vigorous leg shaking and hip thrusts in time to the beat.