John Lennon Revealed How Elvis Presley’s ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ Inspired The Beatles’ Songs
John Lennon revealed why The Beatles‘ songs took so long to put together in the studio. In addition, he revealed Elvis Presley’s “Heartbreak Hotel” was a repeated source of inspiration for the Fab Four. John said there weren’t many arguments when The Beatles made songs together but there was a lot of tension.
John Lennon revealed why there was so much tension when The Beatles recorded songs in the studio
According to a 1969 interview in the book Lennon on Lennon: Interviews and Encounters, John was asked if The Beatles argued a lot while recording. “It’s not so much arguments, but there’s just tension,” John said. “It’s tense every time the red light goes on for a kickoff.
“And getting four of you to groove at the same time is difficult with any band; any band goes through that,” he continued. “You get two going, and somebody else drops out halfway through and gets paranoiac and screws it.” John said it took The Beatles a long time to create songs because they wanted their songs to be perfect.
John was also asked if The Beatles’ songs were completely written before they entered the studio. “Yeah, we usually have them in quite a finished state, but to get the sound that you’ve imagined is the hard thing,” he said. “You know, to put it over.”
John Lennon said The Beatles’ drew inspiration from Elvis Presley’s ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ and another 1950s rock song
The “Imagine” singer revealed he drew inspiration from “Heartbreak Hotel” while making The Beatles’ songs. “I usually say things like, “Well, ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ this is, and do it that way,'” he recalled. “I have some other song in mind to say it’s like that, that’s what I’m going for.”
John said this modus operandi sometimes led to issues. “We always used to do that in the old days, trying to tell the EMI engineers in 1960, ‘We want to sound like [Gene Vincent’s] ‘Be-Bop-a-Lula,'” and [they’d reply,] ‘What’s that, all that?'” he remembered.
How ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ performed on the charts in the United States and the United Kingdom
“Heartbreak Hotel” became a massive hit in the United States. The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits reports the song topped the Billboard Top 100 for eight weeks. It became the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll’s first chart-topper.
The Official Charts Company reports “Heartbreak Hotel” was also popular in John’s native United Kingdom. In 1956, the song reached No. 2 in the U.K., lasting 22 weeks on the chart. “Heartbreak Hotel” would subsequently chart in the U.K. in 1971 and 1996. This was part of a larger trend of Elvis’ singles being repeatedly re-released in the U.K.
“Heartbreak Hotel” is iconic songs and The Beatles’ music wouldn’t be the same without it.
