Tommy Durden

Tommy Durden
Born	Thomas Russell Durden (1919-12-15)December 15, 1919 Morgan County, Georgia, United States
Died	October 17, 1999(1999-10-17) (aged 79) Houghton Lake, Michigan, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation(s)	Guitarist, songwriter, commercial dishwasher repairman
Known for	Co-writing "Heartbreak Hotel"

Thomas Russell Durden (December 15, 1919 – October 17, 1999) was an American steel guitarist and songwriter, who is most notable for co-writing Elvis Presley's breakthrough hit, "Heartbreak Hotel".

Biography

He was born in Morgan County, Georgia, the son of a sharecropper and the youngest of seven children. The family later moved to Jacksonville, Florida, where he learned slide guitar and later steel guitar. He performed with the Westernaires as steel guitarist, and in the early 1950s, after moving to Gainesville, joined country band Smilin' Jack Herring and his Swingbillys. The band's other members were Herring, Pee Wee Jenkins, and Bob Chisolm.^[1]

While playing with the Swingbillys, Durden began writing the lyrics for "Heartbreak Hotel." Durden took the half-written lyrics to his friends and occasional songwriting partners

Although Durden continued to write songs with Axton and Reeves, including "Honey Bop" which was recorded by Wanda Jackson in 1960, none had anything approaching the success of "Heartbreak Hotel".^[2] By 1958, he had set up a song poem business in Dayton, Ohio, setting submitted lyrics to music for a fee.^[4] He later performed as steel guitarist for Tex Ritter, Johnny Cash and Johnny Tillotson. He moved to live in Houghton Lake, Michigan, and worked as a commercial dishwasher repairman until retiring in the early 1980s.^[1][5] In later years he recorded two albums, Moods, which included a version of "Heartbreak Hotel," and I Believe. He was inducted into the Michigan Country Music Hall of Fame in 1994.^[3]

He died in Houghton Lake, Michigan in 1999 at the age of 79.

References