Mae Boren Axton
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Mae Boren Axton (September 14, 1914 in Bardwell, Texas – April 9, 1997 in Hendersonville, Tennessee) was known in the music industry as the 'Queen Mother of Nashville'. She was one of the co-writers of the song "Heartbreak Hotel"[citation needed], made popular by Elvis Presley.
She was an influential member of the Nashville music industry. For decades she used her influence to contribute to the success of many musical careers including Mel Tillis, Reba McEntire, Willie Nelson and Blake Shelton to name only a few.
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[edit] Personal life
Mae was married to John T. Axton. Together they had two sons, country star Hoyt Axton and John Axton.
Mae was a schoolteacher by profession but had a strong passion for music[citation needed]. In the 1950s rock and roll was quickly becoming popular among the kids and unpopular among most others. For Mae as a school teacher to become its ally was viewed by many as incredibly hypocritical. Nonetheless, she pushed forward in her endeavors as an advocate of the music that would end up changing the industry forever.
[edit] Music
Mae struck oil in 1956 when she and a disc jockey from Jacksonville, Florida named Tommy Durden co-wrote a little song called "Heartbreak Hotel". She brought the song to Elvis to see if he might be interested in recording it. Elvis loved the song and soon put it to vinyl.
Mae wrote some 200 songs, 14 of which made the charts, with "Heartbreak Hotel" being number one on the pop chart for 8 weeks, the country chart for 17 weeks and reaching number 3 on the R&B chart.
Elvis Presley also recorded "Never Been To Spain" which was written by her son Hoyt, thus recording songs by both mother and son.
[edit] Death
In 1997 at the age of 82, Mae drowned in her hot tub at her home in Hendersonville, TN.
