"Heartache Tonight" is a song written by Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Bob Seger and J. D. Souther, and recorded by the Eagles. The track was included on their album The Long Run and released as a single in 1979. It reached #1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in November of that year. Although it remained in the top position for only one week, the single sold 1 million copies.
The recording also received a Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.The song originated from an electric jam session between Glenn Frey and Bob Seger who would visit Frey's home in Los Angeles whenever he was in town on tour. Frey already had the verse written and in the heat of jamming, Seger blurted out the chorus. According to Frey, "J.D. [Souther], Don and I finished that song up. No heavy lyrics-the song is more of a romp-and that's what it was intended to be."[1] The song was covered by country music singer John Anderson on the tribute album Common Thread: The Songs of the Eagles and was also covered by Michael Bublé on his album Crazy Love.
[edit] Personnel
[edit] Chart performance
| Chart (1979) |
Peak
position |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 |
1 |
| UK Singles Chart |
40 |
[edit] Conway Twitty version
"Heartache Tonight" was revived four years later in a cover version by country music artist Conway Twitty. Released as the second single from his Lost in the Feeling album, Twitty's version reached No. 6 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in the fall of 1983.[2]
Twitty's version featured the Osmond Brothers on backing vocals. Allmusic reviewer Tom Jurek wrote that "Heartache Tonight" and its follow-up single, "Three Times a Lady," "offer(ed) a solid view of Twitty's amazing crossover potential, and his ability to take well-known pop tracks and turn them into solid country smashes long after the countrypolitan days of Chet Atkins and RCA."[3] (In addition to "Three Times a Lady" (a cover of a song by The Commodores), Twitty had successfully covered "Slow Hand" and "The Rose," previously pop hits for the Pointer Sisters and Bette Midler, respectively.)
[edit] Chart performance
| Chart (1983) |
Peak
position |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles |
6 |
| Canadian RPM Country Tracks |
3 |
[edit] References
- ^ (2003) Album notes for The Very Best of the Eagles by Eagles [CD]. Warner Music Group (R2 73971).
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 363.
- ^ Jurek, Tom, Lost in the Feeling album review, Allmusic. [1]
