Running Scared (Roy Orbison song)
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| "Running Scared" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Roy Orbison | ||||
| B-side | "Love Hurts" | |||
| Released | March 1961 | |||
| Format | 45 RPM | |||
| Length | 2:10 | |||
| Label | Monument 438 | |||
| Writer(s) | "Running Scared": Roy Orbison, Joe Melson "Love Hurts": Boudleaux Bryant |
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| Producer | Fred Foster | |||
| Roy Orbison singles chronology | ||||
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"Running Scared" is a 1961 American pop song written by Roy Orbison and Joe Melson and sung by Orbison. An operatic rock ballad, the song was released as a 45rpm single by Monument Records in March 1961 and went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. "Running Scared" also reached #9 in the UK chart. The song was recorded as part of Roy's 1961 album "Cryin'" as the final track on the album.
Noted for being a song written without a chorus, the verse builds to a climax that, without vibrato, demonstrates the power of Orbison's clear, full voice. It is written in the bolero style; Orbison is credited with bringing this to the rock genre.
While "Running Scared" was an international hit, the B-side "Love Hurts" also picked up significant airplay in Australia. Consequently, chart figures for Australia show "Running Scared"/"Love Hurts" as a double A-side, both sides peaking at number five. This makes Orbison's recording of "Love Hurts" the first version to be a hit. "Love Hurts" later became better known in a version by rock band Nazareth, who had an international hit with it in 1975.
[edit] Covers and popular culture
- Jack Scott, a Canadian born rockabilly singer from the same era, also had a minor 1962 hit with "Running Scared."
- The song was covered by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds on the album Kicking Against the Pricks and by Brokeback on the album Morse Code in the Modern Age: Across the Americas.
- John Peel, the famous British BBC Radio DJ who died in 2004, listed "Running Scared" by Roy Orbison as one of the songs to be played at his memorial service.
[edit] See also
| Preceded by "Travelin' Man" by Ricky Nelson |
Billboard Hot 100 number one single June 5, 1961 (one week) |
Succeeded by "Travelin' Man" by Ricky Nelson |
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