Love Hurts
"Love Hurts" | |
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Song |
"Love Hurts" is a song written and composed by the American songwriting duo Felice and Boudleaux Bryant. First recorded by The Everly Brothers in July 1960, the song is also well known from a 1975 international hit version by the Scottish hard rock band Nazareth and in the UK by a top five hit in 1975 by the English singer Jim Capaldi.
The song was introduced in December 1960 as an album track on A Date with The Everly Brothers, but was never released as a single (A-side or B-side) by the Everlys. The first hit version of the song was by Roy Orbison, who earned Australian radio play, hitting the Top Five of that country's singles charts in 1961. A recording by Emmylou Harris and Gram Parsons was included on Parsons' posthumously released Grievous Angel album. After Parsons' 1973 death, Harris made the song a staple of her repertoire, and has included it in her concert set lists from the 1970s to the present. Harris has since re-recorded the song twice.
The most successful recording of the song was by hard rock band Nazareth, who took the song to the U.S. Top 10 in 1975 and hit number one in Norway and the Netherlands. In the UK the most successful version of the song was by former Traffic member Jim Capaldi, who took it to number four in the charts in November 1975 during an 11-week run. The song was also covered by Cher in 1975 for her album Stars. Cher re-recorded the song in 1991 for her album of the same name. Rod Stewart recorded the song in 2006 for his album Still the Same... Great Rock Classics of Our Time which was No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart.
Roy Orbison version
Roy Orbison covered "Love Hurts" in 1961 and issued it as the B-side to "Running Scared". While "Running Scared" was an international hit, the B-side only 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 No. 5. This makes Orbison's recording of "Love Hurts" the first version to be a hit.
Chart (1961) | Peak position |
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Australia | 5 |
Jim Capaldi version
"Love Hurts" | |
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Song | |
B-side | "Sugar Honey" |
Jim Capaldi reached number 4 in the UK charts with his interpretation of "Love Hurts" in November 1975, which was to prove his highest charting UK single.[1] Described by Rolling Stone as having "a sense of pain very different from Roy Orbison's."[2] the single also charted in the US,[3] Germany,[4] and Sweden.[5]
Chart (1975) | Peak position |
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Germany | 42 |
Sweden | 16 |
UK | 4 |
U.S. | 97 |
Nazareth version
"Love Hurts" | |
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Song | |
B-side | "Down" (Non-Us) "Hair of the Dog (US)" |
Performed as a power ballad,[7] the Nazareth version was the most popular version of the song and the only rendition of "Love Hurts" to become a hit single in the United States, reaching No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1976. Billboard ranked it as the No. 23 song for 1976.[8] As part of the "Hot Tracks (EP)" it also reached No. 15 in the UK in 1977.[9] Nazareth's version was an international hit, peaking at No. 1 in Canada, the Netherlands, Belgium, South Africa and Norway, and remains the best-known recording of the song. The Nazareth single was so successful in Norway that it charted for 61 weeks on the Norwegian charts (VG-lista Top 10), including 14 weeks at No. 1, making it the top single of all time in that country.[10]
A later recording by Nazareth, featuring the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, peaked at No. 89 in Germany.
The lyrics of the song remained unchanged on all versions up until Nazareth's 1975 recording, where the original line "love is like a stove/it burns you when it's hot" was changed to "love is like a flame/it burns you when it's hot". The Nazareth track has been featured in the movies Dazed and Confused, Detroit Rock City, Together, Click, and Halloween among others. It was edited for use in a late-'90s Gatorade TV commercial. Other companies to have used the song in advertising include Southwest Airlines, Molson, Nissan (for the Altima), Zurich (worldwide 'True Love' advertising), and Toyota in Australia.
Cher used this Nazareth version for her 1991 re-recording of the song for her album of the same name.
In other media
The Nazareth version was sung by Courtney Taylor-Taylor, lead singer of The Dandy Warhols, in "Cheatty Cheatty Bang Bang", a second season episode of Veronica Mars.[11] A cover version of the Nazareth version was sung by Nan Vernon for the film Halloween II.
The song was sung similar to the Nazareth version in the "That '70s Musical" episode of That '70s Show.
Charts and certifications
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
All-time chart
Certifications
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Triumph version
"Love Hurts" | |
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Song |
In 1991, Triumph created and covered their interpretation of "Love Hurts", but the track never surfaced until the release of Livin' for the Weekend: The Anthology in 2005, with a subsequent video single.[15]
Cher version
"Love Hurts" | |
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Song | |
B-side | "One Small Step" |
Cher also recorded the song in 1975 but did not have a hit with it at the time. She recorded a second version in 1991 for the album of the same name. The single became a minor hit in the UK in December 1991.
Chart (1991) | Peak position |
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UK Singles (OCC)[16] | 43 |
Live performances
Cher performed the song on the following concert tours:
- Heart of Stone Tour (performed towards the end of the tour in Australia only, before her studio recording)
- Love Hurts Tour
- The Farewell Tour (sung on the fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth legs of the tour. The song was replaced by "The Way of Love" on the final show of the tour)
- Cher at the Colosseum (sung on the first night, then re-added during the third leg in place of "The Way of Love")
List of covers
Artist | Release date | Album | Notes |
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Roy Orbison | March 1961 | Crying (May 1962) | B-side of "Running Scared" |
Phi-Mu Washboard Band | 1962 | ...Just Because (1962) | This version is slightly abridged. |
Mark Wynter | August 1964 | A-side of the single Pye 7N 15686 | |
The Liverbirds | 1965 | Star-Club Show 4 | Recorded for their debut album. |
The Who | 1965-1967, 1989 | Played occasionally in the band's early days and during the early part of their 1989 reunion tour. | |
Jimmy Webb | 1972 | Letters | |
Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris | 1974 | Parsons album Grievous Angel | A live version by the duo, recorded in 1973 shortly before Parsons' death, was released in 1983 and received a Grammy Award nomination. Another live version and an alternate take recorded in 1973 were released in 2006 on The Complete Reprise Sessions. |
Nazareth | 1975 | Hair of the Dog | Performed as a rock ballad. This rendition reached No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1976. As part of the "Hot Tracks (EP)" it also reached No. 15 in the UK in 1977.[9] |
Cher | 1975 | Stars | Produced by Jimmy Webb |
Jim Capaldi | October 1975 | Short Cut Draw Blood | Reached number four in the UK chart[9] and charted worldwide. |
Grupo Yndio | 1976 | Herida de Amor | A cover done by a Mexican group |
Jennifer Warnes | 1977 | "Debut Album "Jennifer Warnes" | |
Journey | 1978 | Unaired episode of the King Biscuit Flower Hour radio show featuring also Annie Sampson & Jo Baker of Stoneground. | |
Don McLean | 1981 | Believers | |
Elaine Paige | 1985 | Love Hurts | |
Nicolette Larson | 1988 | Shadows of Love | |
Joan Jett | 1990 | The Hit List | Joan's version charted number 100 on Ukraine charts. |
Bad Romance | 1991 | Code Of Honor | |
Cher | 1991 | Love Hurts | Also released as a single in Europe. |
Veronique, a Yugoslav rock band | 1991 | The song became a big radio hit in Yugoslavia. | |
Kim Carnes | 1992 | Soundtrack for Private Lessons II | |
Paul Young | 1993 | Best Ballads | |
Guided by Voices frontman Robert Pollard with Kim Deal of Pixies | 1994 | Soundtrack for Love and a .45 | |
Heart | 1995 | The Road Home | Live concert |
Corey Hart | 1996 | Corey Hart | |
Pat Boone | 1997 | In a Metal Mood: No More Mr. Nice Guy | Covers album. |
Valery Kipelov | 1997 | Live concert | with Sergey Mavrin |
Emmylou Harris | 1998 | Spyboy | A live album |
Stina Nordenstam | 1998 | People Are Strange | 33 second version |
Little Milton and Lucinda Williams | 1999 | Welcome to Little Milton | |
Juice Newton | 1999 | American Girl | |
Deacon Blue | 1999 | Walking Back Home | |
Smokie | 2000 | Uncovered | Smokie-style harmonically vocalized soft rock ballad |
Sally Jones | 2001 | Love Hurts | bluegrass |
That '70s Show cast | 2002 | That '70s Musical, an episode of That '70s Show | |
Sinéad O'Connor | 2003 | She Who Dwells | Irish singer |
Robin Gibb | 2003 | Magnet | A modern R & B version which closes this solo album |
Lee Kernaghan & Catherine Britt | 2003 | Electric Rodeo 2 | Australian country musicians[17] |
J.C. Lodge | 2004 | Reggae Country 2 | A reggae version of this classic |
Keith Richards and Norah Jones | 2005 | Return to Sin City | DVD tribute concert for Gram Parsons. |
Éric Goulet under the name "Monsieur Mono" | 2005 | Pleurer la mer morte | French version |
Triumph | 2005 | Livin' for the Weekend: Anthology | Triumph covered this back in 1991 however, the track has only recently surfaced on Livin' for the Weekend: Anthology |
Darren Smith Band | 2005 | Keep the Spirit Alive | |
Bonnie Bramlett | 2006 | Roots, Blues, and Jazz | |
Rod Stewart | 2006 | Still the Same... Great Rock Classics of our Time | |
Paul Noonan from Bell X1 and Lisa Hannigan | |||
L.I.N.E. | 2008 | Dutch band L.I.N.E. covered this song in 2008. It is in 6/8 time, which is quite different from all other known covers. | |
Jason Donovan | 2008 | "Let It Be Me" | |
Leo Sayer | 2008 | "Singles As & Bs" | Used as the theme song to the UK film Wilt (film) in 1989. |
Jenny Lewis | 2009 | Live on radio program World Café | |
Nan Vernon | 2009 | Halloween II: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | |
Jim Guthrie | 2010 | Now, More Than Ever (Extended Edition) | |
Doug Howell | 2010 | Jimmy & Me – Song Descriptions from a Master | Album featuring Jimmy Webb originals (and this song, inspired by Jimmy's recorded version, 1972) |
Carrie Rodriguez | 2010 | We Still Love Our Country | Carrie Rodriguez and Ben Kyle album |
Jann Arden | 2011 | Uncover Me 2 | |
Melinda Schneider & Beccy Cole | 2014 | Great Women of Country and the Songs That Made Them | Australian country musicians[18] |
References
- ^ Jim Capaldi in the UK charts, The Official Charts. Retrieved August 11, 2011.
- ^ Marsh, Dave (11 March 1976). Album review at the Wayback Machine (archived April 30, 2009), Rolling Stone.
- ^ Jim Capaldi in the Billboard charts, Allmusic. Retrieved August 11, 2011.
- ^ "Chartverfolgung / Jim Capaldi / Single". Music Line (in German). Germany: Media Control Charts. Retrieved 28 September 2011.
- ^ "Love Hurts" in the Swedish charts, swedishcharts.com. Retrieved August 12, 2011.
- ^ Phil Hardy (1995). The Da Capo Companion to 20th-century Popular Music. Da Capo Press. p. 123. ISBN 978-0-306-80640-7.
- ^ SPIN Media LLC (June 1995). SPIN. SPIN Media LLC. pp. 104–. ISSN 0886-3032.
- ^ Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1976
- ^ a b c Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 388. ISBN 1-904994-10-5. Cite error: The named reference "British Hit Singles & Albums" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ a b "BEST OF ALL TIME – SINGLES". VG-lista. Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
- ^ "The Music Of Veronica Mars: Episode 2-3: Cheatty Cheatty Bang Bang". Mars Investigations: The (In)Complete Guide to Veronica Mars. Retrieved March 1, 2015.
- ^ "Nazareth Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
- ^ "Canadian single certifications – Love Hurts". Music Canada.
- ^ "American single certifications – Love Hurts". Recording Industry Association of America.
- ^ "Love Hurts" Single on YouTube.
- ^ "Cher: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
- ^ Lee Kernaghan – Love Hurts Feat. Catherine Britt. YouTube. 24 May 2010.
- ^ "Great Women of Country and the Songs That Made Them". iTunes.
- ^ List of RPM number-one singles of 1976[better source needed]
- ^ List of Dutch Top 40 number-one singles of 1976[better source needed]
External links
- 1960 songs
- 1975 singles
- 1976 singles
- 1991 singles
- 2001 singles
- 2005 singles
- Nazareth (band) songs
- The Everly Brothers songs
- Roy Orbison songs
- Cher songs
- Rod Stewart songs
- Jim Capaldi songs
- Number-one singles in Norway
- Song recordings produced by Richie Zito
- Songs written by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant
- Hard rock ballads
- Warner Bros. Records singles
- Monument Records singles
- A&M Records singles
- Vertigo Records singles
- Mooncrest Records singles
- Island Records singles
- Geffen Records singles