Only Love Can Break a Heart
"Only Love Can Break a Heart" | |
---|---|
Single by Gene Pitney | |
from the album Only Love Can Break a Heart | |
B-side | "If I Didn't Have a Dime (To Play the Jukebox)" |
Released | September 1962 |
Genre | Pop |
Length | 2:50 |
Label | Musicor |
Songwriter(s) | Hal David, Burt Bacharach |
Producer(s) | Wally Gold, Aaron Schroeder |
"Only Love Can Break a Heart" is a popular song from 1962, performed by the American singer-songwriter Gene Pitney. The song was written by Hal David (words) and Burt Bacharach (music) and appears on Pitney's second album Only Love Can Break a Heart.
Gene Pitney version[]
Pitney had enjoyed some success as a songwriter prior to breaking through as a performer in his own right. He wrote the songs "Hello Mary Lou", "Rubber Ball", and "He's a Rebel", the last a number-one Billboard Hot 100 hit for The Crystals in 1962.[1] Ironically, Pitney's success as a singer was beginning at this time, and, on November 3, 1962, "He's a Rebel" kept "Only Love Can Break a Heart", Pitney's highest charting hit, at No. 2 for one week, from topping the Billboard Hot 100 chart.[2][3] The song also spent two weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Easy Listening chart in October and November 1962,[4] while reaching No. 2 on New Zealand's "Lever Hit Parade".[5] Pitney did his own whistling on the song.
Chart performance[]
Chart (1962) | Peak position |
---|---|
US Billboard Hot 100[2] | 2 |
US Billboard Easy Listening[4] | 1 |
New Zealand – "Lever Hit Parade"[5] | 2 |
Canada – CHUM Hit Parade[6] | 11 |
US Billboard R&B[4] | 16 |
Country music versions[]
Country music singers Sonny James and Kenny Dale also recorded cover versions of "Only Love Can Break a Heart". Both versions reached the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart during the 1970s.[4] James' version peaked at No. 2 in March 1972, held out of the top by Freddie Hart's "My Hang-Up Is You." As a result, "Only Love ..." just missed continuing James' record-breaking streak of consecutive number-one singles, which had reached 16.[7] Dale's version of the song reached number seven on the Hot Country Singles chart in 1979 and it was his biggest hit on the country charts.
Other versions[]
Margaret Whiting charted with the song in 1967. Whiting's version reached No. 96 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 4 on Billboard's Easy Listening chart.[8][9]
Bobby Vinton released the song in 1977, and it reached No. 99 on the Billboard Hot 100,[10] while reaching No. 46 on Billboard's Easy Listening chart,[11] and No. 50 on the RPM "Adult Oriented Playlist" in Canada.[12] Vinton's version appears on his album The Name Is Love.
Dionne Warwick released her version of the song as a single in 1977, but it only reached No. 9 on the "Bubbling Under" portion of the Billboard Hot 100.[4]
In 1999, Glen Campbell recorded the song on his album My Hits and Love Songs.
See also[]
- List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1962 (U.S.)
References[]
- ^ Bronson, Fred (2003). The Billboard Book of No. 1 Hits, 5th Edition (Billboard Publications)
- ^ Jump up to: a b Whitburn, Joel (1996). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 6th Edition (Billboard Publications)
- ^ Casey Kasem noted that fact on the May 24, 1986, edition of American Top 40.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Hyatt, Wesley (1999). The Billboard Book of No. 1 Adult Contemporary Hits (Billboard Publications)
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Lever Hit Parade" 15-Nov-1962, Flavour of New Zealand. Accessed October 21, 2015
- ^ "CHUM Hit Parade – Week of October 29, 1962". CHUM. Archived from the original on November 7, 2006. Retrieved January 21, 2016.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) Chart No. 292.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel, "Top Country Songs: 1944–2005," 2006.
- ^ Margaret Whiting – Chart History – The Hot 100, Billboard.com. Accessed October 21, 2015
- ^ Margaret Whiting – Chart History – Adult Contemporary, Billboard.com. Accessed October 21, 2015
- ^ Bobby Vinton – Chart History – The Hot 100, Billboard.com. Accessed October 21, 2015
- ^ Bobby Vinton – Chart History – Adult Contemporary, Billboard.com. Accessed October 21, 2015
- ^ "RPM Adult Oriented Playlist", RPM, Volume 27, Ed. 13, June 25, 1977. p. 27. Accessed October 21, 2015
External links[]
- 1962 singles
- 1977 singles
- Gene Pitney songs
- Sonny James songs
- Bobby Vinton songs
- Dionne Warwick songs
- Kenny Dale songs
- Glen Campbell songs
- Songs with lyrics by Hal David
- Songs with music by Burt Bacharach
- Musicor Records singles
- Arista Records singles
- 1962 songs