"Love Hurts" is a song written and composed by the American songwriter Boudleaux Bryant. First recorded by The Everly Brothers in July 1960, the song is best known in two hit versions by UK artists: by the Scottish hard rock band Nazareth for their 1975 LP Hair of the Dog and by the English singer-songwriter Jim Capaldi in 1975.
Original version by the Everly Brothers The song was introduced in October 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. A falling out with their manager and publisher, Wesley Rose, prevented them from issuing it as a single, though it had been meant for them. It was after the quarrel was settled in 1964 that they rerecorded it for the 1965 album Rock 'n' Soul.
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)PeakpositionAustralia5
Nazareth version
Performed as a power ballad, the Nazareth version is 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.Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1976 As part of the "Hot Tracks" EP it also reached No. 15 in the UK in 1977. Nazareth's version was an international hit, peaking at No. 1 in Canada, the Netherlands, Belgium, South Africa and Norway. 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.
A later recording by Nazareth, featuring the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, peaked at No. 89 in Germany in 1994.
The lyrics of the song were changed for Nazareth's 1975 album, 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".
Charts and certifications Weekly charts Chart (1975–1977)PeakpositionArgentina3Australia (Kent Music Report)8South Africa (Springbok Radio)1
Year-end charts
Chart (1975)RankSouth African Singles Chart3
Chart (1976)RankAustralia (Kent Music Report)45Belgian BRT Top 3010Canadian RPM Top 200 Singles14Dutch Top 403US Billboard Hot 10023
All-time chart ChartRankNorway1
Certifications
In media Nazareth's version was used in an advertisement for Esurance, and also in a series of advertisements by Zurich. The song was featured in Rob Zombie's remake of Halloween. A cover of the song by Canadian singer Nan Vernon was featured in the credits of its sequel, Halloween II.
Jim Capaldi version
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.Jim Capaldi in the UK charts , The Official Charts. Retrieved August 11, 2011. Described by Rolling Stone as having "a sense of pain very different from Roy Orbison's",Marsh, Dave (March 11, 1976). the single also charted in the US,Jim Capaldi in the Billboard charts, Allmusic. Retrieved August 11, 2011. West Germany, and Sweden."Love Hurts" in the Swedish charts, swedishcharts.com. Retrieved August 12, 2011. Capaldi's version features his former Traffic bandmates Steve Winwood and Rosko Gee on piano and bass respectively. Personnel Source: Jim Capaldi - vocals Chris Spedding - guitar Steve Winwood - piano Jean Roussel - electric piano, minimoog Rosko Gee - bass Gerry Conway - drums Ray Allen - percussion Harry Robinson - string arrangements
Weekly charts Chart (1975–1976)PeakpositionAustralia (Kent Music Report)6Canada Top Singles (RPM)15South Africa (Springbok)13Sweden16UK 4US97West Germany42
Year-end charts Chart (1976) PositionAustralia (Kent Music Report) 31Canada RPM 137
Cher version
American singer Cher recorded her first version in 1975 for the album Stars but did not release this version as a single. She later recorded a second version in 1991 for her album of the same name (1991). This version was a cover of Nazareth's version. The single became a minor hit in the UK in December 1991.
Track listings European 7-inch and cassette single "Love Hurts" – 4:19 "One Small Step" – 3:27
European 12-inch and CD single "Love Hurts" – 4:19 "One Small Step" – 3:27 "Just Like Jesse James" – 4:06
Charts Chart (1991)PeakpositionUK Airplay (Music Week)39
See also List of 1970s one-hit wonders in the United States
References