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Love Hurts

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This article is about the song written by Boudleaux Bryant. For other uses, see Love Hurts (disambiguation).

"Love Hurts"
West German release picture sleeve
Song by the Everly Brothers
from the album A Date with the Everly Brothers
PublishedAugust 30, 1960 (1960-08-30) by Acuff-Rose Publications, Inc.[1]
ReleasedOctober 1960
RecordedJuly 1960
GenreCountry
Length2:22
LabelWarner Bros. Nashville
SongwriterBoudleaux Bryant
Audio video
"Love Hurts (2007 Remaster)" on YouTube

"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 most well known in two hit versions by UK artists: by Scottish hard rock band Nazareth in 1974 and by English singer-songwriter Jim Capaldi in 1975.

Original version by the Everly Brothers

[edit]

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. Due to a falling out with their manager and publisher Wesley Rose, they were prevented 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

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"Love Hurts"
US picture sleeve
Single by Roy Orbison
from the album Crying
A-side"Running Scared"
ReleasedMarch 1961
RecordedFebruary 27, 1961[2]
StudioRCA Victor Studio B, Nashville[2]
GenrePop
Length2:26
LabelMonument
SongwriterBoudleaux Bryant
ProducerFred Foster
Audio video
"Love Hurts" on YouTube

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
Australia 5

Gram Parsons version

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Gram Parsons performed the song in harmony with Emmylou Harris on his posthumously released 1974 album Grievous Angel. Harris has continued to perform the song throughout her career, including on her 1998 live album Spyboy.

Nazareth version

[edit]
"Love Hurts"
Netherlands single sleeve
Single by Nazareth
from the album Hair of the Dog
B-side
ReleasedNovember 8, 1974
Genre
Length3:53
3:03 (U.S. single)
Label
SongwriterBoudleaux Bryant
ProducerManny Charlton
Nazareth singles chronology
"This Flight Tonight"
(1973) 		"Love Hurts"
(1974) 		"Shanghai'd in Shanghai"
(1974)
Audio video
"Love Hurts (Single Edit)" on YouTube

Performed as a power ballad,[3] 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.[4] As part of the "Hot Tracks" EP it also reached No. 15 in the UK in 1977.[5] 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.[6]

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". It has been regarded as one of the greatest covers of all time, with the guitar solo as among the most iconic solos in music history.

Charts and certifications

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Weekly charts

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Chart (1975–77) Peak
position
Argentina[7] 3
Australia (Kent Music Report)[8] 8
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[9] 11
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[10] 1
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[11] 28
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[12] 1
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[13] 1
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[14] 4
Norway (VG-lista)[15] 1
South Africa (Springbok Radio)[16] 1
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[17] 6
UK Singles (OCC)[18] 41
US Billboard Hot 100[19] 8
West Germany (GfK)[20] 30

Year-end charts

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In media

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Nazareth's version was used in an advertisement for Esurance,[25] and also in a series of advertisements by Zurich.[26] The song was featured in Rob Zombie's remake of Halloween.[27] A cover of the song by Canadian singer Nan Vernon was featured in the credits of its sequel, Halloween II.[28]

Jim Capaldi version

[edit]
"Love Hurts"
Single by Jim Capaldi
from the album Short Cut Draw Blood
B-side"Sugar Honey"
ReleasedNovember 1975 (1975-11)
Recorded1975
GenrePop
Length3:29
LabelIsland
SongwriterBoudleaux Bryant
ProducerSteve Smith
Jim Capaldi singles chronology
"It's All Up to You"
(1974) 		"Love Hurts"
(1975) 		"Goodbye Love"
(1976)
Audio video
"Love Hurts" on YouTube

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.[29] Described by Rolling Stone as having "a sense of pain very different from Roy Orbison's",[30] the single also charted in the US,[31] West Germany,[32] and Sweden.[33]

Weekly charts

[edit]
Chart (1975–76) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[34] 6
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[35] 15
Ireland (IRMA)[36] 8
South Africa (Springbok)[37] 13
Sweden 16
UK 4
US 97
West Germany 42

Year-end charts

[edit]
Chart (1976) Position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[21] 31
Canada RPM[38] 137

Cher version

[edit]
"Love Hurts"
Single by Cher
from the album Love Hurts
B-side"One Small Step"
ReleasedNovember 25, 1991 (1991-11-25)[39]
Length4:07
LabelGeffen
SongwriterBoudleaux Bryant
ProducerRichie Zito
Cher singles chronology
"Save Up All Your Tears"
(1991) 		"Love Hurts"
(1991) 		"Could've Been You"
(1992)
Audio video
"Love Hurts" on YouTube

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

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  • European 7-inch and cassette single
  1. "Love Hurts" – 4:19
  2. "One Small Step" – 3:27
  • European 12-inch and CD single
  1. "Love Hurts" – 4:19
  2. "One Small Step" – 3:27
  3. "Just Like Jesse James" – 4:06

Charts

[edit]
Chart (1991) Peak
position
UK Singles (OCC)[40] 43
UK Airplay (Music Week)[41] 39

Don Mclean version

[edit]

Don McLean covered the song for his album Believers in 1981.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Library of Congress. Copyright Office. (1960). Catalog of Copyright Entries 1960 Music July-Dec 3D Ser Vol 14 Pt 5. United States Copyright Office. U.S. Govt. Print. Off.
  2. ^ a b Weize, Richard (2001). Orbison 1955-1965 (7-CD Deluxe Box Set) (booklet). Bear Family Records. BCD16423. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
  3. ^ "Collective Soul". Spin. June 1995. p. 104. ISSN 0886-3032.
  4. ^ Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1976
  5. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 388. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  6. ^ a b "BEST OF ALL TIME – SINGLES". VG-lista. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on November 2, 2014. Retrieved April 12, 2012.
  7. ^ "Cash Box - International Best Sellers" (PDF). World Radio History. Cash Box. 19 February 1977. p. 59.
  8. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 19. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  9. ^ "Nazareth – Love Hurts" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  10. ^ "Nazareth – Love Hurts" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  11. ^ "Nazareth – Love Hurts" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  12. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 4088a." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  13. ^ "Nazareth – Love Hurts" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
  14. ^ "Nazareth – Love Hurts". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  15. ^ "Nazareth – Love Hurts". VG-lista. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  16. ^ "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Retrieved September 5, 2018.
  17. ^ "Nazareth – Love Hurts". Singles Top 100. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  18. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  19. ^ "Nazareth Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  20. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Nazareth – Love Hurts" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
  21. ^ a b "National Top 100 Singles for 1976". Kent Music Report. December 27, 1976. Retrieved January 15, 2022 – via Imgur.
  22. ^ "Nazareth Success" (PDF). Cash Box. December 18, 1976. p. 48. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
  23. ^ "Canadian single certifications – Nazareth – Love Hurts". Music Canada.
  24. ^ "American single certifications – Nazareth – Love Hurts". Recording Industry Association of America.
  25. ^ "Esurance TV Commercial, 'The Pain Won't Last Long' Song By Nazareth". ispot.tv. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  26. ^ "Zurich Film Advert By McCann: True Love, Warmth: Ads of the World". adsoftheworld.com. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
  27. ^ "Rob Zombie's 'Halloween' soundtrack to include vintage recordings from KISS, Alice Cooper, Rush, Peter Frampton, Nazareth, Blue Oyster Cult, BTO, and More - Soundtrack.Net". www.soundtrack.net. Retrieved August 4, 2024.
  28. ^ "Rob Zombie's 'Halloween II' Soundtrack Features New Recordings « news". PureGrainAudio.com. August 1, 2009. Archived from the original on August 1, 2009. Retrieved August 4, 2024.
  29. ^ Jim Capaldi in the UK charts Archived September 12, 2012, at archive.today, The Official Charts. Retrieved August 11, 2011.
  30. ^ Marsh, Dave (March 11, 1976). "Album review". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on April 30, 2009. Retrieved August 12, 2011.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  31. ^ Jim Capaldi in the Billboard charts, Allmusic. Retrieved August 11, 2011.
  32. ^ "Chartverfolgung / Jim Capaldi / Single". Music Line (in German). Germany: Media Control Charts. Archived from the original on March 9, 2014. Retrieved September 28, 2011.
  33. ^ "Love Hurts" in the Swedish charts, swedishcharts.com. Retrieved August 12, 2011.
  34. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970-1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  35. ^ Canada, Library Archives (April 3, 1976). "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  36. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Love Hurts". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
  37. ^ "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Retrieved September 5, 2018.
  38. ^ "RPM Top 200 of 1976 - January 8, 1977" (PDF).
  39. ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. November 23, 1991. p. 21.
  40. ^ "Cher: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  41. ^ "Top 50 Airplay Chart" (PDF). Music Week. December 21, 1991. p. 20. Retrieved October 17, 2025.
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