"Broken Heart" is the debut single from the

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

band

White Lion The white lion is a rare color mutation of the lion, specifically the Southern African lion. White lions in the area of Timbavati are thought to have been indigenous to the Timbavati region of South Africa for centuries, although the earliest r ...

. The song was originally from the band's debut album ''

Fight to Survive ''Fight to Survive'' is the debut album by the American-Danish glam metal band White Lion, released by Victor Records in Japan in 1985. The album charted at number 151 on the ''Billboard'' 200. Background The band was signed to Elektra Record ...

'' released in 1985, but was later re-recorded and re-released as a single from the '' Mane Attraction'' album in 1991 which peaked at number 61 on the ''Billboard'' 200.

Music video

The single featured the band's debut music video with drummer

Greg D'Angelo Greg D'Angelo, (born December 18, 1963) is an American drummer most famous for his work in the band White Lion. Career Early career (1981–1984) Between 1981 and 1983, D'Angelo was a member of Anthrax. After leaving Anthrax, D’Angelo joine ...

and bassist

Dave Spitz Dave "The Beast" Spitz (born February 22, 1958) is an American musician best known for having played bass guitar for the heavy metal group Black Sabbath from 1985 to 1987, appearing on the albums ''Seventh Star'' and being credited for (but not ...

appearing in the video after replacing Nicki Capozzi and Felix Robinson. The 1991 re-recorded version featured a new music video.

Compilations

The song along with the rest of the bands singles was featured on all of the bands major compilations including White Lion's 2020 compilation album, "'All You Need Is Rock 'N' Roll - The Complete Albums 1985-1991'".

Track listing

1985 version

#"Broken Heart" - 3:33 #"El Salvador" - 4:49

1991 version

#"Broken Heart '91" - 4:09 #"Leave Me Alone" - 4:26

Personnel

1985 version

Mike Tramp Michael Trempenau (born 14 January 1961), better known as Mike Tramp, is a Danish singer best known for his work with the glam metal band White Lion. Since 1998, he has also released several solo albums. In 2012, Tramp went on a solo acoustic to ...

- vocals *

Vito Bratta Vito Bratta (born July 1, 1961) is an American guitarist and the former main songwriter for the glam metal band White Lion. He co-founded White Lion with lead singer Mike Tramp in 1983 and played with the band until 1992. Bratta was influenced by ...

- guitar * Felix Robinson - bass, vocals * Nicki Capozzi - drums

1991 version

- vocals *

- guitar *

James Lomenzo James LoMenzo (born January 13, 1959) is an American heavy metal bass guitarist. He was a member of the band White Lion, performing with them from 1984 to 1991. He was later the bassist for Black Label Society, Slash's Snakepit, and Megadeth. ...

- bass *

- drums

In popular culture

On season 11 of ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

'', contestant Colton Dixon chose the song and covered it in the ''Idols "Year They Were Born" feature. Colton Dixon was born in 1991.

References

{{authority control 1985 debut singles 1991 singles White Lion songs Hard rock ballads Song recordings produced by Richie Zito Songs written by Vito Bratta Songs written by Mike Tramp 1985 songs Asylum Records singles Atlantic Records singles