"Easy to Be Hard" is a song from the 1967

rock musical A rock musical is a musical theatre work with rock music. The genre of rock musical may overlap somewhat with album musicals, concept albums and song cycles, as they sometimes tell a story through the rock music, and some album musicals and concept ...

Hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and f ...

''. It was written by

Galt MacDermot Arthur Terence Galt MacDermot (December 18, 1928 – December 17, 2018) was a Canadian-American composer, pianist and writer of musical theater. He won a Grammy Award for the song " African Waltz" in 1960. His most-successful musicals were ''Hai ...

James Rado James Alexander Radomski (January 23, 1932 – June 21, 2022), known professionally as James Rado, was an American actor, playwright, director, and composer, best known as the co-author, along with Gerome Ragni, of the 1967 musical ''Hair''. He ...

, and

Gerome Ragni Gerome Ragni (born Jerome Bernard Ragni; September 11, 1935 – July 10, 1991) was an American actor, singer, and songwriter, best known as one of the stars and co-writers of the 1967 musical '' Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical''. On Jun ...

, who put the musical together in the mid-1960s. The original recording of the musical featuring the song was released in May 1968 with the song being sung by

Lynn Kellogg Lynn Kellogg (April 2, 1943 – November 12, 2020) was an American actress and singer. Biography Kellogg was perhaps best known for her role as Sheila in the original Broadway production of '' Hair'' in 1968. She also appeared in the 1969 film '' ...

, who performed the role of Sheila on stage in the musical. The song was first covered by American band

Three Dog Night Three Dog Night is an American rock band formed in 1967, with founding members consisting of vocalists Danny Hutton, Cory Wells, and Chuck Negron. This lineup was soon augmented by Jimmy Greenspoon (keyboards), Joe Schermie (bass), Michael Allsup ...

on their 1969 album ''

Suitable for Framing ''Suitable for Framing'' is the second studio album by American rock band Three Dog Night. The album was released on the Dunhill record label on June 11, 1969 and was the first of two albums released by the band that year (see 1969 in music). T ...

'', with the lead vocal part sung by

Chuck Negron Charles Negron II (born June 8, 1942) is an American singer-songwriter. He is best known as one of the three lead vocalists in the rock band Three Dog Night, which he helped form in 1968. Early life Chuck Negron was born on June 8, 1942, in M ...

, and was produced by

Gabriel Mekler Gabriel Mekler (2 December 1942 – 4 September 1977) was an American songwriter, musician, and record producer who attained fame in the 1960s, helming albums for Steppenwolf, Three Dog Night, and Janis Joplin. He also collaborated with R&B sing ...

. Three Dog Night's version of the song reached number four on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1969, and was ranked number 33 on ''Billboards Hot 100 songs of 1969. A decade later, in 1979, the film version of ''

'', directed by

Miloš Forman Jan Tomáš "Miloš" Forman (; ; 18 February 1932 – 13 April 2018) was a Czech and American film director, screenwriter, actor, and professor who rose to fame in his native Czechoslovakia before emigrating to the United States in 1968. Forman ...

was released, with "Easy to Be Hard" sung by

Cheryl Barnes Cheryl Barnes (b. 1951 in Westfield, New Jersey) is an American singer and actress. She is best known for her role in Miloš Forman's 1979 film adaptation of '' Hair'', where she played the mother of Hud's little son. Biography Raised in We ...

Chart history

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Other versions

* Stony Brook People released the song as a demo only single in April, 1969 in the United States. *

John Rowles Sir John Edward Rowles (born 26 March 1947) is a New Zealand singer. He was most popular in the late 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s, and he is best known in New Zealand for his song from 1970, "Cheryl Moana Marie", which he wrote about his younge ...

released the song as a single in 1969 in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. *

Jennifer Warnes Jennifer Jean Warnes (born March 3, 1947) is an American singer and songwriter. She has performed as a vocalist on a number of film soundtracks. She has won two Grammy Awards, in 1983 for the Joe Cocker duet "Up Where We Belong" and in 1987 fo ...

released the song as a single in 1969. It peaked on the chart at number 128 in the US. *

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...

recorded the song on

November 28 Events Pre-1600 * 587 – Treaty of Andelot The Treaty of Andelot (or Pact of Andelot) was signed at Andelot-Blancheville in 587 between King Guntram of Burgundy and Queen Brunhilda of Austrasia. Based on the terms of the accord, Brun ...

1969. The recording was eventually released as a bonus track on the

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

CD re-release of her

ATCO Atco or ATCO may refer to: Businesses * ATCO, a Canadian diversified company involved in manufacturing, utilities, energy and technologies ** ATCO Electric, a subsidiary of the above company * Atco (British mower company), a mower manufacturing com ...

album, '' 3614 Jackson Highway''. *

Sérgio Mendes and Brasil '66 Sergius is a male given name of Ancient Rome, Ancient Roman origin after the name of the Latins, Latin ''gens'' Gens Sergia, Sergia or Sergii of Roman Kingdom, regal and Roman Republic, republican ages. It is a common Christian name, in honor of S ...

released the song as a single in 1970 in the United Kingdom. *

Shirley Bassey Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey (; born 8 January 1937) is a Welsh singer. Best known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the theme songs to three James Bond films, Bassey is widely regarded as one of the most popular vocalists ...

released a version, first issued as the B-side to her hit

Something Something may refer to: Philosophy and language *Something (concept) *Something, an English indefinite pronoun Music Albums * ''Something'' (Chairlift album), 2012 * ''Something'' (Shirley Bassey album), 1970 * ''Something'' (Shirley Scott ...

in 1970, and subsequently featured on her album of the same name. *

, who did the version in the film adaptation of ''

'', released a version as a single in 1979. It reached number 64 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.Cheryl Barnes, "Easy to Be Hard" Chart Positions
Retrieved February 26, 2014 *Minneapolis rock group

Golden Smog Golden Smog is an alternative country- rock supergroup of loosely connected musicians mostly from the Minneapolis area. At various times, members of Soul Asylum, The Replacements, Wilco, The Jayhawks, Run Westy Run, The Honeydogs and Big Star ...

covered the song in 1992 on their debut EP '' On Golden Smog''. *Three Dog Night's version was sampled on the song "One to One Religion" by Bomb The Bass and on the song "Old to the New" by

Nice & Smooth Nice & Smooth is an East Coast hip hop duo from New York City that consists of Gregory O. "Greg Nice" Mays (born May 30, 1967) and Darryl O. "Smooth B" Barnes (born August 3, 1967) plus their deejay Tedd "DJ Teddy Tedd" Whiting. The duo released f ...

in 1994. Their song was also sampled on the song "A Grand Love Theme" by

Kid Loco Jean-Yves Prieur, Kid Loco is a French electronic musician, DJ, remixer and producer. He was born on 19 June 1964 in Antony, Hauts-de-Seine, France. Allmusic considers his style to be similar to Air and Dimitri from Paris. His best-known albu ...

in 1997.

In media

*Three Dog Night's version was used in the 2005 ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...

'' episode, "

Thank God, It's Doomsday "Thank God, It's Doomsday" is the nineteenth episode of the sixteenth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 8, 2005. Al Jean claims that the recorded comm ...

" and at the beginning of the 2007 film ''

Zodiac The zodiac is a belt-shaped region of the sky that extends approximately 8° north or south (as measured in celestial latitude) of the ecliptic, the Sun path, apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Easy to Be Hard 1967 songs 1969 singles 1979 singles Three Dog Night songs Jennifer Warnes songs Sérgio Mendes songs Dunhill Records singles Songs from Hair (musical) Songs from musicals Songs written for films