"Heartbeat" is a

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western musical styles such as country with that of rhythm and blu ...

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetit ...

originally recorded by Bob Montgomery and credited to

Norman Petty Norman Petty (May 25, 1927 – August 15, 1984) was an American musician, record producer, publisher, radio station owner, and considered to be one of the founding fathers of early rock & roll. Biography Petty was born in the small town of Clo ...

. It was recorded most famously by Buddy Holly in 1958. The B-side of the single was "Well... All Right" (Buddy Holly, Norman Petty, Jerry Allison, Joe Mauldin). "Heartbeat" reached the UK top 10 twice. Firstly in 1975 for

Showaddywaddy Showaddywaddy are a rock and roll group from Leicester, England. They specialise in revivals of hit songs from the 1950s and early 1960s, while also issuing original material. Showaddywaddy spent 209 weeks on the UK Singles Chart, and had 10 ...

at number 7 and again in 1992 for

Nick Berry Nicholas Berry (born 16 April 1963) is a retired English actor and pop singer. He is best known for his roles as Simon Wicks in ''EastEnders'' from 1985 to 1990, and as PC Nick Rowan in '' Heartbeat'' from 1992 to 1998. He sang UK chart sin ...

, recorded as the theme to the television series '' Heartbeat'' and reached number 2.

Hit versions

"Heartbeat" was the second to last of Holly's singles to be released during his lifetime. It was a minor hit in the United States, reaching number 82 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. Holly's single had more chart impact in the UK, reaching number 30 in January 1959 and again upon its reissue in April 1960. In the interim between the two UK chartings of the Holly original, a remake by the Dale Sisters (catalogue number

HMV Sunrise Records and Entertainment, trading as HMV (for His Master's Voice), is a British music and entertainment retailer, currently operating exclusively in the United Kingdom. The first HMV-branded store was opened by the Gramophone Company ...

POP 710) reached number 33 in the UK. "Heartbeat" subsequently reached the UK top 10 twice. Firstly in 1975 for

, number 7 that September, and again in 1992 when

's version, recorded as the theme to the television series '' Heartbeat'', in which he starred, reached number 2 that June.

Tommy Allsup Thomas Douglas Allsup (November 24, 1931 – January 11, 2017) was an American rockabilly and swing musician. Personal life Allsup was born near Owasso, Oklahoma in 1931, and was an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation. Allsup had a son, ...

played the lead guitar part on the recording.

Charts

Buddy Holly version

Showaddywaddy version

Nick Berry version

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Cover versions of "Heartbeat"

Versions of "Heartbeat" have appeared on albums by: *

Tommy Roe Thomas David "Tommy" Roe (born May 9, 1942) is a retired American rock and pop singer-songwriter. Best-remembered for his hits "Sheila" (1962) and " Dizzy" (1969), Roe was "widely perceived as one of the archetypal bubblegum artists of the late ...

(''Sheila'', 1962) *

Bobby Vee Robert Thomas Velline (April 30, 1943 – October 24, 2016), known professionally as Bobby Vee, was an American singer who was a teen idol in the early 1960s and also appeared in films. According to ''Billboard'' magazine, he had thirty-ei ...

(''I Remember Buddy Holly'', 1963) * Herman's Hermits — who had originally been named the Heartbeats after the Buddy Holly song (''

Herman's Hermits on Tour ''Herman's Hermits on Tour'' (also called ''Their Second Album! Herman's Hermits on Tour'') is the second album released in the US and Canada by MGM Records for the band Herman's Hermits. It was released in 1965. The cover drawing was by Jim S ...

'', 1965) * Dave Berry (''One Dozen Berries'', 1966) *

Skeeter Davis Skeeter Davis (born Mary Frances Penick; December 30, 1931September 19, 2004) was an American country music singer and songwriter who sang crossover pop music songs including 1962's " The End of the World". She started out as part of the Davis S ...

(''Skeeter Sings Buddy Holly'', 1967) *

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...

(''Don't Stop Me Now'', 1967; also a non-charting US single release) * Humble Pie ('' Town and Country'', 1969) * Cilla Black (''It Makes Me Feel So Good'', 1976) *

Denny Laine Denny Laine (born Brian Frederick Hines, 29 October 1944) is an English musician, singer, and songwriter, known as a founder of two major rock bands: the Moody Blues, with whom he played from 1964 to 1966, and Wings, with whom he played from 1 ...

, guitarist of

Wings A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expre ...

and Moody Blues fame, covered the song on his 1977 Buddy Holly tribute album, '' Holly Days'', produced by

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

. *

The Knack The Knack was an American rock band based in Los Angeles that rose to fame with its first single, " My Sharona", an international number-one hit in 1979. History Founding (1977–1978) Singer Doug Fieger was a native of Oak Park, Michigan, a ...

('' Get the Knack'', 1979) *

The Hollies The Hollies are a British pop rock band, formed in 1962. One of the leading British groups of the 1960s and into the mid-1970s, they are known for their distinctive three-part vocal harmony style. Allan Clarke and Graham Nash founded the band ...

, who had named themselves after Buddy Holly, made their only attempt at having a hit remake of a Buddy Holly song with a 1980 single release of "Heartbeat", a midtempo version that charted at #82 on the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streamin ...

. * A Dutch rendering of "Heartbeat" was recorded in 1982 by Ciska Peters ( nl). * "Heartbeat" served as the title cut for a 1993 album release by

Hank Marvin Hank Brian Marvin (born Brian Robson Rankin, 28 October 1941) is an English multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and songwriter. He is widely known as the lead guitarist for The Shadows, a group which primarily performed instrumentals and was the ba ...

. (Cliff Richard provided the background vocal on the instrumental track). Marvin's album reached no. 17 in the UK. *

Connie Francis Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero (born December 12, 1937), known professionally as Connie Francis, is an American pop singer, actress, and top-charting female vocalist of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Called the “First Lady of Rock & Roll” ...

(''With Love to Buddy'', 1996) * Mike Berry (''Buddy — a Life in Music'', 1999)
Speedy Sparks
(''OK, Let's Play'', 2001) *

P. J. Proby P. J. Proby (born James Marcus Smith; November 6, 1938) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. Proby recorded the singles " Hold Me", " Somewhere", and "Maria". In 2008, EMI released the greatest hits album '' Best of the EMI Years 1961 ...

(''Sentimental Journey'', 2003) * On the 2004 album, ''The Crickets and Their Buddies'', which featured various vocalists fronting Buddy Holly's band

the Crickets The Crickets were an American rock and roll band from Lubbock, Texas, formed by singer-songwriter Buddy Holly in January 1957. Their first hit record, "That'll Be the Day", released in May 1957, peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100, ...

Nanci Griffith Nanci Caroline Griffith (July 6, 1953 – August 13, 2021) was an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. She appeared many times on the PBS music program ''Austin City Limits'' starting in 1985 (season 10). In 1994 she won a Grammy Award f ...

provided the vocal on a remake of "Heartbeat". *

Black Tambourine Black Tambourine was an American indie pop band and one of the earliest Slumberland groups of the early 1990s. Formed in Silver Spring, Maryland, the band comprised vocalist Pam Berry and instrumentalists Archie Moore, Brian Nelson and Mike Schu ...

(''Black Tambourine'', 2010) * Kay Das ("Shadows on Steel", 2008)

Cover versions of "Well... All Right"

The B-side of the single, "Well... All Right", was covered by: *

Blind Faith Blind Faith were an English supergroup featuring Steve Winwood, Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, and Ric Grech. They were eagerly anticipated by the music press following on the success of each of the member's former bands, including Clapton a ...

on their self-titled debut album. * Santana on the ''

Inner Secrets ''Inner Secrets'' is the tenth studio album by Santana. It was released in 1978 and marks the start of the phase of Santana's career where he moved away from the fusion of Latin, jazz, rock and blues that marked his previous records and began to ...

'' album in 1978. This version peaked at #69 on the US Hot 100. *

Alain Bashung Alain Bashung (, born Alain Claude Baschung; 1 December 1947 – 14 March 2009) was a French singer, songwriter and actor. Credited with reviving the French chanson in "a time of French musical turmoil", he is often regarded in his home country a ...

on his album '' Osez Joséphine'' in 1991. * Nancy Griffith (with the remaining members of The Crickets) on the '' Not Fade Away (Remembering Buddy Holly)'' tribute album in 1996. * Albert Hammond, Jr. on his album '' Yours to Keep'' in 2006. * Kid Rock on the '' Rave On Buddy Holly'' tribute album in 2011. * Lyle Lovett on the '' Listen to Me: Buddy Holly'' tribute album in 2011. *

The Smithereens The Smithereens are an American rock band from Carteret, New Jersey, United States. The group formed in 1980 with members Pat DiNizio (vocals & guitar), Jim Babjak (guitar & vocals), Mike Mesaros (bass guitar & vocals), and Dennis Diken (drum ...

recorded in 2008, released on their album '' Covers'' in 2018. *

Pen Ran Pen Ran ( km, ប៉ែន រ៉ន, ), (c. 1944 – c. 1979) also commonly known as Pan Ron in some Romanization of Khmer, Romanized sources intended for English-speaking audiences, was a Cambodian singer and songwriter who was at the height of ...

recorded her own version of the song during the early 1970's. The title is "Enjurng Lerng Rom" but in English that says "Come to Dance".

References

{{Authority control 1958 singles 1958 songs 1992 singles Buddy Holly songs Coral Records singles The Knack songs Songs written by Bob Montgomery (songwriter) Songs written by Norman Petty