"In the Middle of a Heartache"' is a song written by Laurie Christenson, Pat Franzese, and

Wanda Jackson Wanda LaVonne Jackson (born October 20, 1937) is an American singer and songwriter. Since the 1950s, she has recorded and released music in the genres of rock, country and gospel. She was among the first women to have a career in rock and roll, ...

. The song was recorded by Wanda Jackson, an American

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rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

, and

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

artist.

Background

The song was recorded specifically on April 20, 1961 at the Bradley Film and Recording Studio in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

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. Three additional songs were recorded on the songs including her follow-up single to "Heartache" entitled, "

A Little Bitty Tear "A Little Bitty Tear" is a song written by the American country songwriter Hank Cochran. It has been recorded by many musical acts, the first being American recording artist Burl Ives. It has since been recorded by others, including Wanda Jackson ...

". The session was produced by Ken Nelson.

Chart performance

"In the Middle of a Heartache" was officially released as a single in September 1961, peaking at number six on the ''

Billboard Magazine ''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the music ...

'' Hot Country and Western Sides chart in early 1962. In addition, the single peaked at number twenty seven on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, becoming Jackson's third and final top-forty song on that chart. "In the Middle of a Heartache" was Jackson's highest-charting single on the ''Billboard'' country songs chart and the Hot 100 as well. It is also her final top-ten hit to date.

Charts

References

1961 singles Wanda Jackson songs Song recordings produced by Ken Nelson (American record producer) 1961 songs Songs written by Wanda Jackson Capitol Records singles Songs about heartache {{1960s-country-song-stub