"Only Love Can Break a Heart" is a popular song from 1962, performed by the American singer-songwriter

Gene Pitney Gene Francis Alan Pitney (February 17, 1940 – April 5, 2006) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. Pitney charted 16 top-40 hits in the United States, four in the top ten. In the United Kingdom, he had 22 top-40 hit singles, inclu ...

. The song was written by

Hal David Harold Lane David (May 25, 1921 – September 1, 2012) was an American lyricist. He grew up in New York City. He was best known for his collaborations with composer Burt Bacharach and his association with Dionne Warwick. Early life David ...

(words) and

Burt Bacharach Burt Freeman Bacharach ( ; born May 12, 1928) is an American composer, songwriter, record producer and pianist who composed hundreds of pop songs from the late 1950s through the 1980s, many in collaboration with lyricist Hal David. A six-time Gra ...

(music) and appears on Pitney's second album '' Only Love Can Break a Heart''.

Gene Pitney version

Pitney had enjoyed some success as a songwriter prior to breaking through as a performer in his own right. He wrote the songs "

Hello Mary Lou "Hello Mary Lou" is a song written by American singer Gene Pitney first recorded by Johnny Duncan in 1960 and in the following year by Ricky Nelson. The song was recorded by Ricky Nelson at the famous United Western Recorders Studios on 22nd Ma ...

", "

Rubber Ball A bouncy ball or rubber ball is a spherical toy ball, usually fairly small, made of elastic material which allows it to bounce against hard surfaces. When thrown against a hard surface, bouncy balls retain their momentum and much of their kin ...

", and "

He's a Rebel "He's a Rebel" is a song written by Gene Pitney that was originally recorded by Vikki Carr and by the girl group the Blossoms. Produced by Phil Spector, the Blossoms' version was issued as a single credited to the Crystals, which topped the Bill ...

", the last a number-one ''Billboard'' Hot 100 hit for

The Crystals The Crystals are an American vocal group that originated in New York City. Considered one of the defining acts of the girl group era in the first half of the 1960s, their 1961–1964 chart hits – including " There's No Other (Like My Baby)", ...

in 1962. Ironically, Pitney's success as a singer was beginning at that time, and, on November 3, 1962, "He's a Rebel" kept "Only Love Can Break a Heart", Pitney's highest charting hit, at No. 2 for one week, from topping the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. Whitburn, Joel (1996). ''The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits'', 6th Edition (Billboard Publications) The song also spent two weeks at No. 1 on the ''Billboard''

Easy Listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...

chart in October and November 1962,Hyatt, Wesley (1999). ''The Billboard Book of No. 1 Adult Contemporary Hits'' (Billboard Publications) while reaching No. 2 on New Zealand's "Lever Hit Parade"."Lever Hit Parade" 15-Nov-1962
''Flavour of New Zealand''. Accessed October 21, 2015 Pitney did his own whistling on the song.

Chart performance

Country music versions

Country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

singers

Sonny James Jimmie Hugh Loden (May 1, 1928February 22, 2016), known professionally as Sonny James, was an American country music singer and songwriter best known for his 1957 hit, " Young Love", topping both of the early versions of today's ''Billboard'' ...

and Kenny Dale also recorded

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

s of "Only Love Can Break a Heart". Both versions reached the Top 10 on the ''Billboard''

Hot Country Singles Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

chart during the 1970s. James' version peaked at No. 2 in March 1972, held out of the top by

Freddie Hart Frederick Segrest (December 21, 1926 – October 27, 2018), known professionally as Freddie Hart, was an American country musician and songwriter best known for his chart-topping country song and lone pop hit "Easy Loving," which won the Cou ...

's "My Hang-Up Is You." As a result, "Only Love ..." just missed continuing James' record-breaking streak of consecutive number-one singles, which had reached 16. Dale's version of the song reached number seven on the

chart in 1979 and it was his biggest hit on the country charts.

Other versions

Margaret Whiting Margaret Eleanor Whiting (July 22, 1924 – January 10, 2011) was an American popular music and country music singer who gained popularity in the 1940s and 1950s.Mapes, Jillian.Margaret Whiting, Iconic Standards Singer, Dies at 86. ''Billboard' ...

charted with the song in 1967. Whiting's version reached No. 96 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and No. 4 on ''Billboard'''s Easy Listening chart.

Bobby Vinton Stanley Robert "Bobby" Vinton (born April 16, 1935) is a American former singer and occasional actor, who also hosted his own self-titled TV show in the late 1970s. As a teen idol, he became known as "The Polish Prince", as his music paid trib ...

released the song in 1977, and it reached No. 99 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, while reaching No. 44 on ''Billboard'''s Easy Listening chart, and No. 50 on the ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

'' "Adult Oriented Playlist" in Canada.RPM Adult Oriented Playlist
, ''

'', Volume 27, Ed. 13, June 25, 1977. p. 27. Accessed October 21, 2015 Vinton's version appears on his album '' The Name Is Love''.

Dionne Warwick Marie Dionne Warwick (; born December 12, 1940) is an American singer, actress, and television host. Warwick ranks among the 40 biggest U.S. hit makers between 1955 and 1999, based on her chart history on ''Billboards Hot 100 pop singles cha ...

released her version of the song as a single in 1977, but it only reached No. 9 on the "Bubbling Under" portion of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, as well as No. 46 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary Charts. In 1999,

Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, actor and television host. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting ''The Glen Campbell Goodt ...

recorded the song on his album ''

My Hits and Love Songs ''My Hits and Love Songs'' is the fifty-seventh album by American singer-guitarist Glen Campbell, released in 1999 (see 1999 in music). It consists of a compilation disc ''My Hits'' and a new studio album ''Love Songs''. Track listing Sourced f ...

''.

References

External links