"The Big Hurt" is a pop song that was a hit for

Toni Fisher Toni Fisher (born Marion Colleen Nolan; December 4, 1924 – January 11, 1999), also billed on her records as Miss Toni Fisher, was an American pop singer. She was known for her recordings of "The Big Hurt", "West of the Wall", "Maybe (He'll ...

(billed as "Miss Toni Fisher") in 1959. The song was written by

Wayne Shanklin Wayne Shanklin (June 6, 1917 – June 16, 1970) was an American singer, songwriter and producer. His best known compositions were "Jezebel", " Chanson D'Amour (Song of Love)", and " The Big Hurt". Personal life Shanklin was born June 6, 1916, i ...

. "The Big Hurt" is notable because it featured phasing effects which at that time were rare in popular music; DJ

Dick Biondi Richard O. Biondi (born September 13, 1932) is an American Top 40 and Oldies disc jockey. Calling himself The Wild I-tralian, he was one of the original "screamers," known for his screaming delivery as well as wild antics on the air and off. In ...

on WKBW would introduce the record as "Toni Fisher's weird one."

Music

time signature The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...

is 4/4, and the

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

is indicated as "Moderate

Beguine The Beguines () and the Beghards () were Christian lay religious orders that were active in Western Europe, particularly in the Low Countries, in the 13th–16th centuries. Their members lived in semi-monastic communities but did not take forma ...

Tempo." The melody begins with a triplet on beats three and four, a motif that appears throughout the song in every second measure. In the other measures, however, the duple meter is reinforced by using eighth notes in the same location, presumably to prevent the tune from becoming a

waltz The waltz ( ), meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple ( time), performed primarily in closed position. History There are many references to a sliding or gliding dance that would evolve into the wa ...

.Piano-vocal score (Hollywood, CA: Music Productions, 1959). Although Miss Toni Fisher does use the triplet in her performance on the record, she takes liberties with it and often uses some form of duple rhythm. She also deviates here and there from the notes as written, but well within the usual range employed by singers for expressive purposes. The main harmonic idea uses the tonic chord alternating with the

Neapolitan chord In Classical music theory, a Neapolitan chord (or simply a "Neapolitan") is a major chord built on the lowered ( flatted) second (supertonic) scale degree. In Schenkerian analysis, it is known as a Phrygian II, since in minor scales the chord is ...

(the flattened

supertonic In music, the supertonic is the second degree () of a diatonic scale, one whole step above the tonic. In the movable do solfège system, the supertonic note is sung as ''re''. The triad built on the supertonic note is called the supertonic chor ...

major chord). (The sheet music has an error that occurs three times, but in the chord symbols only, not in actual piano notation: the A flat

diminished chord In music theory, a diminished triad (also known as the minor flatted fifth) is a triad consisting of two minor thirds above the root. It is a minor triad with a lowered ( flattened) fifth. When using chord symbols, it may be indicated by the ...

should really be the E

major chord In music theory, a major chord is a chord that has a root, a major third, and a perfect fifth. When a chord comprises only these three notes, it is called a major triad. For example, the major triad built on C, called a C major triad, has pitch ...

with a G#

bass note In music theory, the bass note of a chord or sonority is the lowest note played or notated. If there are multiple voices it is the note played or notated in the lowest voice (the note furthest in the bass.) Three situations are possible: # ...

.) The release (contrasting middle section) is in the key of A flat.

Effects

American music industry veterans David S. Gold and Stan Ross, founders of the renowned

Gold Star Studios Gold Star Studios was an independent recording studio located in Los Angeles, California, United States. For more than thirty years, from 1950 to 1984, Gold Star was one of the most successful commercial recording studios in the world. Founded ...

in Hollywood, claim that "The Big Hurt" was the first commercial recording to feature a technique (or effect) now known as

flanging Flanging is an audio effect produced by mixing two identical signals together, one signal delayed by a small and (usually) gradually changing period, usually smaller than 20 milliseconds. This produces a swept comb filter effect: peaks and not ...

. This "jet plane-like" sound effect may also be familiar to those who have listened to long-distance shortwave radio music broadcasts. (In radio, this effect was the result of multipath interference and varying propagation times.) To some, the

effect made this record sound like a distant shortwave broadcast.

Chart performance

The song went to No. 3 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 music chart in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

as well as going to No.16 on the Hot R&B Sides chart. Outside the US, "The Big Hurt" went to No. 30 in the UK

Covers

The song was covered numerous times in the mid-to-late-1960s, by artists as diverse as: *Jazz musician Bobby Hutcherson *Scott Walker * Del Shannon's 1966 version reached No. 94 on the Hot 100 (his only charted single on Liberty Records). Shannon's version, produced by Snuff Garrett, also included the phasing effects. *In 1984, the San Francisco-based, dance group, Bearesssense had a minor club hit with their version. *

Wes Montgomery John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery (March 6, 1923 – June 15, 1968) was an American jazz guitarist. Montgomery was known for an unusual technique of plucking the strings with the side of his thumb and his extensive use of octaves, which gave him a dist ...

recorded this with violins carrying the phase-effect part.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Big Hurt, The 1959 singles 1966 singles Songs written by Wayne Shanklin Scott Walker (singer) songs 1959 songs