"Young Hearts Run Free" is a

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

song written by David Crawford and originally recorded by American soul singer

Candi Staton Canzetta Maria "Candi" Staton (, ) (born March 13, 1940) is an American singer–songwriter, best known in the United States for her 1970 remake of Tammy Wynette's " Stand by Your Man" and her 1976 disco chart-topper "Young Hearts Run Free". In E ...

in 1976. In 1996, it was covered by American

house music House is a music genre characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120 beats per minute. It was created by Disc jockey, DJs and music producers from Chicago metropolitan area, Chicago' ...

singer Kym Mazelle for the triple-platinum selling soundtrack of '' Romeo + Juliet''. '' Rolling Stone'' ranked "Young Hearts Run Free" number 150 their list of ''200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time'' in 2022.

Candi Staton version

"Young Hearts Run Free" is a disco pop-funk track written and produced by David Crawford. According to Staton, the song's genesis was a conversation she had with Crawford over lunch in Los Angeles: Staton – "Dave Crawford was always asking me: 'What's happening in your life'...and I was henwith someone I shouldn't have been with and it was hard getting out of that...very abusive relationship" "I oticedthat rawfordwas taking notes, and he said, 'You know, I'm gonna write you a song. I'm gonna write you a song that's gonna last forever'". Released in 1976 from the album of the same title, it spent a week at number one on the Hot Soul Singles chart. It also peaked at number twenty on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart. Along with the tracks "Run to Me" and "Destiny", "Young Hearts Run Free" went to number eight on the dance/disco charts. "Young Hearts Run Free" was one of only two songs by Staton to reach the top 10 on the UK Singles Chart, it peaked at number two behind The Real Thing's " You to Me Are Everything". The 1976 single releases had "I Know" on the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

. The song is referenced in Staton's 1978 single "Victim" in the lyrics, "I became a victim of the very song I sing, I told you 'young hearts run free'. When I didn't listen to myself . . ." It was used in the 2009 video game '' Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony'' on the in-game radio station K109 The Studio. In the 2018 documentary ''

Studio 54 Studio 54 is a Broadway theater and a former disco nightclub at 254 West 54th Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Operated by the Roundabout Theatre Company, Studio 54 has 1,006 seats on two levels. The theater was ...

'', "Young Hearts Run Free" plays during the closing credits.

Reception

'' The Guardian'' said the song "sounds blissful – as if specifically designed to waft out of radios during the sweltering summer of 1976 – but the lyrics are a rueful, downcast cautionary tale of 'lost and lonely' marital discord and years 'filled with tears'." '' Rolling Stone'' called it, "still one of the greatest, soaring and melancholy, with Staton's vocal almost unbearably felt".

Charts

Certifications

Kym Mazelle version

"Young Hearts Run Free" was covered by American

singer Kym Mazelle and released in 1996 as the second single for the triple-platinum selling soundtrack of Romeo + Juliet by

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

. On August 15, 1997, Mazelle performed the song on the UK's '' Top of the Pops''. The single has since become one of Mazelle's signature hits. In 1998, the song was included on the director's remix album '' Something for Everybody''. In December 2005, Mazelle performed a short version of the song during her guest appearance as a contestant on '' The Weakest Link'' during the "Rock and Pop Special".

Critical reception

A reviewer from '' Music Week'' rated the song three out of five, noting that here, " Nellee Hooper is at the controls for Mazelle's pumped up version of the soul classic, lifted from the Romeo & Juliet soundtrack." Alan Jackson from '' The Times'' commented, "And yet another, with

's glorious original subjected to

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

frenzy." In 2012, Australian music channel

Max Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (English Springer Spaniel), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of OBE) * Max (gorilla) ...

placed Mazelle's version of "Young Hearts Run Free" at number 552 in their list of ''1000 Greatest Songs of All Time'' in 2012.

Music video

The music video features Mazelle in a sleeveless dress wearing gold jewelry as well as a burgundy dress in other scenes. The video was filmed in late 1996. Several scenes and footage from the ''Romeo + Juliet'' film appear in the video. The video also features a crossdresser ( Harold Perrineau as Mercutio), in a white outfit wearing a platinum blonde afro wig, miming to Mazelle's voice.

Track listing

* Maxi-single #"Young Hearts Run Free" (Album Version) – 3:59 #"Young Hearts Run Free" (Kiss My Brass – Main Vox Edit) – 3:45 #"Young Hearts Run Free" (Young Hearts Dub Free - Underground Dub) – 6:10 #"Young Hearts Run Free" (Kiss My Brass Main Vox) – 8:10

Charts

Certifications

References

External links

* Song review {{Authority control 1976 singles 1986 singles 1981 singles 1997 singles 1999 singles Disco songs 1976 songs Warner Records singles Songs written by Dave Crawford (musician)