"Young Hearts Run Free" is a disco song written by David Crawford and originally recorded by American

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

singer Candi Staton in 1976. In 1996, it was covered by American house music singer

Kym Mazelle Kym Mazelle (born Kymberly Grigsby; August 10, 1960) is an American singer. She is regarded as a pioneer of house music in the United Kingdom and Europe. Her music combines R&B, soul, funk, house music, dance, and pop. She is credited as " The ...

for the triple-platinum selling

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack ...

of ''

Romeo + Juliet Romeo Montague () is the male protagonist of William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''. The son of Lord Montague and his wife, Lady Montague, he secretly loves and marries Juliet, a member of the rival House of Capulet, through a pries ...

''. ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' 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

hen Hen commonly refers to a female animal: a female chicken, other gallinaceous bird, any type of bird in general, or a lobster. It is also a slang term for a woman. Hen or Hens may also refer to: Places Norway *Hen, Buskerud, a village in Ringer ...

with 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 The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

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 The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, it peaked at number two behind

The Real Thing The Real Thing or Real Thing may refer to: Film and television * The Real Thing (film), ''The Real Thing'' (film) or ''Livers Ain't Cheap'', a 1996 American film * ''The Real Thing'', a 1980 television documentary by James Burke (science historian) ...

's "

You to Me Are Everything In Modern English, ''you'' is the second-person pronoun. It is grammatically plural, and was historically used only for the dative case, but in most modern dialects is used for all cases and numbers. History ''You'' comes from the Proto- ...

". The 1976 single releases had "I Know" on the B-side. 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'', "Young Hearts Run Free" plays during the closing credits.

Reception

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' 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'." ''

'' 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 house music singer

and released in 1996 as the second single for the triple-platinum selling

by Capitol Records. On August 15, 1997, Mazelle performed the song on the UK's ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most o ...

''. 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 ''Something for Everybody'' is the sixth studio album by American singer and musician Elvis Presley, released on RCA Victor in mono and stereo, LPM/LSP 2370, in June 17, 1961. Recording sessions took place on November 8, 1960, at Radio Reco ...

''. In December 2005, Mazelle performed a short version of the song during her guest appearance as a contestant on ''

The Weakest Link ''Weakest Link'' (also known as ''The Weakest Link'') is a television game show which first appeared in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 14 August 2000 and originally ended on 31 March 2012 when its host Anne Robinson completed her contract. ...

'' during the "Rock and Pop Special".

Critical reception

A reviewer from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

'' rated the song three out of five, noting that here, "

Nellee Hooper Nellee Hooper (born Paul Andrew Hooper on 15 March 1963) is a British record producer, remixer and songwriter known for his work with many major recording artists beginning in the late 1980s. He also debuted as a motion picture music composer w ...

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 ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'' commented, "And yet another, with Candi Staton's glorious original subjected to house frenzy." In 2012, Australian music channel Max 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 A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

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 Harold Perrineau (born August 7, 1963) is an American actor best known for his roles as Michael Dawson in the ABC television series ''Lost'' (2004–2010), Augustus Hill in the HBO television series '' Oz'' (1997–2003), Sheriff Boyd Steven ...

Mercutio Mercutio ( , ) is a fictional character in William Shakespeare's 1597 tragedy, ''Romeo and Juliet''. He is a close friend to Romeo and a blood relative to Prince Escalus and Count Paris. As such, Mercutio is one of the named characters in the ...

), 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)