"Every Little Bit Hurts" was originally a 1964 hit single for

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

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 att ...

singer

Brenda Holloway Brenda Holloway (born June 26, 1946) is an American singer and songwriter, who was a recording artist for Motown Records during the 1960s. Her best-known recordings are the soul hits, "Every Little Bit Hurts", " When I'm Gone", and "You've Ma ...

, written by

Ed Cobb Edward C. "Ed" Cobb (February 25, 1938 – September 19, 1999) was an American musician, songwriter, and record producer, most notably during the 1950s and 1960s. He is best known for writing the song " Tainted Love" for Gloria Jones, which lat ...

Background

Though she was against recording the song again (she recorded it a couple of years before signing with Motown), she reluctantly recorded the song and the label released it in the summer of the year. "Every Little Bit Hurts" was a big hit peaking at No. 13 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and became one of Holloway's trademark singles.

Covers

* The Spencer Davis Group version reached No. 41 in the UK in early 1965. and No. 9 in Canada in 1967. *In 1968,

Small Faces Small Faces were an English rock band from London, founded in 1965. The group originally consisted of Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane, Kenney Jones and Jimmy Winston, with Ian McLagan replacing Winston as the band's keyboardist in 1966. The ...

recorded the song and included on "The BBC Sessions" LP. * Released in October 1976, it was covered by Graeme "Shirley" Strachan (lead singer of

Skyhooks Skyhook, sky hook or skyhooks may refer to: Fiction * 'Skyhooks' or 'Skyhooks II', parts 1 and 8 respectively of the Adventure Time Elements (miniseries), Elements miniseries. * ''Sky Hook'', a Hugo-award nominated science fiction fanzine * Sk ...

) as his debut solo release and peaked at No. 3 on the Australian

Kent Music Report The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent (historian), David Kent from May 1974 through to January 1999. The chart was re-branded the Australian Music ...

Singles Charts. * British band

The Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the w ...

recorded a cover of the song in 1980 for

Sandinista! ''Sandinista!'' is the fourth studio album by the English punk rock band the Clash. It was released on 12 December 1980 as a triple album containing 36 tracks, with 6 songs on each side. It crosses various genres including funk, reggae, jazz, ...

, but the track didn't make it onto the album. It was instead released in 1991 on the box set

Clash on Broadway ''Clash on Broadway'' is a box set compilation album by the English punk rock band the Clash, released on Legacy Records in 1991. It comprises 64 tracks on three compact discs, spanning the time period from their 1977 debut single, "White Riot" ...

Chart history

;Brenda Holloway ;Spencer Davis Group ;Graeme "Shirley" Strachan

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Alicia Keys version

"Every Little Bit Hurts" was included by

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

recording artist

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...

on her live album, ''

Unplugged Unplugged may refer to: *Acoustic music, music not produced through electronic means * "Unplugged" (B.A.P song), 2014 * "Unplugged" (''Modern Family''), a 2010 episode of ''Modern Family'' Albums and EPs * ''Unplugged'' (5'nizza album), 2002 * '' ...

'' (2005). It was released as the album's second and last single in 2006. It failed to enter the US and international charts.

Critical reception

Sal Cinquemani from ''

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New Yo ...

'' felt that Keys treated the song "like vocal audition ..and not the blank canvas ..of an interpretive artist".

Music video

Directed by Justin Francis, the video premiered on January 17, 2006 on

BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los ...

's ''

106 & Park ''106 & Park'' is an American hip hop and R&B music video show, set up in a countdown format, that was broadcast on weekdays at 6:00 pm ET/5:00 pm CT on BET; it aired on a one-day delay on BET International. It was the network's highest- rate ...

''.

Track listing

*US promotional CD single # "Every Little Bit Hurts" (Radio Edit) – 3:58 # "Every Little Bit Hurts" (Call Out Hook) – 0:10 # "Every Little Bit Hurts" (Radio Edit) (MP3 format) – 3:58

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Every Little Bit Hurts 1964 singles 1965 singles 1976 singles 2006 singles Brenda Holloway songs Alicia Keys songs Songs written by Ed Cobb Motown singles Small Faces songs Soul ballads Rhythm and blues ballads 1964 songs Teena Marie songs