"Hearts of Stone" is an American R&B

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetit ...

. It became a #1 hit on two of the Billboard three lists, ''Best Sellers in Stores'' and ''Most Played in Jukeboxes'' in 1955 for

The Fontane Sisters The Fontane Sisters were a trio (Bea, Geri and Marge Rosse) from New Milford, New Jersey. Early years Born to an Italian family, their mother, Louise Rosse, was both a soloist and the leader of the St. Joseph's Church choir in New Milford. Bea ...

. It was written by Eddie Ray and Rudy Jackson, members of the

San Bernardino, California San Bernardino (; Spanish for "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 ce ...

-based rhythm and blues vocal group the Jewels (no relation to the female group The Jewels from Washington, DC) which first recorded it for the R&B label in 1954. The Jewels began as a gospel group, then became the Marbles, recording for the Lucky label out of Los Angeles. According to Johnny Torrence, leader of the Marbles/Jewels, it was taken from a song they recorded in their gospel days. "Hearts of Stone" was covered and taken to the charts in 1954 by East Coast R&B vocal group

the Charms The Charms are an American garage rock band from Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, who were formed in 2002. Following 8 straight years of releasing records and touring the band went on a hiatus and returned for a few one off shows befor ...

, causing the story of the Jewels' involvement to be ignored by various writers and DJs who assume the Charms' cover was the original. The Charms' version of the song went to number one on the R&B Best Sellers and number fifteen on the pop charts. A different song, also with the name "Hearts of Stone", was written by Bruce Springsteen and recorded during the '' Darkness on the Edge of Town'' sessions (appears on the anthology box set '' Tracks''). It was recorded and released by

Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes are an American musical group from the Jersey Shore led by Southside Johnny. They have been recording albums since 1976 and are closely associated with Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band. They have recor ...

on their 1978 album '' Hearts of Stone''.

Other recordings

It also has been recorded by: *A 1953/54 version by Eddie Cochran was released in 1997 on the album ''Rockin' It Country Style''. *

Red Foley Clyde Julian "Red" Foley (June 17, 1910 – September 19, 1968) was an American musician who made a major contribution to the growth of country music after World War II. For more than two decades, Foley was one of the biggest stars of the gen ...

on the Decca label in 1954 *

Dot Records Dot Records was an American record label founded by Randy Wood (record producer), Randy Wood and Gene Nobles that was active between 1950 and 1978. The original headquarters of Dot Records were in Gallatin, Tennessee. In 1956, the company moved ...

in ( 1954) - the biggest hit version, reaching #1 on the chart in 1955 *

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

( 1955) - live on the Louisiana Hayride radio show. *In Italy sung and recorded with the title BABY BU (Italian lyrics by Larici) by Carla Boni-Gino Latilla-Quartetto Armonia. Orchestra director: Angelini in the year 1956. *Anita, June, Helen and Mother Maybelle Carter performed a memorable live version of this song on an appearance filmed in color by Albert Gannaway in Nashville in the mid-1950s.

opened both the first and last programs of ''

Ozark Jubilee ''Ozark Jubilee'' is a 1950s United States network television program that featured country music's top stars of the day. It was produced in Springfield, Missouri. The weekly live stage show premiered on ABC-TV on January 22, 1955, was renamed ...

'' with the song. * Tommy Sands on his 1958 Capitol album Sands Storm * Johnny Preston on his 1960 album ''Running Bear''. * Bill Black's Combo ( 1961) * John Fogerty and The Blue Ridge Rangers (

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...

)- this version went to #37 on the Hot 100. *

NRBQ NRBQ is an American rock band founded by Terry Adams (piano), Steve Ferguson (guitar) and Joey Spampinato (bass). Originally the "New Rhythm and Blues Quintet", the group was formed around 1965. Adams disbanded it for a time, and the group re ...

in 1972 on their album ''Workshop'' * Don Walser and Mandy Barnett (

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

) *

Ray Stevens Harold Ray Ragsdale (born January 24, 1939), known professionally as Ray Stevens, is an American country and pop singer-songwriter and comedian, known for his Grammy-winning recordings " Everything Is Beautiful" and " Misty", as well as novel ...

in 2015 on his album ''Here We Go Again!''

References

External links

Billboard: Top Rock'n'Roll Hits, 1955
1954 songs 1955 singles Number-one singles in the United States Eddie Cochran songs Red Foley songs The Fontane Sisters songs Johnny Preston songs John Fogerty songs {{pop-standard-stub