"Three Hearts in a Tangle" is a song written by

Ray Pennington Ramon Daniel Pennington (December 22, 1933October 7, 2020) was an American country music singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is known for writing the song "I'm a Ramblin' Man", and for founding the independent Step One Records label. Ca ...

and

Sonny Thompson Sonny Thompson (probably August 23, 1916 – August 11, 1989), born Alfonso Thompson or Hezzie Tompson, was an American R&B bandleader and pianist, popular in the 1940s and 1950s. Biography There is some uncertainty over Thompson's origins, as ...

. It was first recorded by Pennington under the pseudonym "Ray Starr" for King Records in 1958. Pennington was unsatisfied with the quality of the recording and had it quickly withdrawn. In 1961 Roy Drusky made a hit recording of the song which reached No. 2 on the

Country chart Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

and No. 35 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. A year later, James Brown recorded it in time rather than the in which it was originally written, earning him a No. 18 R&B hit.White, Cliff (1991). "Discography". In ''Star Time'' (pp. 54–59) D booklet New York: PolyGram Records. Other performers who have recorded the song include Dave Dudley,

Leroy Van Dyke Leroy Frank Van Dyke (born October 4, 1929) is an American country music and honky-tonk singer and guitarist, best known for his hits "The Auctioneer" (1956) and "Walk On By (Leroy Van Dyke song), Walk on By" (1961). Biography Van Dyke was bor ...

, and

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...

and

Gwen McCrae Gwen McCrae ( Mosley, December 21, 1943) is an American singer, best known for her 1975 hit " Rockin' Chair". Life and career 1960s–1970s Gwen was the youngest of five children, She began performing in local clubs as a teenager, and singing ...

References

Roy Drusky songs James Brown songs Leroy Van Dyke songs Songs written by Ray Pennington Songs written by Sonny Thompson 1961 singles 1962 singles 1958 songs Decca Records singles King Records (United States) singles {{1960s-country-song-stub