"He Will Break Your Heart", is a song originally performed and co-written by

Jerry Butler Jerry Butler Jr. (December 8, 1939 – February 20, 2025) was an American soul singer-songwriter, producer, musician, and politician. He was the original lead singer of the R&B vocal group the Impressions, who were inducted into the Rock and ...

. It was a top-ten hit in 1960. In 1975,

Tony Orlando and Dawn Tony Orlando and Dawn (also known simply as Dawn) is an American pop music group that was popular in the 1970s, composed of singer Tony Orlando and the backing vocal group Dawn (Telma Hopkins and Joyce Vincent Wilson). Their signature hits inclu ...

released the song under the title "He Don't Love You (Like I Love You)". Their version topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart on May 3, 1975, and the US

adult contemporary chart The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to ''Billboard'' by stati ...

Origins

"He Will Break Your Heart" was written by

Calvin Carter Calvin Tollie Carter (May 27, 1925 – July 9, 1986) was an American record producer, record label manager and songwriter of jazz and pop songs. Calvin Carter was born in Gary, Indiana, in 1925. He joined Vee-Jay Records, founded by his sis ...

, and

Curtis Mayfield Curtis Lee Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Dubbed the " Gentle Genius", he is considered one of the most influential musicians of soul and socially conscious Afric ...

. The song was recorded by Butler and released as a single in 1960, where it peaked at No. 7 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and No. 3 on the ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' Top 100. In addition, Butler's recording spent seven non-consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the U.S.

R&B chart 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 ...

. Subsequent

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

s of "He Will Break Your Heart" were released by artists such as Margie Singleton and

Lulu Lulu may refer to: Companies * LuLu, an early automobile manufacturer * Lulu.com, an online e-books and print self-publishing platform, distributor, and retailer * Lulu Hypermarket, a retail chain in Asia * Lululemon Athletica or simply Lulu, a C ...

(both regendering the song to ''She Will Break Your Heart''),

The Righteous Brothers The Righteous Brothers are an American musical duo originally formed by Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield but now comprising Medley and Bucky Heard. Medley formed the group with Hatfield in 1963. They had first performed together in 1962 in the L ...

and

Freddie Scott Freddie Scott (April 24, 1933 – June 4, 2007) was an American soul singer and songwriter. His biggest hits were " Hey, Girl", a top ten US pop hit in 1963, and " Are You Lonely for Me", a No. 1 hit on the R&B chart in early 1967. Life and ...

Chart history

Tony Orlando and Dawn version

When Orlando and the other members of Dawn (

Telma Hopkins Telma Louise Hopkins (born October 28, 1948) is an American actress and pop singer. Hopkins rose to prominence as a member of the pop group Tony Orlando and Dawn, who had several number-one songs. She also performed on the CBS variety show ''T ...

and Joyce Vincent Wilson) were waiting in the lobby to go on at a

Golden Globes The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Januar ...

award ceremony, Orlando spoke with

Faye Dunaway Dorothy Faye Dunaway (born January 14, 1941) is an American actress. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Faye Dunaway, many accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, three Golden Globe Awards, ...

and her then-husband,

Peter Wolf Peter Wolf (born March 7, 1946) is an American musician best known as the lead vocalist of The J. Geils Band from 1967 to 1983 and as a solo artist. Early life and education Wolf was born Peter Walter Blankfield on March 7, 1946, in the Bronx ...

, lead singer for

The J. Geils Band The J. Geils Band (formerly known as The J. Geils Blues Band) was an American rock band formed in 1967, in Worcester, Massachusetts, under the leadership of guitarist John "J." Geils. The original band members included vocalist Peter Wolf, h ...

. To pass the time, the two began singing various R&B songs from the '60s, including Butler's "He Will Break Your Heart", which the couple recommended that the group record on an upcoming album. Orlando contacted Mayfield requesting permission to do a remake, but to change the song's title to the opening lines, and Mayfield gave his permission. ''Billboard'' ranked it as the No. 19 song for 1975. Their version topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart on May 3, 1975, and remained there for three weeks. The song also went to No. 1 on the US

for one week in 1975.Hyatt, Wesley (1999). ''The Billboard Book of #1 Adult Contemporary Hits'' (Billboard Publications), It was later certified gold by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

.''Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990'' - It marked the group's third and last chart-topper on the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), ...

chart. Another track from the same 1975 album was adapted from an Italian hit by

Giorgio Gaber Giorgio Gaberscik (25 January 1939 – 1 January 2003), known as Giorgio Gaber (), was an Italian singer-songwriter, composer, actor, playwright, and musician. He was also an accomplished guitar player and author of one of the first rock songs ...

from two years prior, entitled "Far Finta di Essere Sani", recorded in English as "Tomorrow's Got to be Sunny".

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Subsequent versions

During the 1960s the song was covered by Margie Singleton,

("She Will Break Your Heart"),

Billy Fury Ronald Wycherley (17 April 1940 – 28 January 1983), better known by his stage name Billy Fury, was an English musician. An early star of rock and roll, he spent 332 weeks on the UK singles chart. His hit singles include " Wondrous Place", " H ...

Bobby Vee Robert Thomas Velline (April 30, 1943 – October 24, 2016), known professionally as Bobby Vee, was an American singer who was a teen idol in the early 1960s and also appeared in films. According to '' Billboard'' magazine, he had thirty- ...

Lloyd Price Lloyd Price (March 9, 1933May 3, 2021) was an American R&B and rock 'n' roll singer, known as "Mr. Personality", after his 1959 million-selling hit, "Personality (Lloyd Price song), Personality". His first recording, "Lawdy Miss Clawdy", was a ...

, Ben E. King, The Merseybeats,

Johnny Rivers Johnny Rivers (born John Henry Ramistella; November 7, 1942) is a retired American musician. He achieved commercial success and popularity throughout the 1960s and 1970s as a singer and guitarist, characterized as a versatile and influential art ...

(title "He Don't Love You, Like I Love You"), Jackie Edwards, among others. The band Gallery included a version of the song under the name "He Will Break Your Heart" on their 1972 album ''Nice To Be With You.''

Jim Croce James Joseph Croce (; January 10, 1943 – September 20, 1973) was an American Folk music, folk and rock singer-songwriter. Between 1966 and 1973, he released five studio albums and numerous singles. During this period, Croce took a series of o ...

included a version of the song as part of his "Chain Gang Medley" (along with Sam Cooke's "

Chain Gang A chain gang or road gang is a group of prisoners chained together to perform menial or physically challenging work as a form of punishment. Such punishment might include repairing buildings, building roads, or clearing land. The system was nota ...

", and The Coasters "

Searchin' "Searchin" is a song written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller specifically for the Coasters. Atco Records released it as a single in March 1957, which topped the R&B Chart for twelve weeks. It also reached number three on the ''Billboard'' s ...

") recorded before his death in 1973, it featured on the 1975 album ''

The Faces I've Been ''The Faces I've Been'' is a posthumous double album by Jim Croce, released in 1975. Album history The album was designed to show Croce's artistic development, the track listing is chronological and the liner notes described each period of Croc ...

'' and was a chart success as a single in 1976. The Greg Kihn Band included a version of the song on their 1976 album, '' Greg Kihn''.

The Walker Brothers The Walker Brothers were an American pop group formed in Los Angeles in 1964 by John Walker (musician), John Walker (real name John Maus) and Scott Walker (singer), Scott Walker (real name Noel Scott Engel), with Gary Walker (musician), Gary Wal ...

also covered the track on their 1975 comeback album '' No Regrets'' under the original title "He Will Break Your Heart".

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actress, and philanthropist, known primarily as a country music, country musician. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton's debut album ...

covered the song in 1984, retaining the Orlando and Dawn retitling, though changing the gender to "''She'' Don't Love You", like Margie Singleton did in 1960 to the original "He Will Break Your Heart" song. She included the song on ''

The Great Pretender "The Great Pretender" is a popular song recorded by the Platters, with Tony Williams on lead vocals, and released as a single in November 1955. The words and music were written by Buck Ram, the Platters' manager and producer who was a successf ...

'', an album of covers of early rock and roll hits.

Joe Tex Yusuf Hazziez (born Joseph Arrington Jr.; August 8, 1935 – August 13, 1982), known professionally as Joe Tex, was an American singer and musician who gained success in the 1960s and 1970s with his brand of Southern soul, which mixed the style ...

made an

answer song An answer song, response song or answer record is a song (usually a recorded track) made in answer to a previous song, normally by another artist. The concept became widespread in blues and R&B recorded music in the 1930s to the 1950s. Answer son ...

singing from the perspective of the other man entitled "I Will Never Break Your Heart".

References

{{Authority control 1960 singles 1975 singles Tony Orlando songs Jerry Butler songs Margie Singleton songs The Walker Brothers songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Songs written by Curtis Mayfield Songs written by Jerry Butler Vee-Jay Records singles Elektra Records singles 1960 songs Songs written by Calvin Carter