"'It's a Heartache'" is a song recorded by Welsh singer
Bonnie Tyler. Written by
Ronnie Scott and Steve Wolfe, and co-produced with
David Mackay, the single was released in November 1977 by
RCA Records
RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...
. The song topped the charts in Australia, Canada, and numerous European countries, and reached No. 3 in the US and No. 4 in the UK. Worldwide, "It's a Heartache" sold around six million copies.
In the United States, Tyler's version was released in 1978 around the same time as versions of it were released by
Juice Newton and
Ronnie Spector.
Background
"It's a Heartache" was recorded at The Factory Sound in
Surrey
Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...
, England, in 1977. Producer
David Mackay finished the construction of his
recording studio
A recording studio is a specialized facility for Sound recording and reproduction, recording and Audio mixing, mixing of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home proje ...
in mid-1977, and this song was cut during the very first session.
"It's a Heartache" was one of the first recordings Tyler made following a surgical procedure to remove
nodules from her
vocal folds
In humans, the vocal cords, also known as vocal folds, are folds of throat tissues that are key in creating sounds through Speech, vocalization. The length of the vocal cords affects the pitch of voice, similar to a violin string. Open when brea ...
. The procedure left Tyler with an "unusually husky voice", which ''
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
'' journalist Marcy Donelson described as "an effective instrument".
Release
Producer David Mackay recalled that RCA was reluctant to release the single. The label was pre-occupied with reissuing
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
's back catalogue following his recent death. Mackay, Scott and Wolfe threatened to terminate their contract with RCA if they did not release the track immediately.
"It's a Heartache" was released on 4 November 1977 in parts of Europe, including the United Kingdom, and March 1978 in the United States and Canada.
Critical reception
The release had music critics comparing Tyler's voice to
Rod Stewart
Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British singer and songwriter. Known for his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists of all time, having sold ...
's. Carol Wetzel from ''
Spokane Daily Chronicle
The ''Spokane Daily Chronicle'' is a daily digital newspaper in Spokane, Washington. It was founded as a weekly paper in 1881 and grew into an afternoon daily, competing with ''The Spokesman-Review'', which was formed from the merger of two com ...
'' complimented Tyler's voice on "It's a Heartache", stating that her previous big hit, "
Lost in France", is "no big deal, probably because it was made before her voice changed."
Other versions
In 1978,
Juice Newton released a cover through
Capitol Records
Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...
, produced by
John Palladino. Newton reached No. 86 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and No. 91 on the Canadian ''RPM'' Singles Chart. In the same year,
Ronnie Spector issued a single through
Alston Records. Tyler, Newton and Spector's versions were all released in the same week in the United States, with ''Billboard'' listing each one as "recommended" tracks.
Dave & Sugar's 1981 rendition of "It's a Heartache" reached No. 32 on the ''Billboard'' Country Singles Chart.
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Sales and certifications
Kareen Antonn and Bonnie Tyler
In 2004, Tyler released a bi-lingual duet with French singer
Kareen Antonn. Renamed "Si tout s'arrête", the single reached No. 7 on the Belgian Flanders chart, No. 12 in France and No. 25 in Switzerland. In the following year, Tyler included a solo version of the song, sung entirely in English, on her album ''
Wings''.
Trick Pony version
American
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...
group
Trick Pony recorded a version of the song for their third studio album ''
R.I.D.E.'' (2005). The group's record label,
Asylum-Curb Records, released "It's a Heartache" as the second single from the album on 31 January 2005.
Heidi Newfield sang the main vocals, and Chuck Howard produced. At the end of July 2005, the cover peaked at number 22 on the
Hot Country Songs
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 along with digital sales and streaming. ...
chart, while reaching number 18 on the ''
Radio & Records
''Radio & Records'' (''R&R'') was a trade publication providing news and airplay information for the radio and music industries. It started as an independent trade from 1973 to 2006 until VNU Media took over in 2006 and became a relaunched sister ...
'' version of the country chart. Bobby Peacock of ''Roughstock'' called the cover a "near-carbon copy" of the original.
Commercial performance
Trick Pony's cover of "It's a Heartache" debuted on the US
''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs
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 along with digital sales and streaming. ...
chart the week of February 12, 2005 at number 49, becoming the second highest debut of the week. Slowly, the song barely missed the top twenty, peaking at number 22 on July 30, 2005 and becoming the most successful single from the album. It was their highest peaking single since "
On a Mission" peaked at number 19 in 2003 and their final top forty hit to date. On the ''
Radio & Records
''Radio & Records'' (''R&R'') was a trade publication providing news and airplay information for the radio and music industries. It started as an independent trade from 1973 to 2006 until VNU Media took over in 2006 and became a relaunched sister ...
'' version of the country chart, it performed even better by peaking at number 18.
Music video
Jeffrey Phillips directed the music video. The video features a couple going through a divorce, which includes cut-scenes of the members of Trick Pony. While the husband is buying wine, two robbers come in and hold the owner at gunpoint. The husband tries to stop them but is stabbed by one of the thieves. The police then break the news to the wife, who is devastated. The video ends with the wife going to her would-be ex-husband's grave.
The video began airing in late April 2005 on the
Great American Country channel.
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Release history
References
External links
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{{authority control
1977 songs
1977 singles
1978 singles
1982 singles
2005 singles
British country music songs
British folk rock songs
Bonnie Tyler songs
Dave & Sugar songs
Juice Newton songs
Trick Pony songs
RCA Records singles
Songs about heartache
Number-one singles in Australia
Number-one singles in New Zealand
Number-one singles in Norway
Number-one singles in Spain
Number-one singles in Sweden
RPM Top Singles number-one singles
Songs written by Ronnie Scott (songwriter)
Songs written by Steve Wolfe
Rock ballads
Folk ballads
Country ballads
1970s ballads
Song recordings produced by Chuck Howard