Queen of Hearts is a

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

- pop song written by

Hank DeVito Henry M. "Hank" DeVito is an American musician and photographer known primarily for his pedal steel guitar work and songwriting. Biography After high school, DeVito attended the School of Visual Arts in New York City. He studied graphic arts and ...

, the

pedal steel guitar The pedal steel guitar is a Console steel guitar, console-type of steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings to enable playing more varied and complex music than any previous steel guitar design. Like all s ...

ist in

Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. She has released dozens of albums and singles over the course of her career and has won 14 Grammys, the Polar Music Prize, and numerous other honors, including ...

's backing group The Hot Band, and was first recorded by

Dave Edmunds David William Edmunds (born 15 April 1944) is a Welsh singer-songwriter, guitarist and record producer. Although he is mainly associated with pub rock and new wave, having many hits in the 1970s and early 1980s, his natural leaning has alwa ...

on his 1979 album ''

Repeat When Necessary ''Repeat When Necessary'' is the fifth album by Welsh rock musician Dave Edmunds. Recording and release Produced by Edmunds, it was released in 1979 by Swan Song Records (see 1979 in music). It was recorded and released at the same time as Ni ...

''. It was released as a single and reached No. 11 in the UK and No. 12 in Ireland that year, but failed to chart substantially elsewhere in the world. The most successful version of the song was recorded by

Juice Newton Judith Kay "Juice" Newton (born February 18, 1952) is an American pop and country singer, songwriter, and musician. Newton has received five Grammy Award nominations in the Pop and Country Best Female Vocalist categorieswinning once in 1983as well ...

in 1981 – her version reached #2 in the United States and South Africa. The song also reached the top 10 in Canada, Australia, Denmark, Switzerland and New Zealand.

Juice Newton version

Following an appearance on the 1980

Rodney Crowell Rodney Crowell (born August 7, 1950) is an American musician, known primarily for his work as a singer and songwriter in country music. Crowell has had five number one singles on Hot Country Songs, all from his 1988 album '' Diamonds & Dirt''. ...

album ''

But What Will the Neighbors Think ''But What Will the Neighbors Think'' is the second studio album by American country music artist Rodney Crowell. It was released in 1980 (see 1980 in country music) by Warner Bros. Records. It reached #64 on the Top Country Albums chart and #1 ...

'', on which composer DeVito played guitar, "Queen of Hearts" had its highest-profile rendition in a version by country-rock singer

from the 1981 album ''

Juice Juice is a drink made from the extraction or Cold-pressed juice, pressing of the natural liquid contained in fruit and vegetables. It can also refer to liquids that are flavored with concentrate or other biological food sources, such as meat ...

''. Newton would later recall: "I did Queen of Hearts'live for about a year...Then I brought it to roducerRichard Landis when we started the ''Juice'' album. He wasn’t convinced at that point that it was a breakout song but I told him I think this is a real cool song … so we cut it." Newton's own favorite cut on the ''Juice'' album, "Queen of Hearts" was issued as the album's second single and would reach No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for two weeks in September 1981, behind " Endless Love" by

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups o ...

and

Lionel Richie Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. (born June 20, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He rose to fame in the 1970s as a songwriter and the co-lead singer of funk band the Commodores; writing and recordi ...

. While still at No. 2, "Queen of Hearts" was certified Gold for domestic sales of one million units. "Queen of Hearts" also gave Newton her second huge international hit, with Top Ten chart positions in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, and Switzerland, and more moderate success in Austria, Germany, and the Netherlands. Her recording of the song earned Newton a 1982 Grammy nomination for Best Female Vocalist, Country and Western category, "Queen of Hearts" having been a No. 14 country hit. In June 2014, Newton's version of the song was ranked No. 92 by ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' on its list of the 100 greatest country songs of all time. Newton re-recorded "Queen of Hearts" for her 1998 album ''The Trouble With Angels''. In 1997, a live version by Dave Edmunds was released on his compilation album ''Rockin' ''. Juice Newton's first version of the song is featured in

Oliver Stone William Oliver Stone (born September 15, 1946) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. Stone won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay as writer of '' Midnight Express'' (1978), and wrote the gangster film remake '' Sc ...

's 1986 film '' Salvador'' and the 1997 film ''

Boogie Nights ''Boogie Nights'' is a 1997 American period comedy-drama film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. It is set in Los Angeles's San Fernando Valley and focuses on a young nightclub dishwasher who becomes a popular star of pornographic fil ...

''. It also appears as

source music Diegetic music or source music is music in a drama (e.g., film or video game) that is part of the fictional setting and so, presumably, is heard by the characters. The term refers to diegesis, a style of storytelling. The opposite of source m ...

in the first episode of ''

The Americans ''The Americans'' is an American historical drama, period spy fiction, spy drama television series created by Joe Weisberg that aired on the FX (TV channel), FX television network for six seasons from January 30, 2013, to May 30, 2018. Weisberg ...

'', a 2013 television series set during the first

Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

administration. The song is also featured in the 1998 ''

King of the Hill ''King of the Hill'' is an American animated sitcom created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It aired its original non-syndicated run from January 12, 1997, to September 13, 2009, and centers on the Hills, an Am ...

'' episode ''Hank's Dirty Laundry'', the 2017 ''

South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boys Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand th ...

'' episode "

Splatty Tomato "Splatty Tomato" is the tenth episode and the season finale of the South Park (season 21), twenty-first season of the American animated television series ''South Park''. The 287th overall episode of the series, it premiered on Comedy Central in the ...

" and the 2004 video game '' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas''.

Chart performance (Juice Newton version)

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Covers

In 1982, Austrian artist Nickerbocker ( de) released the German rendering "Puppe (du bist a moderne Hex')" ("Doll (You're A Modern Witch)") which reached #3 in Austria.''(source in German)''

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 1981 singles 2006 singles Juice Newton songs Dave Edmunds songs Song recordings produced by Richard Landis Capitol Records singles Swan Song Records singles Rodney Crowell songs 1979 songs Songs written by Hank DeVito