"That's When Your Heartaches Begin" is a 1937 song by

Fred Fisher Fred Fisher (born Alfred Breitenbach; September 30, 1875 – January 14, 1942) was a German-born American songwriter and Tin Pan Alley music publisher. Biography Fisher was born in Cologne, Germany. His parents were Max and Theodora Breitenbach ...

, William Raskin and Billy Hill. It was recorded and released the same year by Shep Fields Rippling Rhythm. The song first became popular following a 1941 recording by

The Ink Spots The Ink Spots were an American vocal pop group who gained international fame in the 1930s and 1940s. Their unique musical style predated the rhythm and blues and rock and roll musical genres, and the subgenre doo-wop. The Ink Spots were widely ...

. The song was recorded by

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 ...

on at least three occasions during the 1950s, and was one of two songs he recorded on acetate in July 1953, prior to the beginning of his professional career.

Composition

This song uses the I-iii-IV-iv

chord progression In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural, or simply changes) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from ...

, famously used in the song Creep by

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon-on-Thames, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band members are Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Gre ...

Elvis Presley versions

On July 18, 1953, Elvis Presley paid $3.98 () for studio time at the Sun Studio in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

, a recording studio that was also home to the Sun Records label starting in 1952. Presley recorded a double-sided acetate demo single, though he was not yet signed to the Sun Records label. On the A-side, he recorded " My Happiness", later made famous by

Connie Francis Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero ( ; born December 12, 1937), known as Connie Francis, is a retired American Pop music, pop singer, actress, and top-charting female vocalist of the late 1950s and early 1960s. She is estimated to have sold more th ...

in 1958. For the B-side, he recorded "That's When Your Heartaches Begin". He would later revisit the song in recording studios on at least two occasions, the first during the famous

Million Dollar Quartet "Million Dollar Quartet" is a recording of an impromptu jam session involving Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash made on December 4, 1956 at the Sun Studio, Sun Record Studios in Memphis, Tennessee. An article about th ...

sessions on December 4, 1956, and the second in January 1957, when it was recorded and released as a B-side to "

All Shook Up "All Shook Up" is a song recorded by Elvis Presley, published by Elvis Presley Music, and composed by Otis Blackwell. The single topped the U.S. ''Billboard'' Top 100 on April 13, 1957, staying there for nine weeks. It also topped the ''Billboa ...

Beatles performances

According to eminent author Mark Lewisohn (in "The Complete Beatles Chronicles" p. 364),

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

performed "That's When Your Heartaches Begin" during 1959–1961 (in Liverpool, Hamburg and elsewhere) with

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

on lead vocal. Author Allen J. Weiner adds (in "The Beatles The Ultimate Recording Guide", p. 5) that a home rehearsal recording from 1960 survives and has come out on several unauthorized releases. No other recording is known to exist.

References

{{Authority control Elvis Presley songs Songs written by Fred Fisher 1937 songs Hep Stars songs Songs written by Billy Hill (songwriter)