Love Hurts

This article is about the song written by Boudleaux Bryant. For other uses, see Love Hurts (disambiguation).

"Love Hurts" is a song written and composed by the American songwriter Boudleaux Bryant. First recorded by the Everly Brothers in July 1960, the song is most well known from the 1974 international hit version by Scottish hard rock band Nazareth and 1975 Top 5 hit in the UK by English singer Jim Capaldi.

"Love Hurts"
Song by the Everly Brothers
from the album A Date with the Everly Brothers
Published	August 30, 1960 (1960-08-30) Acuff-Rose Publications, Inc.^[1]
Released	October 1960
Recorded	July 1960
Genre	Country
Length	2:22
Label	Warner Bros. Nashville
Songwriter(s)	Boudleaux Bryant

Original version by the Everly Brothers

The song was introduced in October 1960 as an album track on A Date with The Everly Brothers but was never released as a single (A-side or B-side) by the Everlys. Due to a falling out with their manager and publisher Wesley Rose, they were prevented from issuing it as a single, though it had been meant for them. It was after the quarrel was settled in 1964 that they rerecorded it for the 1965 album Rock 'n' Soul.

Cover versions

The first hit version of the song is by Roy Orbison, who earned Australian radio play, hitting the Top Five of that country's singles charts in 1961.

A recording by Emmylou Harris and Gram Parsons is included on Parsons' posthumously released Grievous Angel album. After Parsons' 1973 death, Harris made the song a staple of her repertoire and has included it in her concert setlists from the 1970s to the present. Harris has since re-recorded the song twice.

The Who performed the song on their 1967 U.S. tour.

The most successful recording of the song is by Scottish hard rock band Nazareth, who took the song to the U.S. Top 10 in 1975 and hit No. 1 in Norway and the Netherlands.

In the UK, the most successful version of the song is by former Traffic member Jim Capaldi, who took it to No. 4 in the charts in November 1975 during an 11-week run.

The song was also covered by Cher in 1975 for her album Stars; Cher re-recorded the song in 1991 for her album of the same name.

Jennifer Warnes released a version on her 1976 self-titled album.

Don McLean included a version on his 1981 album Believers

Joan Jett includes a version on her 1990 album, The Hit List, a covers compilation.

Heart offers a live unplugged rendition on their 1995 live album, The Road Home, also included on the album's 1995 VHS concert video and later on its 2003 DVD reissue.

Pat Boone includes a version on his 1997 album, In a Metal Mood: No More Mr. Nice Guy, an album of hard rock and heavy metal covers done in a jazz/big band style.

Rod Stewart recorded the song in 2006 for his album Still the Same... Great Rock Classics of Our Time, which was No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Jazz guitarist Julian Lage performs the song on his 2019 album of the same name.

The bluegrass version appearing in both the Deadpool 2 "Super Duper Cut" and the "Once Upon A Deadpool" DVD during the montages featuring the titular character's suicide attempts following Vanessa's death, was first recorded by The Osborne Brothers for their 1977 release, From Rocky Top to Muddy Bottom: The Songs of Boudleaux & Felice Bryant.^[2]

Mexican band Yndio covered in Spanish with the title Herida de amor ("Love's wound") in 1976.^[3]

Roy Orbison version

"Love Hurts"
US picture sleeve
Single by Roy Orbison
from the album Crying
A-side	"Running Scared"
Released	March 1961
Recorded	February 27, 1961^[4]
Studio	RCA Victor Studio B, Nashville, Tennessee^[4]
Genre	Pop
Length	2:26
Label	Monument
Songwriter(s)	Boudleaux Bryant
Producer(s)	Fred Foster
Audios
"Love Hurts" (1961) by Roy Orbison on YouTube
"Love Hurts" by Roy Orbison with Royal Philharmonic Orchestra on YouTube

Roy Orbison covered "Love Hurts" in 1961 and issued it as the B-side to "Running Scared." While "Running Scared" was an international hit, the B-side only picked up significant airplay in Australia. Consequently, chart figures for Australia show "Running Scared"/"Love Hurts" as a double A-Side, both sides peaking at No. 5. This makes Orbison's recording of "Love Hurts" the first version to be a hit.

Chart (1961)	Peak position
Australia	5

Nazareth version

"Love Hurts"
Netherlands single sleeve
Single by Nazareth
from the album Hair of the Dog
B-side	"Down" (non-U.S.) "Hair of the Dog" (U.S.)
Released	November 8, 1974
Genre	Blues rock hard rock^[5]
Length	3:53 3:03 (U.S. single)
Label	Vertigo
Songwriter(s)	Boudleaux Bryant
Producer(s)	Manny Charlton
Nazareth singles chronology
"This Flight Tonight" (1973) "Love Hurts" (1974) "Shanghai'd in Shanghai" (1974)
Music video
Nazareth – "Love Hurts" (TopPop) on YouTube

Performed as a power ballad,^[6] the Nazareth version is the most popular version of the song and the only rendition of "Love Hurts" to become a hit single in the United States, reaching No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1976. Billboard ranked it as the No. 23 song for 1976.^[7] As part of the "Hot Tracks (EP)" it also reached No. 15 in the UK in 1977.^[8] Nazareth's version was an international hit, peaking at No. 1 in Canada, the Netherlands, Belgium, South Africa and Norway. The Nazareth single was so successful in Norway that it charted for 61 weeks on the Norwegian charts (VG-lista Top 10), including 14 weeks at No. 1, making it the top single of all time in that country.^[9]

A later recording by Nazareth, featuring the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, peaked at No. 89 in Germany.

The lyrics of the song were changed for Nazareth's 1975 recording, where the original line "love is like a stove/it burns you when it's hot" was changed to "love is like a flame/it burns you when it's hot".

Cher covered this version for her 1991 album of the same name.

Media

The song was used in an advertisement for Esurance,^[10] and also in a series of advertisements by Zurich.^[11]

A cover was sung by Nan Vernon for the film Halloween II.

The song has been featured in several films and television shows, including Modern Romance, Dazed and Confused, Can't Hardly Wait, That '70s Show, King of the Hill, Detroit Rock City, Scrubs, Click, Supernatural, and Gotham.^[12]

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Chart (1975-1977)	Peak position
Argentina^[13]	3
Australian Singles (Kent Music Report)^[14]	8
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)^[15]	11
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)^[16]	1
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)^[17]	28
Canada Top Singles (RPM)^[18]	1
Germany (Official German Charts)^[19]	30
Netherlands (Single Top 100)^[20]	1
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)^[21]	4
Norway (VG-lista)^[22]	1
South Africa (Springbok Radio)^[23]	1
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)^[24]	6
UK Singles (OCC)^[25]	41
US Billboard Hot 100^[26]	8

Year-end charts

Chart (1975) Rank South African Singles Chart 3 Chart (1976) Rank Australia (Kent Music Report)^[27] 45 Belgian BRT Top 30 10 Canadian RPM Top 200 Singles 14 Dutch Top 40 3 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 23

All-time chart Chart Rank Norway^[9] 1 Certifications Region Certification Certified units/sales Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)^[28] Gold 100,000^* Canada (Music Canada)^[29] Platinum 150,000^^ United States (RIAA)^[30] Gold 1,000,000^^ ^* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Jim Capaldi version

"Love Hurts"
Single by Jim Capaldi
from the album Short Cut Draw Blood
B-side	"Sugar Honey"
Released	November 1975 (November 1975)
Recorded	1975
Genre	Pop
Length	3:29
Label	Island
Songwriter(s)	Boudleaux Bryant
Producer(s)	Steve Smith
Jim Capaldi singles chronology
"It's All Up to You" (1974) "Love Hurts" (1975) "Goodbye Love" (1976)
Live video
Jim Capaldi – "Love Hurts" (from The Old Grey Whistle Test, 1976) on YouTube

Jim Capaldi reached number 4 in the UK charts with his interpretation of "Love Hurts" in November 1975, which was to prove his highest-charting UK single.^[31] Described by Rolling Stone as having "a sense of pain very different from Roy Orbison's."^[32] the single also charted in the US,^[33] Germany,^[34] and Sweden.^[35]

Weekly charts

Chart (1975–76)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report)^[36]	6
Canada RPM Top Singles^[37]	15
Germany	42
Ireland (IRMA)^[38]	8
South Africa (Springbok)^[39]	13
Sweden	16
UK	4
U.S.	97

Year-end charts

Chart (1976)	Position
Australia (Kent Music Report)^[27]	31
Canada RPM^[40]	137

Cher version

"Love Hurts"
Single by Cher
from the album Love Hurts
B-side	"One Small Step"
Released	November 25, 1991 (1991-11-25)^[41]
Length	4:07
Label	Geffen
Songwriter(s)	Boudleaux Bryant
Producer(s)	Richie Zito
Cher singles chronology
"Save Up All Your Tears" (1991) "Love Hurts" (1991) "Could've Been You" (1992)
Audio
"Love Hurts" by Cher on YouTube

American singer Cher recorded her first version in 1975 for the album Stars but did not release this version as a single. She later recorded a second version in 1991 for her album of the same name. This version was a cover of Nazareth's version. The single became a minor hit in the UK in December 1991.

Track listing

• European 7-inch and cassette single

1. "Love Hurts" – 4:19
2. "One Small Step" – 3:27

• European 12-inch and CD single

1. "Love Hurts" – 4:19
2. "One Small Step" – 3:27
3. "Just Like Jesse James" – 4:06

Charts

Chart (1991)	Peak position
UK Singles (OCC)^[42]	43

See also

• List of 1970s one-hit wonders in the United States

References

1. Library of Congress. Copyright Office. (1960). Catalog of Copyright Entries 1960 Music July-Dec 3D Ser Vol 14 Pt 5. United States Copyright Office. U.S. Govt. Print. Off.
2. "Deadpool 2 (2018)". IMDb. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
3. "Grupo Yndio's 'Herida De Amor' - Discover the Original Song". WhoSampled. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
4. Weize, Richard (2001). Orbison 1955-1965 (7-CD Deluxe Box Set) (booklet). Bear Family Records. BCD16423. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
5. Phil Hardy (1995). The Da Capo Companion to 20th-century Popular Music. Da Capo Press. p. 123. ISBN 978-0-306-80640-7.
6. "Collective Soul". Spin. June 1995. p. 104. ISSN 0886-3032.
7. Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1976
8. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 388. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
9. . VG-lista. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on November 2, 2014. Retrieved April 12, 2012.
10. "Esurance TV Commercial, 'The Pain Won't Last Long' Song By Nazareth". ispot.tv. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
11. "Zurich Film Advert By McCann: True Love, Warmth: Ads of the World". adsoftheworld.com. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
12. "Nazareth". IMDb. Retrieved January 16, 2023.
13. "Cash Box - International Best Sellers" (PDF). worldradiohistory.com. Cash Box. 19 February 1977. p. 59.
14. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 19. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
15. "Nazareth – Love Hurts" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
16. "Nazareth – Love Hurts" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
17. "Nazareth – Love Hurts" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
18. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 4088a." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
19. "Nazareth – Love Hurts" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
20. "Nazareth – Love Hurts" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
21. "Nazareth – Love Hurts". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
22. "Nazareth – Love Hurts". VG-lista. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
23. "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Retrieved September 5, 2018.
24. "Nazareth – Love Hurts". Singles Top 100. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
25. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
26. "Nazareth Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
27. "National Top 100 Singles for 1976". Kent Music Report. December 27, 1976. Retrieved January 15, 2022 – via Imgur.
28. "Nazareth Success" (PDF). Cash Box. December 18, 1976. p. 48. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
29. "Canadian single certifications – Nazareth – Love Hurts". Music Canada.
30. "American single certifications – Nazareth – Love Hurts". Recording Industry Association of America.
31. Jim Capaldi in the UK charts Archived September 12, 2012, at archive.today, The Official Charts. Retrieved August 11, 2011.
32. Marsh, Dave (March 11, 1976). . Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on April 30, 2009. Retrieved August 12, 2011.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
33. Jim Capaldi in the Billboard charts, Allmusic. Retrieved August 11, 2011.
34. "Chartverfolgung / Jim Capaldi / Single". Music Line (in German). Germany: Media Control Charts. Retrieved September 28, 2011.
35. "Love Hurts" in the Swedish charts, swedishcharts.com. Retrieved August 12, 2011.
36. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970-1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
37. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. April 3, 1976. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
38. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Love Hurts". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
39. "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Retrieved September 5, 2018.
40. "RPM Top 200 of 1976 - January 8, 1977" (PDF).
41. "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. November 23, 1991. p. 21.
42. "Cher: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 28, 2015.