"Love Hurts" is a song that has had success under the wings of multiple artists like Cher, Emmy Lou Harris, and Joan Jett. The first band to record it was a brother duo from Nashville, The Everly Brothers.
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Don and Phillip Everly grew up in Shenandoah, Iowa, where, as children, they performed with their parents under the names of Little Donnie and Baby Boy Phil. When the boys got older, the family moved to Tennessee. The group took what they could gather in Nashville and ran with it. Don had already established himself in the music industry as a songwriter before signing with Cadence Records in 1957. The brothers had outstanding close harmonies and country riffs, so they threw suits on and used R&B rhythm to aid their catchy melodies. They were the first country duo out of Nashville to make their way onto the Los Angels scene as big stars, with only Elvis Presley outselling them in the late '50s and early '60s.
'Love Hurts'
The song was written by Boudleaux Bryant, who was a close friend of the Everly Brothers. "Love Hurts" was not the only song of Bryant's that the band recorded. The hits "All I Have To Do Is Dream," "Bye, Bye Love," and "Wake Up Little Suzie" are all songs written by the songwriter.
In 1960, "Love Hurts" was released by The Everly Brothers on their album A Date With The Everly Brothers, an album which ranked No. 9 on Billboard charts.
In 1961, Roy Orbison released the song as a b-side single on his album Running Scared. The song was a Top 5 chart-topper in Australia, even though it got little-to-no attention in other countries.
In 1973, Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris recorded the song together for Parsons' Live New York 1973 record, and, in 1982, Parson's was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Country Performance By a Duo or Group with the track "Love Hurts."
In 1975, the hard rock band Nazareth released a version of "Love Hurts" (later featured on the Dazed and Confused soundtrack) and made it an international hit. They took it to the Top 10 singles chart in the US and hitting charts in Netherlands, Norway, Australia, Austria, Denmark, New Zealand, Canada, Sweden, Belgium, and South Africa.
Later that same year, Jim Capaldi, a former member of Traffic, took the song to No. 4 on the UK charts.
Also, in 1975, Cher released the song on her Stars album. She re-recorded the single in 1991 for an album under the same name.
While those only cover the highlights of the track's long life, it has been recorded by over 100 different artists across all genres. According to chart history, it was one of the best songs to come out of the '70s.
The 'Love Hurts' lyrics are dry and straight to the point of heartache and love songs.
'Love Hurts' Lyrics:
Love hurts, love scars
Love wounds and marks
Any heart
Not tough or strong enough
To take a lot of pain, take a lot of pain
Love is like a cloud
Holds a lot of rain
Love hurts
Ooh, ooh love hurts
I'm young, I know, but even so
I know a thing or two
I learned from you
I really learned a lot, really learned a lot
Love is like a flame
It burns you when it's hot
Love hurts
Ooh, ooh love hurts
Some fools think of happiness
Blissfulness, togetherness
Some fools fool themselves, I guess
They're not foolin' me
I know it isn't true
I know it isn't true
Love is just a lie
Made to make you blue
Love hurts
Ooh, ooh love hurts
Ooh, ooh love hurts
I know it isn't true
I know it isn't true
Love is just a lie
Made to make you blue
Love hurts
Ooh, ooh love hurts
Ooh, ooh love hurts
Ooh, ooh...
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