Your Cheatin' Heart
| "Your Cheatin' Heart" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpeg) 1965 reissue single label | ||||
| Single by Hank Williams With His Drifting Cowboys | ||||
| A-side | "Kaw-Liga" | |||
| Published | October 31, 1952 Acuff-Rose Publications, Inc.[1] | |||
| Released | January 1953 | |||
| Recorded | September 23, 1952[2] | |||
| Studio | Castle Studio, Nashville | |||
| Genre | Country & Western, Honky-tonk, Country blues | |||
| Length | 2:38 | |||
| Label | MGM K 11416-B | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Hank Williams | |||
| Producer(s) | Fred Rose | |||
| Hank Williams With His Drifting Cowboys singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Audio sample | ||||
"Your Cheatin' Heart" is a song written and recorded by
"Your Cheatin' Heart" was released in January 1953. Propelled by Hank Williams' recent death during a trip to a New Year's concert in
Background
By 1952, Williams was enjoying a successful streak, releasing multiple hits, including "Honky Tonk Blues", "Half as Much", "Settin' the Woods on Fire", "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)" and "You Win Again".[3] While his career was soaring, his marriage to Audrey Sheppard became turbulent. Already a periodic alcoholic, he developed serious problems with morphine and painkillers prescribed to ease his severe back pain caused by an unsuccessful operation to relieve spina bifida.[4] The couple divorced on May 29.[5] Soon after, Williams met Billie Jean Jones backstage at the Ryman Auditorium, a native of Shreveport, Louisiana, who was, at the time, dating Faron Young. Williams started dating Jones, upon the end of her relationship with Young and soon began to plan their marriage.[6] While driving from Nashville, Tennessee to Shreveport to announce the wedding to her parents,[7] Williams talked to her about his previous marriage and described Audrey Sheppard as a "cheatin' heart", [8] adding that one day she would "have to pay".[7] Inspired by his line, he instructed Jones to take his notebook and write down the lyrics of the song that he quickly dictated.[8]
Recording and release
Williams recorded the song on September 23 at the Castle Studio in
While traveling to a scheduled New Year's show in Canton, Ohio, the driver found Williams dead on the back seat of the car during a stop in Oak Hill, West Virginia.[14] "Your Cheatin' Heart" was released at the end of January 1953.[15] Propelled by Williams' death, the song and the A-side "Kaw-Liga" became a hit,[16] selling over a million records.[17] Billboard initially described the songs as "superlative tunes and performances", emphasizing the sales potential.[18] Within a short time from its release, the song reached number one on Billboard's Top C&W Records, where it remained for six weeks.[19]
Legacy
Released in the wake of his death, the song became synonymous with the myth of Hank Williams as a haunted, lonely figure who expressed pain with an authenticity that became the standard for country music. The name of the song was used as the title of Hank Williams'
Two
Cover versions
- A version of the song by Joni James, released in 1953, reached number 2 on Billboard's Most Played in Jukeboxes.[29]
- In 1953, Frankie Laine's version reached number 18 on the Most Played in Jukeboxes chart.[29]
- In 1962, a version by UK Singles Chart.[31]
- In 1962, Patsy Cline released a version on her third and final studio album Sentimentally Yours. Cline's vocals were overdubbed over a different arrangement for the soundtrack to Cline's biographical movie Sweet Dreams.
Chart performance
Hank Williams
| Chart (1953) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Top C&W Records | 1[19] |
Cover versions
| Year | Artist | Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 | Joni James | Billboard Most Played in Jukeboxes | 2[29] |
| Frankie Laine | Billboard Most Played in Jukeboxes | 18[29] | |
| 1958 | George Hamilton IV | Billboard Hot 100 | 72[32] |
| 1962 | Ray Charles | Billboard Hot 100 | 29[30] |
| Billboard Top R&B Singles | 23[30] | ||
UK Singles Chart
|
13[33] |
Footnotes
- ^ "U.S. Copyright Office Virtual Card Catalog". vcc.copyright.gov. Retrieved 2021-09-09.
- ^ "Hank Williams Sessions". jazzdiscography.com. Retrieved 2021-10-21.
- ^ Helander 1998, p. 188.
- ^ Koon 2002, p. 10.
- ^ Williams 1981, p. 96.
- ^ Koon 2002, p. 200, 201.
- ^ a b Tyler 2008, p. Your Cheatin' Heart, p. 176, at Google Books.
- ^ a b Tichi 1998, p. 212.
- ^ Koon 2002, p. 67, 120.
- ^ Kingsbury 2006, p. 161.
- ^ Joyner 2008, p. 149.
- ^ Koon 2002, p. 95.
- ^ Flippo 1985, p. 204.
- ^ Browne & Browne 2001, p. 914.
- ^ Billboard Staff 1953, p. Your Cheatin' Heart, p. 28, at Google Books.
- ^ Carlin 2005, p. 217 Your Cheatin' Heart at Google Books.
- ^ Williams 1981, p. 157.
- ^ Billboard Staff 1953, p. Your Cheatin' Heart at Google Books.
- ^ a b Houghtaling 2012, p. 98.
- ^ Hischak 2002, p. 66, 192.
- ^ Escott, Merritt & MacEwen 2004, p. 238.
- ^ Koda 2012.
- ^ Rolling Stone staff 2011.
- ^ Rolling Stone staff 2004.
- ^ Associated Press 2003.
- ^ Riggs 2006, p. 1298.
- ^ Geller 2012.
- ^ Devine & Wormald 2012, p. 201.
- ^ a b c d Billboard Staff 2 1953, p. Your Cheatin' Heart, p. 30, at Google Books.
- ^ a b c Aswell 2009, p. Your Cheatin' Heart, p. 15, at Google Books.
- ^ Billboard staff 3 1963, p. Your Cheatin' Heart, p. 20, at Google Books.
- ^ "Billboard Hot 100: Week of September 8, 1958". Billboard. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
- ^ Billboard staff 3 1963, p. Your Cheatin' Heart, p. 20, at Google Books.
References
- Aswell, Tom (2009). Louisiana Rocks!: The True Genesis of Rock and Roll. Pelican Publishing. ISBN 978-1-455-60783-9.
- Associated Press (June 5, 2003). "CMT's top songs of country music". USA Today. Retrieved May 16, 2013.
- Billboard Staff (1953). "This Week's Best Buys". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. ISSN 0006-2510.
- Billboard Staff 2 (1953). "Top Popular Records". Billboard. Vol. 45, no. 30. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. ISSN 0006-2510.)
{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link - Billboard staff 3 (1963). "Hits of the World". Billboard. Vol. 75, no. 3. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. ISSN 0006-2510.)
{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link - Browne, Ray; Browne, Pat (2001). The guide to United States popular culture. Popular Press. ISBN 978-0-879-72821-2.
- Carlin, Richard (2005). Country. Infobase Publishing. ISBN 978-0-816-06977-4.
- Campbell, Michael (2008). Rock and Roll: An Introduction. Cengage Learning. ISBN 978-0-534-64295-2.
- Devine, T. M.; Wormald, Jenny (2012). The Oxford Handbook of Modern Scottish History. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-191-62433-9.
Bibliography
- Escott, Colin; Merritt, George; MacEwen, William (2004). Hank Williams: The Biography. New York: Little, Brown.
- Flippo, Chet (1985). Your Cheatin' Heart: A Biography of Hank Williams. Doubleday Publishing. ISBN 978-0-385-19737-3.
- Fox, Pamela (2009). Natural acts: gender, race, and rusticity in country music. University of Michigan Press. ISBN 978-0-472-07068-8.
- Geller, Wendy (2012). "Hear Jennifer Nettles Take On Hank Sr. Classic In Pepsi Max Commercial". Yahoo! Music. Yahoo, Inc.
- Helander, Brock (1998). The rockin' '50s: the people who made the music. Schirmer Books. ISBN 978-0-028-64872-9.
- Hischak, Thomas (2002). The Tin Pan Alley song encyclopedia. Greenwood Press. ISBN 978-0-313-31992-1.
- Houghtaling, Adam Brent (2012). This Will End in Tears: The Miserabilist Guide to Music. HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-062-09896-2.
- Jennings, Dana (2008). Sing Me Back Home: Love, Death, and Country Music. Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-429-99624-2.
- Joyner, David Lee (2008). American Popular Music. McGraw-Hill Education. ISBN 978-0-073-52657-7.
- Kingsbury, Paul (2006). Will the circle be unbroken: country music in America. DK Publishing. ISBN 978-0-756-62352-4.
- Koda, Cub (2012). Your Cheatin' Heart. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved May 15, 2013.
{{cite book}}:|work=ignored (help) - Koon, George William (2002). Hank Williams, so Lonesome. University of Mississippi press. ISBN 978-1-57806-283-6.
- Pugh, Ronnie (1998). Ernest Tubb: The Texas Troubadour. Duke University Press. ISBN 978-0-822-32190-3.
- Riggs, Thomas (2006). Encyclopedia of major marketing campaigns. Vol. 2. Gale Books. ISBN 978-0-787-67356-7.
- Rhodes, Don (2008). Say it Loud!: My Memories of James Brown, Soul Brother Number 1. Globe Pequot. ISBN 978-1-59921-674-4.
- Rolling Stone staff (2004). "500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media LLC. Retrieved May 15, 2013.
- Rolling Stone staff (2011). "Your Cheatin' Heart". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media LLC. Archived from the original on June 19, 2012. Retrieved May 15, 2013.
- Rotella, Mark (2010). Amore: The Story of Italian American Song. Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-429-97847-7.
- Tichi, Cecelia (1998). Reading country music: steel guitars, opry stars, and honky-tonk bars. Duke University Press. ISBN 978-0-822-32168-2.
- Tyler, Don (2008). Music of the post war era. ABC-Clio. ISBN 978-0-313-34191-5.
- Williams, Roger M. (1981). Sing a sad song: the life of Hank Williams. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 978-0-252-00861-0.
