Hearts of Stone

For a disambiguation of "Hearts of Stone" see: Hearts of Stone (disambiguation)

"Hearts of Stone" is an American R&B song. It was written by Rudy Jackson, a member of the San Bernardino, California-based rhythm and blues vocal group the Jewels (no relation to the female Jewels group from Washington, DC) which first recorded it for the R&B label in 1954.^[1] The Jewels began as a gospel group, then became the Marbles, recording for the Lucky label out of Los Angeles.

According to Johnny Torrence, leader of the Marbles/Jewels, it was taken from a song they recorded in their gospel days. "Hearts of Stone" was covered and taken to the charts by East Coast R&B vocal group The Charms, causing the story of the Jewels' involvement to be ignored by various writers and DJs who assume the Charms cover was the original. The Charms version of the song went to number one on the R&B Best Sellers and number fifteen on the pop charts^[2].

It also has been recorded by:

• Bill Black's Combo (1961)
• The Charms (1955)
• Red Foley in 1954
• The Fontane Sisters (1954) - the biggest hit version, reaching #1 on the chart in 1955
• John Fogerty and The Blue Ridge Rangers (1973)
• Elvis Presley (1955) - live on the Louisana Hayride radio show.
• Tommy Sands on one of his LPs
• Don Walser and Mandy Barnett (1998)
• NRBQ in 1972 on LP Workshop

Anita, June, Helen and Mother Maybelle Carter performed a memorable live version of this song on an appearance filmed in color by Albert Gannaway in Nashville in the mid-1950s. Red Foley opened both the first and last programs of Ozark Jubilee with the song.

References

1. ^ Dave Marsh (1999). The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made. Da Capo Press. p. 128. ISBN 0-306-80901-X. 
2. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 114.