It's a Heartache

"It's a Heartache" is a country rock song that was recorded separately by Bonnie Tyler and Juice Newton in 1977. Tyler's version charted in the UK in November 1977 and both versions charted in the United States in 1978. The song was also recorded by Ronnie Spector of the Ronettes in 1978, but it was not a hit. Authorship is credited to Ronnie Scott & Steve Wolfe^[1], who became Tyler's managers, songwriters, and producers when they saw her in Wales in 1976.

Tyler's version of the song, which was produced by David Mackay, proved to be the most successful (see chart positions below), peaking at #4 in the U.K. and #3 in the United States (where it was also a Top Ten hit on the Country Music chart), and #1 in several European countries and Australia. Many re-recordings were produced by Tyler, with the 2004 version in French with French singer Kareen Antonn on Tyler's album Simply Believe and the 2005 version on Tyler's album Wings. Although the 2005 version did not receive chart success as it was not released as a single, the 2004 version reached #12 in France on the week of release.

Juice Newton's version of "It's A Heartache" was released on select foreign editions of her "Come to Me" album. When released as a single in Mexico in 1977, the song garnered a gold record. Newton's version was released in the United States the following year and peaked at #86.

Other versions

Since 1977, this song has been covered numerous times. It appeared on the 1978 live album by David Johansen of the New York Dolls, "The David Johansen Group Live." Country rock group Dave & Sugar released a cover in 1981, reaching #32 on the country charts with it. Trick Pony covered it on the album R.I.D.E., and released its version in 2005, peaking at #22 on the same chart. A version of the song appears on Arab Strap's Ten Years of Tears. Rod Stewart has been covering the song live since recording it on his 2006 album 'Still the Same… Great Rock Classics of Our Time'. In 2009, Jill Johnson recorded the song on the cover album Music Row II^[2]. There is also a German version called "Lass mein Knie, Joe", sung by Norwegian female singer Wencke Myhre in 1978. In Italy, Patty Pravo recorded a version called "Notti Bianche" in 1979. A French version was recorded by Eva (a German singer), under the title "Et je m'en vais".

Charts

Bonnie Tyler

Juice Newton

Dave & Sugar

Trick Pony

References

• FR [2]
• AT [3]
• CH [4]
• SE [5]
• GER [6]
• FIN [7]
• UK [8]
• Charts All Over World singles sales or airplay [9]
• IE[10]
• SP[11]