Today’s classic song of the day is “Queen of Hearts.” The song was written by Hank DeVito, Emmylou Harris’ pedal steel guitarist, first recorded (and a hit in England) by Dave Edmunds, and made an even bigger hit here in the U.S. by country singer Juice Newton.
Dave Edmunds, of Rockpile fame, first recorded “Queen of Hearts” for his 1979 album Repeat When Necessary. His label, Swan Song, released it as a single in the UK in September of 1979 and it went all the way to #11 on the UK Singles chart.
Swan Song, however, declined to release Edmunds’ single in the United States, for whatever reason. That left an opening for Juice Newton to record the song, using almost the same arrangement as Edmunds. She included it on her 1981 album, Juice, and released it as a single in June of 1981. Ms. Newton’s version was a major hit, reaching #2 on three different charts: Billboard Hot 100, Billboard Adult Contemporary, and Cash Box Top 100. Surprisingly, despite its countrified sound, it only (“only”) hit #14 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart. It was also a top ten hit in Argentina, Australia, Canada, Denmark, New Zealand, South Africa, and Switzerland. It apparently was not released as a single in the UK.
Juice Newton’s recording of “Queen of Hearts” was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Country Vocal Performance, Female, along with Rosanne Cash (for “Seven Year Ache,” a previous classic song of the day), Emmylou Harris, Sylvia, and Dolly Parton. Ms. Parton won that year, for her song “I Will Always Love You.”
Whether you’re more familiar with Dave Edmunds’ UK original or Juice Newton’s global hit, “Queen of Hearts” is a rollicking little tune. It’s a simple one, with the verses hanging on the I chord with a little IV at the end; the chorus goes V – IV – I, over and over again. Basic, yeah, but it works.
And here’s today’s bonus video of the day, Juice Newton’s extremely popular music video for “Queen of Hearts.” This one got a lot of airplay on MTV and other music channels.
