Today’s classic song of the day is such a great song it was a hit in both the 1960s and 1980s—and has become a standard for performers of all types and sizes. The song is “This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You),” which was first released by the Isley Brothers in 1966 and then later by Rod Stewart (with Ron Isley along for the ride) in 1989.
“This Old Heart of Mine” was written by the classic Motown songwriting of Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Eddie Holland, better known as H-D-H. They originally intended it for the Supremes but it ended up with the Isley Brothers when they were briefly attached to Motown records in 1966. (The Isleys were originally with RCA Records, then Scepter Records, then their own T-Neck label, then Motown’s Tamla label for about a year, then it was on to even more labels over the course of their long and continuing career.) It’s one of the greatest H-D-H songs of them all, one of my all-time personal favorites, a tune I just can’t get enough of.
The song is typical H-D-H in that it pairs heartbreak in the lyrics with an upbeat, uptempo, highly hummable melody and chord progression. If you just listen to the music, you want to dance; if you listen to the words, you want to cry. Smiling and crying at the same time, that’s what makes this song so great.
Lamont Dozier said the song was inspired by a girl who kept dumping him that he just couldn’t give up:
“The more I tried [to break up with her] the deeper I fell. I made excuses for her and all the wrong she had done to me. She was a necessary evil that I just couldn’t overcome.”
You can hear that in the lyrics:
But if you leave me a hundred times
A hundred times I’ll take you back
I’m yours whenever you want me
I’m not too proud to shout it, tell the world about it ’cause
I love you
This old heart, darling is weak for you
You feel for the guy because we’ve all been there.
“This Old Heart of Mine” is also an interesting song, composition-wise. The verse (“This old heart of mine, been broke a thousand times”) is in C, with an standard but still interesting I -vi – IV – iiim7 – iim7- V7 progression. (That downward motion of F, Em7, Dm7 to G7 at the end of the phrase is killer.) Then there’s a prominent bridge (“Maybe it’s my mistake to show this love I feel inside”) that moves to the relative minor, with a iim7 – V – iii – vim7 progression (that’s Dm7 – G – Em – Am7); the minor feel in the bridge builds the tension and emphasizes the heartbreak in the lyrics. Then it’s to the actual chorus (“I love you, yes I do”), which uses pretty much the same chord progression as in the verse, but with a different, rhythmically simpler melody—and that descending pattern at the end of the phrase is still killer. It’s terrific songwriting.
The Isley Brothers released “This Old Heart of Mine” in January of 1966 and it was a hit, peaking at #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #6 on Billboard’s R&B Singles chart. Lead vocalist Ron Isley pulled out all the stops on this one, wringing every ounce of emotion out of Eddie Holland’s lyrics of loss and regret, and the Funk Brothers (especially bassist James Jamerson and drummer Benny Benjamin) kick the hell out of it. It’s as perfect as you can get.
The Isleys’ version of the song had a resurgence in 1985 when it was prominently featured in the “Knowing Her” episode of the Moonlighting TV show. The song underscored the heartbreak of Bruce Willis’ character when he reconnects with an old flame (played by Dana Delaney) who turns out to be a killer. It was a perfect marriage of music, plot, and character.
A few years after that, in 1989, Rod Stewart recorded a cover of the tune (now in the key of A), accompanied by the song’s original singer, Ron Isley. (Rod had previously recorded a different version of the song in 1975, but it didn’t go anywhere.) This new version got a lot of airplay on MTV and hit #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart. Part of that may have been due to the appealing ’60s-themed video, complete with attractive plastic mini-skirted and mascaraed backup singers. (It worked for me; I couldn’t stop watching it back then—and still can’t today.)
Bottom line, “This Old Heart of Mine” is a terrific piece of music. Eddie Holland wrote some great lyrics and the music by Lamont Dozier and Brian Holland just tears at the heartstrings. It is a powerful song, seemingly upbeat but full of heartbreak. It will always be on my desert island playlist; it’s timeless.
