Achy Breaky Heart

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“Achy Breaky Heart”
Cover of CD-Maxi version
Single by Billy Ray Cyrus from the album Some Gave All
B-side	"I'm So Miserable"
Released	1992
Format	Cassette CD single 7" single
Genre	Country
Length	3:23
Label	Mercury
Writer(s)	Don Von Tress
Producer	Joe Scaife Jim Cotton
Billy Ray Cyrus singles chronology
"Achy Breaky Heart" (1992) "Could've Been Me" (1992)

"Achy Breaky Heart" is a hit country music song released in 1992. Originally the song was titled "Don't Tell My Heart" and was recorded by the The Marcy Brothers on their second album but was not released as a single.^[1] The name was later changed to "Achy Breaky Heart" and was recorded by Billy Ray Cyrus on his 1992 CD Some Gave All. As Cyrus' debut single and signature song, it made him famous. It is his most successful song. Von Tress toured with Cyrus for seven years before leaving to write and record songs on his own. The song became ubiquitous on pop and country radio, peaking at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topping the Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart. After being featured on Top Of The Pops, the single reached #3 on the UK Singles Chart.

Contents 1 History 2 Cover versions 3 In other media 4 Formats and track listings 5 Charts 5.1 Alvin and the Chipmunks version 6 References

[edit] History

The change in lyrics came about when a friend of Billy Ray Cyrus split up with his wife. Cyrus went to see him to make sure he was okay. When Cyrus asked his friend how he was feeling his friend said: "My heart's all achy, breaky". The music video for the song was filmed during a concert at the Paramount Arts Center in Ashland, Kentucky. It was nominated for Record of the Year in the 35th Annual Grammy Awards in 1993, but lost to Eric Clapton's "Tears in Heaven".

[edit] Cover versions

• The Chipmunks covered the song in 1992. Their version managed to reach number 71 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, becoming their first chart entry on any Billboard chart in 42 years.
• Kikki Danielsson covered the song with lyrics in Swedish by Mikael Wendt and Christer Lundh, as "En allra sista chans" on her 1993 album Jag ska aldrig lämna dig.
• Caballo Dorado covered the song with the lyrics in Spanish, as "No Rompas Mi Corazón" (Spanish: Don't Break My Heart) in the album "Caballo Dorado, Vol. 2."
• William Hung coverd the song on his 2005 album Miracle: Happy Summer from William Hung.

[edit] In other media

• "Achy Breaky Heart" was rated number 89 in VH1's 100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders.
• Myron Cope, a former Steelers commentator who died in 2008, had a parody of "Achy Breaky Heart". The music video is available at [1].
• "Weird Al" Yankovic has written a parody called "Achy Breaky Song". The lyrics describe Yankovic's annoyance with Achy Breaky Heart, where he states he would rather be tied to a chair and kicked down a set of stairs than listen to Achy Breaky Heart. It appears on his album Alapalooza.
• The film Needful Things features this song as a recurring song played at the tavern in Castle Rock, Maine and continually skips at the line "...my Achy Breaky Heart", inciting a murderous brawl between the bartender and a customer who hates the song.
• It reached #87 in VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the '90s.
• Also reached #2 on VH1's 50 Most Awesomely Bad Songs, and on Blender magazine's 50 Worst Songs Ever. ^[2]
• The song also appears in an episode of The Simpsons.
• Appears in the South Park episode "You Got F'd in the A".
• The 2006 movie Crank also includes the song, where the hero tries to maintain his heart rate by headbanging to the song in a cab driven by an Arab driver (who is somewhat preplexed at the command to change stations, and turn up the volume). The scene then cuts to an external viewpoint to illustrate the volume as the cab traverses to scene.
• In 2008, "Achy Breaky Heart" was rated #23 on CMT's Top 100 Greatest Videos.

[edit] Formats and track listings

CD-Maxi "Achy Breaky Heart" (3:24) "I'm So Miserable" (4:00) "Wher'm I Gonna Live?" (3:29)

7"-Single "Achy Breaky Heart" (3:23) "I'm So Miserable" (3:59)

[edit] Charts

Chart (1992)	Peak position
US Billboard Hot 100[3]	4
US Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks[3]	23
US Billboard Hot Country Songs[3]	1
Australian Singles Chart[4]	1
Austrian Singles Chart[5]	6
French Singles Chart[6]	11
German Singles Chart[7]	27
Irish Singles Chart[8]	2
Swiss Singles Chart[9]	22
UK Singles Chart[10]	3

[edit] Alvin and the Chipmunks version

Chart (1993) Peak position U.S. Hot Country Songs 71 Preceded by "Some Girls Do" by Sawyer Brown Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks number-one single (by Billy Ray Cyrus) May 30-June 27, 1992 Succeeded by "I Saw the Light" by Wynonna Preceded by "Humpin' Around" by Bobby Brown Australian ARIA number-one single (by Billy Ray Cyrus) October 4, 1992 - November 15, 1992 Succeeded by "End of the Road" by Boyz II Men [edit] References ^ Billboard.com - Discography - The Marcy Brothers ^ Run for Your Life! It's the 50 Worst Songs Ever! from Blender.com (Retrieved May 4, 2008) ^ a b c Billboard Billboard.com (Retrieved April 9, 2008) ^ "Achy Breaky Heart", Australian Singles Chart Lescharts.com (Retrieved December 22, 2007) ^ "Achy Breaky Heart", Austrian Singles Chart Austriancharts.at (Retrieved December 22, 2007) ^ "Achy Breaky Heart", French Singles Chart Lescharts.com (Retrieved December 22, 2007) ^ German Singles Chart Charts-surfer.de (Retrieved December 22, 2007) ^ Irish Singles Chart Irishcharts.ie (Retrieved December 22, 2007) ^ "Achy Breaky Heart", Swiss Singles Chart Hitparade.ch (Retrieved December 22, 2007) ^ "Achy Breaky Heart", UK Singles Chart Songfacts.com (Retrieved January 2, 2008)