Achy Breaky Heart

"Achy Breaky Heart"
Single by Billy Ray Cyrus
from the album Some Gave All
Released	March 23, 1992
Format	Cassette CD single 7" single
Recorded	January 1992
Genre	Country pop, country rock
Length	3:23
Label	PolyGram/Mercury
Writer(s)	Don Von Tress
Producer	Joe Scaife, Jim Cotton
Certification	Platinum
Billy Ray Cyrus singles chronology

"Achy Breaky Heart" is a country music song written by Don Von Tress. Originally titled "Don't Tell My Heart" and recorded by The Marcy Brothers in 1991, its name was later changed to "Achy Breaky Heart" and recorded by Billy Ray Cyrus on his 1992 album Some Gave All. As Cyrus' debut single and signature song, it made him famous and has been his most successful song. It became the first single ever to achieve triple Platinum status in Australia and the 1992's best selling single in the same country.[1][2] In the United States it became a crossover hit on pop and country radio, peaking at number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topping the Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart, becoming the first Country single to be certified Platinum since Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton's "Islands in the Stream" in 1983.[3] The single topped in several countries and after being featured on Top of the Pops in the United Kingdom, peaked at number 3 on the UK Singles Chart. It remains Cyrus's biggest hit single in the USA to date, and his only one to reach the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100. Thanks to the video of this hit, there was the explosion of the linedance into the mainstream, becoming a craze.[4][5][6][7]

History

The song was initially to be recorded by The Oak Ridge Boys in the early 1990s but the group decided against recording it after lead singer Duane Allen said that he did not like the words "achy breaky".[8] It was then recorded in 1991 under the title "Don't Tell My Heart" by The Marcy Brothers and Billy Ray Cyrus on his debut album Some Gave All in 1992. It is written in the key of A major and possesses but two chords: A and E.

The music video for the song was filmed during a concert at the Paramount Arts Center in Ashland, KY. It was nominated for Record of the Year and Song of the Year in the 35th Annual Grammy Awards in 1993, but lost both awards to Eric Clapton's "Tears in Heaven."

Other cover versions

• Alvin and the Chipmunks covered the song in 1992 on Chipmunks in Low Places. This version, which features speaking parts by Billy Ray himself, reached number 71 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, becoming their first chart entry on any Billboard chart in 32 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.[9]
• Stef Carse covered the song with lyrics in French, which was titled "Achy Breaky Dance."
• Marianne Weber a Dutch singer covered the song on her Album "Country & Weber", which was titled "Ik doe wat ik wil".

Parodies

"Weird Al" Yankovic wrote a parody called "Achy Breaky Song." The lyrics describe Yankovic's annoyance with "Achy Breaky Heart", as well as several alternatives he would rather endure rather than having to listen to it any more, including being "ti...to a chair and kick...down the stairs". This parody appears on his album Alapalooza. Run C&W also parodied the song as "Itchy Twitchy Spot" on their debut album Into the Twangy-First Century. ApologetiX also parodied the song as "Fakey Shakey Parts".

In the Hannah Montana episode The Way We Almost Weren't, Billy Ray Cyrus' character Robby Stewart is seen in a fictional setting writing Achy Breaky Heart in a New Mexico cafe in 1987. He tries the words "itchy twitchy heart" and "herky jerky heart" but is unsatisfied. Jackson suggests he use the words "achy breaky," but Robby blows it off as "the dumbest thing I've ever heard."[10] Another episode sees him chasing a mouse around the house until it ends up in the piano and sees that it's a good player. He proceeds to ask if it knows Achy Breaky Heart.

In 1994, Bill Nye the Science Guy made a spoof called "ACDC Charge" that is exclusive to Electric Current

A caricature of Billy Ray Cyrus (named "Billie Rae Cyprus") sang a brief parody of this song in a 1993 episode of Animaniacs during the Pinky & The Brain short "Bubba Bo Bob Brain". In the parody, "Achy Breaky Heart" is replaced with "Empty Hollow Head", with lyrics describing the caricature's inability to understand what he hears.

Leicester City F.C. fans have adapted the song slightly for singing on the terraces, for their flamboyant French winger, Anthony Knockaert.

Critical reception

The song reached number two on VH1's 50 Most Awesomely Bad Songs, and on Blender magazine's 50 Worst Songs Ever.[11] In 2002, Shelly Fabian from About.com ranked the song number 249 on the list of the Top 500 Country Music Songs.[12] In 2007, the song was ranked at number 87 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the '90s.[13] In 2010, Matthew Wilkening of AOL Radio ranked the song at number 18 on the list of the 100 Worst Songs Ever while calling out: "Attention, all units! Country music has been kidnapped. Suspect last seen with a rat-tail and driving a Chevy with 'Truck Balls.' Also wanted for child endangerment."[14]

References

1. ^ a b Hurst, Jack (1993-07-04). "ACHY BREAKY START BRUISED BY THE CRITICS, BILLY RAY CYRUS IS COMING BACK FOR MORE". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2010-07-25. 
2. ^ "ARIA Charts - End Of Year Charts - Top 50 Singles 1992". ARIA. Archived from the original on 28 July 2010. Retrieved 2010-07-25. 
3. ^ Cyrus Goes Triple-Platinum; Brooks Breaks 8 million. Billboard. 1992-08-15. Retrieved 2010-08-05. 
4. ^ "Line dancing refuses to go out of style". Star-News. 1992-10-30. Retrieved 2010-08-12. 
5. ^ "Stepping to country fun". The Gazette (Cedar Rapids-Iowa City). 1993-04-17. Retrieved 2010-08-12. 
6. ^ "Cyrus sets off dance craze". The Daily Courier. 1994-07-25. Retrieved 2010-08-12. [dead link]
7. ^ "This time around, the country craze proves to have some staying power". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 1995-06-13. Retrieved 2010-08-12. 
8. ^ The Ones That Got Away. Country Weekly. 2009-04-06. 
9. ^ Information at Svensk mediedatabas
10. ^ "The Way We Almost Weren't". Hannah Montana. Season 2. Episode 23. May 4, 2008.
11. ^ The 50 Worst Songs Ever! Watch, Listen and Cringe! from Blender.com (Retrieved August 29, 2010)
12. ^ Fabian, Shelly (2002). "Top 500 Country Music Songs". About.com. Archived from the original on 12 February 2007. Retrieved 2007-03-14. 
13. ^ 100 Greatest Songs of the '90s
14. ^ Wilkening, Matthew (September 11, 2010). "100 Worst Songs Ever -- Part Five of Five". AOL Radio. Retrieved December 24, 2010. 
15. ^ "BPI certification results". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 2010-08-01. 
16. ^ "RIAA singles for "Achy Breaky Heart"". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 2009-10-31. 
17. ^ "Australian-charts.com – Billy Ray Cyrus – Achy Breaky Heart". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Hung Medien. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
18. ^ "Billy Ray Cyrus – Achy Breaky Heart – Austriancharts.at" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Hung Medien. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
19. ^ "Lescharts.com – Billy Ray Cyrus – Achy Breaky Heart" (in French). Les classement single. Hung Medien. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
20. ^ "Die ganze Musik im Internet: Charts, News, Neuerscheinungen, Tickets, Genres, Genresuche, Genrelexikon, Künstler-Suche, Musik-Suche, Track-Suche, Ticket-Suche – musicline.de" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
21. ^ "Billy Ray Cyrus – Achy Breaky Heart – swisscharts.com". Swiss Singles Chart. Hung Medien. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
22. ^ "Archive Chart" UK Singles Chart. Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 13, 2011.
23. ^ "Billy Ray Cyrus Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Hot 100 for Billy Ray Cyrus. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
24. ^ "Billy Ray Cyrus Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Adult Contemporary Songs for Billy Ray Cyrus. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
25. ^ "Billy Ray Cyrus Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Country Songs for Billy Ray Cyrus. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
26. ^ 1992 Australian Singles Chart aria.com (Retrieved July 25, 2008)
27. ^ "Billboard Year-End listing for "Achy Breaky Heart"". Billboard. Retrieved 2009-04-25. [dead link]
28. ^ "Billboard Year End listing for "Achy Breaky Heart"". Billboard. 1992-12-31. Retrieved 2009-04-25. [dead link]

External links

• Full lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics