Achy Breaky Heart

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

"Achy Breaky Heart" is a country song written by Don Von Tress. Originally titled "Don't Tell My Heart" and performed by The Marcy Brothers in 1991, its name was later changed to "Achy Breaky Heart" and performed 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 Songs 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 U.S. 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 line dance into the mainstream, becoming a craze.^[4][5][6][7] The song is considered by some as one of the worst songs of all time, featuring at number two in VH1 and Blender's list of the "50 Most Awesomely Bad Songs Ever."^[8]

Background

Don Von Tress wrote the song in 1990.

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".^[9] It was then recorded in 1991 under the title "Don't Tell My Heart" by The Marcy Brothers, although their version changed some lyrics.

Billy Ray Cyrus heard Von Tress's version of the song, and chose to include it on his debut album Some Gave All in 1992. It is written in the key of A major and possesses only two chords: A and E.

Critical reception

The song reached number 23 on CMT's 100 Greatest Videos in 2008, and number 2 on Blender magazine's 50 Worst Songs Ever.^[8] In 2002, Shelly Fabian from About.com ranked the song number 249 on the list of the Top 500 Country Music Songs.^[10] In 2007, the song was ranked at number 87 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the '90s.^[11]

Parodies

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."^[12]

Celtic fans used the tune of the song to pay tribute to winger Paddy McCourt, a trend continued by various teams, for instance Newcastle United fans for midfielder Yohan Cabaye,West Ham United fans towards attacking midfielder Dimitri Payet^[13] and Leicester City fans for winger Anthony Knockaert.

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.^[14]

Track listings

Billy Ray Cyrus version CD maxi "Achy Breaky Heart" — 3:24 "I'm So Miserable" — 4:00 "Wher'm I Gonna Live?" — 3:29

Alvin and The Chipmunks version 7" single "Achy Breaky Heart" "I Ain't No Dang Cartoon"

Charts

Billy Ray Cyrus version

Chart (1992–93) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[15] 1 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[16] 6 Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[17] 5 Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[18] 1 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[19] 4 France (SNEP)[20] 11 Germany (Official German Charts)[21] 27 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[22] 22 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[23] 23 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[24] 1 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[25] 3 US Billboard Hot 100[26] 4 US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[27] 23 US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[28] 1

End of year chart (1993) Position Australia (ARIA)[29] 1 Canada Adult Contemporary Tracks (RPM)[30] 54 Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[31] 1 US Billboard Hot 100[32] 15 US Country Songs (Billboard)[33] 2 Alvin and the Chipmunks version Chart (1992–93) Peak position UK Singles (Official Charts Company) 53 US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[34] 71

Sales and certifications

Country	Certifications	Certifications sales
Australia	3× Platinum[1]	210,000
United Kingdom	Silver[35]	200,000
United States	Platinum[36]	1,000,000

References

1. 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.
7. "This time around, the country craze proves to have some staying power". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 1995-06-13. Retrieved 2010-08-12.
8. "VH1 & Blender Magazine Present: 50 Most Awesomely Bad Songs ... Ever". Archived at PR Newswire. VH1, Blender. 12 May 2004.
9. "The Ones That Got Away". Country Weekly. 2009-04-06.
10. Fabian, Shelly (2002). "Top 500 Country Music Songs". About.com. Archived from the original on 12 February 2007. Retrieved 2007-03-14.
11. "100 Greatest Songs of the '90s". Music News — VH1 Music. Archived from the original on 14 February 2012. Retrieved 27 October 2014.
12. "The Way We Almost Weren't". Hannah Montana. Season 2. Episode 23. May 4, 2008.
13. Andy Mitten. "He does flicks and tricks, tackles and scores: West Ham's Dimitri Payet 'does everything'". Retrieved 12 April 2016.
14. "Jag ska aldrig lämna dig — Svensk mediedatabas (SMDB)". Retrieved 12 April 2016.
15. "Australian-charts.com – Billy Ray Cyrus – Achy Breaky Heart". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
16. "Austriancharts.at – Billy Ray Cyrus – Achy Breaky Heart" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
17. "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 2004." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. July 25, 1992. Retrieved August 15, 2013.
18. "Top RPM Country Tracks: Issue 2170." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. June 27, 1992. Retrieved August 15, 2013.
19. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 2022." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. July 25, 1992. Retrieved August 15, 2013.
20. "Lescharts.com – Billy Ray Cyrus – Achy Breaky Heart" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
21. "Musicline.de – Cyrus,Billy Ray Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
22. "Swisscharts.com – Billy Ray Cyrus – Achy Breaky Heart". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
23. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Billy Ray Cyrus search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40.
24. "Charts.org.nz – Billy Ray Cyrus – Achy Breaky Heart". Top 40 Singles.
25. "Archive Chart: 1992-08-22" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved June 13, 2011.
26. "Billy Ray Cyrus – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Billy Ray Cyrus. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
27. "Billy Ray Cyrus – Chart history" Billboard Adult Contemporary for Billy Ray Cyrus. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
28. "Billy Ray Cyrus – Chart history" Billboard Hot Country Songs for Billy Ray Cyrus. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
29. 1992 Australian Singles Chart aria.com Archived July 28, 2010, at the Wayback Machine. (Retrieved July 25, 2008)
30. "RPM Top 100 Adult Contemporary Tracks of 1992". RPM. December 19, 1992. Retrieved August 15, 2013.
31. "RPM Top 100 Country Tracks of 1992". RPM. December 19, 1992. Retrieved August 15, 2013.
32. "Billboard Year End listing for "Achy Breaky Heart"". Billboard. 1992-12-31. Retrieved 2009-04-25.
33. "Best of 1992: Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 1992. Retrieved August 15, 2013.
34. "The Chipmunks – Chart history" Billboard Hot Country Songs for The Chipmunks.
35. "BPI certification results". British Phonographic Industry. Archived from the original on 2013-01-11. Retrieved 2010-08-01.
36. "RIAA singles for "Achy Breaky Heart"". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 2009-10-31.

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics