Hurt So Bad
Encyclopedia
"Hurt So Bad" is a 1965 pop
/R&B hit single by Little Anthony & The Imperials
, taken from their album, Goin' out of My Head. It was the follow-up to that album's smash-hit title song, and like that song, also became a Billboard
Top 10 hit, reaching #10, and was an R&B Top 10 hit as well, reaching #5. It was also performed by the group on their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show
. It was written especially for The Imperials by Teddy Randazzo
, a long-time friend of the group, along with Bobby Weinstein
and Bobby Hart, and was produced by Don Costa
for his DCP record label, later absorbed by United Artists
Records and re-released on its Veep Records subsidiary. A powerful, dramatic ballad recording, it has become one of The Imperials' best-known songs, and has inspired numerous cover versions by other artists, including hit versions by The Lettermen
, Jackie DeShannon
along with versions by Alicia Keys
, Ramsey Lewis
, The Delfonics
, David Cassidy
, Richard "Groove" Holmes, Grant Green
, Willie Bobo
, El Chicano
and others.
Released a cover of "Hurt So Bad" on their 1970 initial album "Viva Tirado". It was one of 9 songs on the album that produced their first El Chicano
hit single "Viva Tirado".
recorded a cover for her album "Mad Love
" (1980) and released the song as a single.
Little Anthony and the other Imperials, Sammy Strain, Ernest Wright and Clarence Collins, reunited in 1992 after a 17 year hiatus, and performed the song as part of a "greatest hits" medley on Dick Clark's American Bandstand
40th Anniversary Special and also on two PBS
specials: Rock, Rhythm and Doo-Wop, and Soul Spectacular: 40 Years of R&B, in 2002 and 2003, respectively.
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
/R&B hit single by Little Anthony & The Imperials
Little Anthony & The Imperials
Little Anthony and the Imperials is a rhythm and blues/soul/doo-wop vocal group from New York, first active in the 1950s. Lead singer Jerome Anthony "Little Anthony" Gourdine was noted for his high-pitched falsetto voice, influenced by Jimmy Scott...
, taken from their album, Goin' out of My Head. It was the follow-up to that album's smash-hit title song, and like that song, also became a Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Top 10 hit, reaching #10, and was an R&B Top 10 hit as well, reaching #5. It was also performed by the group on their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan....
. It was written especially for The Imperials by Teddy Randazzo
Teddy Randazzo
Teddy Randazzo was a NYC born pop songwriter who composed 1960s hit songs such as "Goin' Out of My Head", "It's Gonna Take a Miracle", and "Hurt So Bad"...
, a long-time friend of the group, along with Bobby Weinstein
Bobby Weinstein
Bobby Weinstein is an American songwriter, singer, and music industry executive, whose hit songs, mostly co-written with Teddy Randazzo, include "Goin' Out Of My Head", "It's Gonna Take A Miracle", and "I'm On The Outside "....
and Bobby Hart, and was produced by Don Costa
Don Costa
Don Costa was an American pop music arranger and record producer, best known for his work with Frank Sinatra.-Career:...
for his DCP record label, later absorbed by United Artists
United Artists
United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....
Records and re-released on its Veep Records subsidiary. A powerful, dramatic ballad recording, it has become one of The Imperials' best-known songs, and has inspired numerous cover versions by other artists, including hit versions by The Lettermen
The Lettermen
The Lettermen are an American male pop music vocal trio. The Lettermen's trademark is close-harmony pop songs with light arrangements. The group started in 1959...
, Jackie DeShannon
Jackie DeShannon
Jackie DeShannon is an American singer-songwriter with a string of hit song credits from the 1960s onwards. She was one of the first female singer-songwriters of the rock 'n' roll period.- Life and early career :...
along with versions by Alicia Keys
Alicia Keys
Alicia Augello Cook , better known by her stage name Alicia Keys, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and occasional actress. She was raised by a single mother in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan in New York City. At age seven, Keys began playing the piano...
, Ramsey Lewis
Ramsey Lewis
Ramsey Emmanuel Lewis, Jr. is an American jazz composer, pianist and radio personality. Ramsey Lewis has recorded over 80 albums and has received seven gold records and three Grammy Awards so far in his career.-Biography:...
, The Delfonics
The Delfonics
The Delfonics are a pioneering Philadelphia soul singing group, most popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Their most notable hits include "La-La ", "Didn't I ", "Break Your Promise," "I'm Sorry," and "Ready or Not Here I Come "...
, David Cassidy
David Cassidy
David Bruce Cassidy is an American actor, singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for his role as the character of Keith Partridge in the 1970s musical/sitcom The Partridge Family. He was one of pop culture's most celebrated teen idols, enjoying a successful pop career in the 1970s, and...
, Richard "Groove" Holmes, Grant Green
Grant Green
Grant Green was a jazz guitarist and composer....
, Willie Bobo
Willie Bobo
Willie Bobo was the stage name of William Correa , an American jazz percussionist.-Biography:William Correa grew up in Spanish Harlem, New York City. He made his name in Latin Jazz, specifically Afro-Cuban jazz, in the 1960s and '70s, with the timbales becoming his favoured instrument...
, El Chicano
El Chicano
El Chicano is an American chicano rock and brown-eyed soul group from Los Angeles, California, whose style incorporates various modern music genres including rock, funk, soul, blues, jazz, and salsa...
and others.
El Chicano Version
El ChicanoEl Chicano
El Chicano is an American chicano rock and brown-eyed soul group from Los Angeles, California, whose style incorporates various modern music genres including rock, funk, soul, blues, jazz, and salsa...
Released a cover of "Hurt So Bad" on their 1970 initial album "Viva Tirado". It was one of 9 songs on the album that produced their first El Chicano
El Chicano
El Chicano is an American chicano rock and brown-eyed soul group from Los Angeles, California, whose style incorporates various modern music genres including rock, funk, soul, blues, jazz, and salsa...
hit single "Viva Tirado".
Linda Ronstadt Version
Linda RonstadtLinda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt is an American popular music recording artist. She has earned eleven Grammy Awards, two Academy of Country Music awards, an Emmy Award, an ALMA Award, numerous United States and internationally certified gold, platinum and multiplatinum albums, in addition to Tony Award and Golden...
recorded a cover for her album "Mad Love
Mad Love (Linda Ronstadt album)
Mad Love is a Platinum certified, Grammy-nominated 1980 New Wave album by singer/songwriter/producer Linda Ronstadt. The album debuted at #5 on the Billboard album chart — a record at the time and a first for any female artist — and quickly became Ronstadt's seventh consecutive million-selling...
" (1980) and released the song as a single.
Little Anthony and the other Imperials, Sammy Strain, Ernest Wright and Clarence Collins, reunited in 1992 after a 17 year hiatus, and performed the song as part of a "greatest hits" medley on Dick Clark's American Bandstand
American Bandstand
American Bandstand is an American music-performance show that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989 and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as producer...
40th Anniversary Special and also on two PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
specials: Rock, Rhythm and Doo-Wop, and Soul Spectacular: 40 Years of R&B, in 2002 and 2003, respectively.
The Imperials
- "Little Anthony" Gourdine - Lead Vocals
- Clarence "Wah-Hoo" Collins - Baritone/Bass
- Ernest Wright - Second Tenor
- Sammy Strain - First Tenor
- Producer: Don CostaDon CostaDon Costa was an American pop music arranger and record producer, best known for his work with Frank Sinatra.-Career:...
- Backed by The 101 Strings Orchestra101 Strings101 Strings Orchestra was a brand for a highly successful easy listening symphonic music organization, with a discography exceeding a hundred albums and a creative lifetime of roughly thirty years. Their LPs were individualized by the slogan "The Sound of Magnificence", a puffy cloud logo and...