Heartless (Heart song)

"Heartless" is a song written and recorded by the rock band Heart in 1976 for their album Magazine. Issues with the band's previous record label Mushroom caused a delay in the album's release and "Heartless" was released as a single two years later, after the re-issue of their first single "Crazy on You".^[3]

"Heartless"
Single by Heart
from the album Magazine[1]
B-side	"Just the Wine"
Released	March 1978 (US) [2]
Recorded	1976
Genre	Hard rock
Length	3:54 (Promo Version) 5:00 (Album/Single Version)
Label	Mushroom Records
Songwriter(s)	Ann Wilson Nancy Wilson
Producer(s)	Mike Flicker
Heart singles chronology
"Kick It Out" (1977) "Heartless" (1978) "Straight On" (1978)

Background

The song is an aggressive hard rock number that opens with a slower synthesizer based interlude before opening up into a full hard rock tune. The lyrics involve a scorned lover who apparently can't get away from the grasp of her heartless partner. "The doctor said come back again next week / I think that you need me / All she did was cry / She wanted to die doctor when can you see me / There's a guy out there / Seems like he's everywhere / It just ain't fair."^[4]

"Heartless" and "Without You" were the only singles released from Magazine, with "Heartless" peaking at number twenty-four on the US Billboard Hot 100. Cash Box particularly praised the vocals and bass guitar playing.^[5] Record World called it "straight-ahead, rather funky rock, with Ann Wilson's vocal the centerpiece."^[6] Only five months passed before Heart released their next album, Dog and Butterfly.

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of the 1978 revised version of Magazine.^[7]

• Ann Wilson – lead vocals
• Nancy Wilson – lead guitar, backing vocals
• Roger Fisher – guitar solo
• Howard Leese – guitar solo, keyboards, backing vocals
• Steve Fossen – bass
• Michael DeRosier – drums

Chart performance

Weekly charts Chart (1978) Peak position Canadian RPM Top Singles[8] 18 US Billboard Hot 100[9] 24 US Cash Box Top 100[10] 18

Year-end charts Chart (1978) Rank Canada[11] 146 US (Joel Whitburn's Pop Annual)[12] 157

References

1. "Heart - Magazine review". allmusic.com. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
2. "Heart singles". dutchcharts.nl.
3. Sorscher, Zach. "Sound Advice: Heart's 'unauthorized' album is the real deal". Goldmine Magazine.
4. "Heartless". lyrictalk.net.
5. "CashBox Singles Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. April 8, 1978. p. 16. Retrieved 2022-01-01.
6. "Record World Single Picks" (PDF). Record World. April 8, 1978. p. 14. Retrieved 2023-02-15.
7. Magazine (liner notes). Heart. Mushroom Records. 1978. R 143366.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
8. "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2012-01-06.
9. "Heart Album & Song Chart History". Billboard.com. Retrieved 9 January 2013.
10. "Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, June 24, 1978". Archived from the original on September 29, 2018. Retrieved January 2, 2019.
11. "Image : RPM Weekly". Library and Archives Canada. 17 July 2013. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
12. Whitburn, Joel (1999). Pop Annual. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. ISBN 0-89820-142-X.