Love's Been a Little Bit Hard on Me
"Love's Been A Little Bit Hard On Me" is a song written by Gary Burr and recorded by the American country-pop singer Juice Newton for her album Quiet Lies. The song was released as the album's first single in May 1982 and reached #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 that summer.[1] It also charted at #4 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart and #30 on the Billboard Country chart. The recording garnered Newton a Grammy nomination for Best Female Vocalist in the Pop category.
"Love's Been a Little Bit Hard on Me" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Juice Newton | ||||
from the album Quiet Lies | ||||
Released | May 22, 1982 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 3:14 | |||
Label | Capitol | |||
Songwriter(s) | Gary Burr | |||
Producer(s) | Richard Landis | |||
Juice Newton singles chronology | ||||
|
Music video
The music video for this song comically plays off the emotional hurt of love by showing Juice Newton being physically injured by her lover in a series of accidents. The final shot is of Newton singing in the hospital in a full-body cast with her broken leg in the air. The video was awarded Video of the Year by the American Video Association in 1982.
Personnel
- Philip Aaberg – keyboards
- Michael Boddicker – synthesizer
- George Doering – guitar
- Steve Forman – percussion
- Andrew Gold – electric guitar and solo, backing vocals
- Chris Montan – backing vocals
- Juice Newton – guitar (uncredited on LP), lead vocals
- Rick Shlosser – drums
- Harry Stinson – backing vocals
- Neil Stubenhaus – bass
- Fred Tackett – acoustic guitar
- Otha Young – electric guitar, backing vocals
Musical analysis
Newton's version is in A major, and uses primarily A, D, and E chords with an occasional F# minor. But in the introduction, outro, and interludes between verses, a rarely heard (in popular music) pedal point is used in the bass and rhythm guitars, under changing chords in the upper instruments (A, D, E, A). Also of interest is the use of a descending parallel pattern of the chords D, C# minor, B minor, and A in the Bridge, which is also atypical of popular music from that era. The second Bridge also includes a moment of a capella singing, similar to another Newton favorite, Queen of Hearts.
Chart performance
Weekly charts
Chart (1982) | Peak position |
---|---|
US Billboard Hot 100[2] | 7 |
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[3] | 30 |
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[4] | 4 |
Canadian RPM Country Tracks | 24 |
Canadian RPM Top Singles | 14 |
Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks | 3 |
References
- Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 8th Edition (Billboard Publications)
- "Juice Newton Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
- "Juice Newton Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
- "Juice Newton Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-08-11. Retrieved 2017-07-04.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- Musicoutfitters.com
- "Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 25, 1982". Archived from the original on July 11, 2018. Retrieved July 4, 2017.