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Hurts So Good

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the John Mellencamp song. For the Astrid S song, seeHurts So Good (Astrid S song).For the Millie Jackson song that was later covered by Susan Cadogan and Jimmy Sommerville, seeIt Hurts So Good.

"Hurts So Good"
SinglebyJohn Cougar
from the albumAmerican Fool
B-side"Close Enough"
ReleasedApril 1982(1982-04)
StudioCherokee,Los Angeles[1]
GenrePop rock[2]
Length3:39[1]
LabelRiva
Songwriter(s)John Mellencamp,George Green
Producer(s)John Mellencamp,Don Gehman[1]
John Cougarsingles chronology
"Ain't Even Done with the Night"
(1981) 		"Hurts So Good"
(1982) 		"Jack & Diane"
(1982)
Music video
"Hurts So Good"onYouTube

"Hurts So Good"is a song by American singer-songwriterJohn Mellencamp,then performing under the stage name "John Cougar". The song was a number two hit on theBillboardHot 100[3]for the singer/songwriter. It was the first of three major hit singles from his 1982 albumAmerican Fool.The others were "Jack & Diane"and" Hand to Hold On To, "which were all released in 1982. The song was also a critical success with Mellencamp, winning theBest Rock Vocal Performance, Maleat the25th Grammy Awardson February 23, 1983.

Background and recording

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"Hurts So Good" was written by Mellencamp andGeorge Green,Mellencamp's childhood friend and occasional writing partner. The song was first conceived, Mellencamp claims, when he had uttered the phrase "hurt so good.” Mellencamp repeated the lines to Green, and they finished the song very quickly.[4]In 2004, Mellencamp expounded on the writing of "Hurts So Good" in an interview withAmerican Songwritermagazine: "George Green and I wrote that together. We exchanged lines back and forth between each other and laughed about it at the time. Then I went and picked up the guitar, and within seconds, I had those chords."[5]

The song was recorded atCherokee StudiosinLos Angeles,Californiaand wasengineeredbyDon Gehmanand George Tutko. Backing Mellencamp wereLarry Craneand Mike Wanchic (guitars,backing vocals),Kenny Aronoff(drums),George "Chocolate" Perry(bass) and Dave Parman (backing vocals).[1]

Reception

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Cash Boxsaid that "steady4/4snarework and choppy fuzz tone guitar chords kick off this steel-edged pop/rocker. "[2]

Music video

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Much of the video was filmed inMedora,Indiana,a small town located approximately 20 mi (30 km) southwest ofSeymour, Indiana,where Mellencamp was born and raised.

Charts

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The song hit number one onBillboard'sHot Tracksmainstream rock chart.It peaked at number two on theBillboardHot 100on August 7, 1982, and, although it failed to make number one, it spent 16 weeks in the top 10, the longest time for any song in the 1980s. It was kept off the top spot by "Eye of the Tiger"bySurvivor.[6]The song was listed at #83 onBillboard's Greatest Songs of All Time.[6]

The single was also a hit inCanadareaching #3 onRPMmagazine's Top 50 Singles chart.[7]It reached number five in Australia andSouth Africa[8]

Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[17] Platinum 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[18] Gold 1,000,000^

^Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

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References

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  1. ^abcdThe Best That I Could Do 1978–1988(CD liner).John Mellencamp.US:Mercury Records.1997. p. 9. 314 536 738-2.{{cite AV media notes}}:CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  2. ^ab"Reviews"(PDF).Cash Box.April 24, 1982. p. 10.RetrievedJuly 7,2022.
  3. ^Whitburn, Joel(2004).The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits,8th Edition (Billboard Publications), page 418.
  4. ^White, Timothy(1997). "Who's to Say the Way a Man Should Spend His Days: The First Two Hundred Years of the John Mellencamp Story".The Best That I Could Do 1978–1988(CD liner). John Mellencamp. US: Mercury Records. p. 6. 314 536 738-2.
  5. ^Mellencamp, John (January 1, 2005)."John Mellencamp".American Songwriter(Interview). Interviewed by Paul Zollo.
  6. ^ab"TheBillboardHot 100 All-Time Top Songs ".Billboard.com.Archived fromthe originalon September 13, 2008.
  7. ^ab"Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada".collectionscanada.gc.ca.RetrievedJanuary 6,2012.
  8. ^ab"Acts M".SA Charts 1965–1989.Springbok Radio/Radio Orion.RetrievedMay 15,2015– via rock.co.za.
  9. ^Hung, Steffen."John Cougar - Hurts So Good".charts.nz.RetrievedJanuary 6,2012.
  10. ^Whitburn, Joel (June 1991).Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990.Record Research.ISBN0-89820-089-X.
  11. ^"Top 100 Singles".Cash Box.July 24, 1982 – via tropicalglen.com.
  12. ^"National Top 100 Singles for 1982".Kent Music Report.January 3, 1983.RetrievedJanuary 22,2023– viaImgur.
  13. ^Kent, David(1993).Australian Chart Book 1970–1992.St Ives, N.S.W., Australia: Australian Chart Book.ISBN0-646-11917-6.
  14. ^"Top 100 Hits of 1982/Top 100 Songs of 1982".musicoutfitters.com.RetrievedSeptember 18,2019.
  15. ^"Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles".Cash Box.December 25, 1982. Archived fromthe originalon July 11, 2018.RetrievedJanuary 17,2019– via tropicalglen.com.
  16. ^"Billboard Hot 100 60th Anniversary Interactive Chart".Billboard.RetrievedDecember 10,2018.
  17. ^"Canadian single certifications – John Cougar Mellancamp – Hurts So Good".Music Canada.RetrievedAugust 3,2023.
  18. ^"American single certifications – John Mellencamp – Hurts So Good".Recording Industry Association of America.RetrievedAugust 3,2023.
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