“Laying in bed the other night I said, ‘What would really bend everybody’s minds?… Achy Breaky Heart!” –Bruce Springsteen, March 23, 1993
It sure bent mine.
Or at least it would have, had I known about it at the time.
But I wasn’t there that night in 1993, and for many years after I thought that was a good thing, because I haaaaaate “Achy Breaky Heart.”
When that song was a hit–and it was a monster hit–the year before, it was impossible to avoid. And believe me, I tried. I wasn’t the only one–I knew lots of people who loathed the song, the video, and the line dance craze it sparked.
“Achy Breaky Heart” was one of the songs that you either loved (and a lot of people must have, because it topped the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and stopped just a few notches shy of the pinnacle of the Hot 100) or hated (VH1 and Blender ranked it the second Most Awesomely Bad Song Ever).
Coincidentally released a year to the day before Bruce covered it for the first and only time, “Achy Breaky Heart” was Billy Ray Cyrus’ debut single, and it made him a superstar (although his daughter Miley–who was born while the song was still flying high–would go on to eclipse him).
Cyrus’ signature song wasn’t even original. It was a retitled cover of “Don’t Tell My Heart,” first released in 1991 by The Marcy Brothers. However, their version used the lyrics “achy breakin’ heart” which is apparently what kept it from becoming a hit. (We’ll call it the “Blinded by the Light” effect.)
Okay, that’s way more backstory that I ever cared to know about “Achy Breaky Heart.” Back to Bruce:
On March 23, 1993, Bruce was getting ready to kick off his second world tour with his new post-E Street band, and to get everyone back in fighting shape, he staged a rehearsal/benefit show at the Count Basie Theater in Red Bank.
Even by today’s standards, the set list was one to envy: the very first “This Hard Land” and “When You’re Alone,” the second-ever “Janey, Don’t You Lose Heart,” the first “Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street” in a quarter-century were certainly more than enough to blow fans’ minds.
But Bruce must have wanted to make absolutely sure that no mind was left unblown, so before playing “Blinded by the Light” for the first time in seventeen years, he shocked the audience (and judging by the recording, they shocked him right back by their reception) with his one-time-only-ever cover of “Achy Breaky Heart.”
For the many years before I was able to get my hands on a bootleg recording from that night, I always assumed it must have been a train wreck. But when I finally was able to listen to Bruce’s performance with my own ears, it was clear that the audience absolutely loved it.
And as for me, I had to admit… very, very grudgingly… it was kinda fun.
Shhhhh…. don’t tell anyone.
Achy Breaky Heart
First performed: March 23, 1993 (Red Bank, NJ)
Last performed: March 23, 1993 (Red Bank, NJ)
