When you’re reliant on other writers for songs, it’s important you pounce when the opportunity is right to record a song that could be a hit. It’s also crucial the folks at the record company see the worth of that song, lest somebody else come along and make it their own.
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That’s kind of the scenario surrounding the song “Queen of Hearts.” Dave Edmunds made a hit out of it in the UK, but a record company fumble kept it from getting a listen in the U.S. When Juice Newton recorded it, the cards were on the table, so to speak, and the song became a breakout hit for her.
An Elusive “Queen”
The story of “Queen of Hearts” begins with Hank DeVito. Known for playing pedal steel guitar with Emmylou Harris’ band, he wrote the song. Somehow, it got away from Emmylou and fell into the lap of Welsh artist Dave Edmunds.
Edmunds had scored a big U.S. hit early in his career with the single “I Hear You Knocking.” While he continued to manage solid success in the United Kingdom in the interim between that 1970 song and 1979, when he was recording his album Repeat When Necessary, further U.S. chart success eluded him. He was looking to rectify that.
He recorded “Queen of Hearts,” ladling his deft rockabilly touch on the song. It was a success in the UK, hitting No. 11. Unfortunately, Edmunds couldn’t convince his label to give the song a go in America. (The same went for his stellar cover of the Elvis Costello hit “Girls Talk” from the same album, which was also a hit in the UK but went unreleased as a single in the U.S.)
“Hearts” on Fire
To give you an idea of how effective country crossovers were in the era right before MTV took hold, Juice Newton’s first two solo albums, which hewed closer to the soft-rock category, didn’t do much damage. But when she leaned into her country roots on the 1981 album Juice, that’s when pop radio started to take notice.
“Queen of Hearts” turned out to be one of the songs that broke down the dam for her. Her version stuck pretty close to the arrangement recorded by Edmunds. This only furthered the frustration of the Welshman in knowing that he was right about the song’s U.S. potential.
Newton also had to overcome some skepticism about “Queen of Hearts.” Even though she had been playing it live for a while, her producer Richard Landis wasn’t sure it was right for a single. But Newton persisted, and ended up at the No. 2 spot on the U.S. pop singles charts in 1981. (“Endless Love,” that unstoppable ballad from Diana Ross and Lionel Richie, kept it from No. 1.)
What is “Queen of Hearts” About?
“Queen of Hearts,” with those fast-talking verses and gliding refrains, lays out the pitfalls of romance, but suggests we all tend to willingly dive into them anyway. Play with the Queen of Hearts, Newton warns. Knowin’ it ain’t really smart. The wounded narrator begs the moonlight to spare her from hurt, If only for a very short time.
She sees in her companion a kindred glutton for punishment: But when they’re handin’ out the heartaches / You know you got to have you some. Commitment issues raise their head: And it’s a-hard to be a lover / When you know you’re only in it for fun. But still, these two can’t quite fully separate: Thinkin’ bout a life of crime / Cause that’s what I’ll have to do / To keep me away from you.
“Queen of Hearts” turned out to be the biggest hit in an amazing stretch for Juice Newton, one in which she reeled off four straight Top-10 singles. Good thing she saw the potential in the song Dave Edmunds’ record company failed to catch.
Photo by Paul Natkin/Getty Images
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