Achy Breaky Heart

Not to be confused with Achin', Breakin' Heart.
For the Filipino film of a similar name, see The Achy Breaky Hearts.

"Achy Breaky Heart"
Single by Billy Ray Cyrus
from the album Some Gave All
ReleasedMarch 23, 1992
RecordedNovember 1991
GenreCountry[1]
Length3:23
Label
Songwriter(s)Don Von Tress
Producer(s)
Billy Ray Cyrus singles chronology
"Achy Breaky Heart"
(1992) 		"Could've Been Me"
(1992)
Music video
"Achy Breaky Heart" on YouTube

"Achy Breaky Heart" is a song written in 1990 by Don Von Tress. First released in 1991 by the Marcy Brothers with the title "Don't Tell My Heart", it was later recorded by American singer and actor Billy Ray Cyrus and released on his debut album, Some Gave All (1992). The song is Cyrus's debut single and signature song. It became the first single ever to achieve triple platinum status in Australia[2] and also 1992's best-selling single in the same country.[3][4] In the United States, it became a crossover hit on pop and country radio, peaking at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topping the Hot Country Songs chart, becoming the first country single to be certified platinum since "Islands in the Stream" by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton in 1983.[5] The single topped in several countries, and after being featured on Top of the Pops in the United Kingdom, peaked at No. 3 on the UK Singles Chart. It was Cyrus's biggest hit single in the U.S. until he was featured on "Old Town Road" by rapper Lil Nas X, which peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 27 years later.[6]

The music video for the song led to the explosion of the line dance into the mainstream.[7][8][9] The song is considered by some as one of the worst songs of all time, featuring at No. 2 on VH1 and Blender's list of the "50 Most Awesomely Bad Songs Ever".[10]

  1. ^ Berger, Arion (January 29, 1997). "Some Gave All Review". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on July 26, 2008. Retrieved March 12, 2023. Kentucky hunk Billy Ray Cyrus, unsanctioned by Nashville or New York, has finally made the country single that pop audiences want to hear. And what a single it is: "Achy Breaky Heart" matches earnest breakup anguish with loony bemusement in a C&W; tradition that's only hairs away from novelty – redeemed in this case by the song's boogie-billy instrumentation.
  2. ^ "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart – Week Ending 31 Jan 1993 and 7 Feb 1993 (1–60)". Imgur.com (original document published by ARIA). Retrieved August 30, 2017. N.B. The triangle symbol indicates platinum certification, with the number beside it indicating the level of platinum achieved. Both "Achy Breaky Heart" and Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" were certified triple platinum during the same week.
  3. ^ Hurst, Jack (July 4, 1993). "Achy Breaky Start Bruised by the Critics, Billy Ray Cyrus is Coming Back For More". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 25, 2010.[dead link]
  4. ^ "ARIA Charts — End Of Year Charts — Top 50 Singles 1992". ARIA. Archived from the original on July 28, 2010. Retrieved July 25, 2010.
  5. ^ Cyrus Goes Triple-Platinum; Brooks Breaks 8 million. Billboard. August 15, 1992. Retrieved August 5, 2010.
  6. ^ "Top 100 Songs". Billboard. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
  7. ^ "Line dancing refuses to go out of style". Star-News. October 30, 1992. Retrieved August 12, 2010.[permanent dead link]
  8. ^ "Stepping to country fun". The Gazette (Cedar Rapids-Iowa City). April 17, 1993. Retrieved August 12, 2010.
  9. ^ "Cyrus sets off dance craze". The Daily Courier. July 25, 1994. Retrieved August 12, 2010. [dead link]
  10. ^ "VH1 & Blender Magazine Present: 50 Most Awesomely Bad Songs ... Ever". Archived at PR Newswire. VH1, Blender. May 12, 2004. Archived from the original on August 30, 2017. Retrieved June 2, 2013.