Songs You May Not Know Were Covers, Round 7: Queen of Hearts (#6)

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Greetings from the Kentucky penitentiary. No, I’m not in prison; however, the governor has basically confined everyone to quarters. Sheesh, and I thought that was over when I left the Navy. As long as the internet doesn’t get a virus I’m good to go. That includes music, of course, and here’s another song that you know...but may not know was a cover. #6: Queen of Hearts In the wake of the Urban Cowboy film and craze there was a tremendous amount of country-sounding pop (or pop-sounding country, however you want to look at it) that was burning up the Billboard charts. One such instance was Judy “Juice” Newton, who was scoring hit after hit on both country and pop charts. The success began with two songs: “Angel of the Morning,” and “Queen of Hearts.” Both of them were covers. The former was far better known as such, having been the sole hit for Merrilee Rush in the late 60s. But “Queen of Hearts,” one of Newton’s biggest country and pop (peaked at #2 on the pop charts) hits, was also a cover. Here’s where it gets interesting. The song was written by Hank DeVito, who played steel guitar for Emmylou Harris’ “Hot Band.” But Harris wasn’t the first person to record the song. In fact, Harris hasn’t ever recorded it. DeVito’s former fellow Hot Band member Rodney Crowell did record it in 1980, but even he wasn’t the first. That distinction goes to that first name that comes to mind when you think of country/pop songs......Dave Edmunds. Yep, Edmunds (who, like fellow Rockpile member Nick Lowe, has an affection for American country music) was the first person to record this now-classic tune. And, from a personal point of view, he’s cuter than Juice Newton. Queen of Hearts Written by Hank DeVito Originally recorded by Dave Edmunds, 1979 Famously covered by Juice Newton, 1981 I’m waiting on the 12:05: