HARD ON FOR HEARTBREAK

As always seems to happen when I post a top five pick list of anything, I find myself wanting to do another one. And since there's nothing I like better than a good song about heartbreak (not that I'm heartbroken at the moment), I thought I'd present you with my top five picks for songs geared toward the lovelorn. Because, even if you're not wearing duct tape around your heart, what's more fun than singing along with a song about heartbreak...preferably at the top of your lungs? So grab your Kleenex, and let's get to it.

Don't Say You Don't Remember, written by Estelle Levitt, with Helen Miller composing the music, was a huge hit for Beverly Bremers in 1972, reaching #2 on the US pop charts and shooting all the way to the top in the UK. Bremers was no stranger to success, having been a member of the original cast of the Broadway musical Hair as well as The Rocky Horror Picture Show. But this song was her first stab at pop music, and its popularity garnered her a whole new audience of sobbing fans who identified with the image of a hopelessly besotted young woman who can't understand how someone who used to call her "baby" could suddenly have "forgot my name." It is a pretty wretched thought, speaking as someone who's been in that very position once or twice. The only thing wrong with this song is the first line in which Bremers recalls how her erstwhile lover "wrote on the corner of the table, this is the only one that will last." Why did he write it in the corner of the table? Didn't he have a piece of paper? And how come he didn't just say it? I guess we'll never know. But we love the song anyway. Even if it doesn't make sense.

Oh, my God. I can't even put into words how much I love this song...but since I'm including it in this post, I guess I'd better try. Written by William Weatherspoon, Paul Riser, and James Dean, and released on the Motown label in 1966, What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted was a top ten hit for Jimmy Ruffin, older brother of temperamental Temptations front man David Ruffin. As heartbreak songs go, this is not only one of the best, but one of the most re-recorded from Motown's vast backlog of hits. But, really. What can you say about a song which begins with the lines "As I walk this land of broken dreams, I have visions of many things. Love's happiness is just an illusion, Filled with sadness and confusion. What becomes of the broken hearted. Who had love that's now departed?" If the lyrics are a bit overblown, that's as it should be. After all, what's more epic than a broken heart? Especially when it's your own? Unfortunately, the song's success in the US didn't translate into the commercial success that Ruffin deserved, and he relocated to England, where he continues to record and perform to a more appreciative audience.

One Less Bell To Answer may well be the perfect heartbreak song. Written by Burt Bacharach, arguably the master scribe of heartbreak songs, with Hal David, it was originally intended for jazz singer Keely Smith. It was re-discovered in 1969 by the Fifth Dimension, who included it on their 1970 debut album, Portrait. With power-belter Marilyn McCoo handling the lead vocals, the song is in a universe of its own when it comes to conjuring up the everyday heartache that follows a painful break-up. "One less bell to answer, one less egg to fry....but all I do is cry" pretty much sums up the way you feel when that Significant Other stops showing up for breakfast, relieving you of the responsibility to cook that extra egg, but dishing up a heapin' helping of heartbreak in its stead.

Have You Seen Her?, released as a single by the Chi-Lites in 1971, peaked at #3 on both the US and UK pop charts. Penned by Eugene Record, lead singer for the group, with the help of Barbara Acklin, the song documents the sad social demise of a man who has lost his love. He used to go to the movies with her, he tells us, but now he goes alone. In his misery, he is reduced to joking with strangers he meets in the park, where even the children seem to know that he's heartbroken and gather around to comfort him. While that last part might not go over so well in 2012, as a vignette from the early 70s, it's just plain morose. I mean, Dear God. Lone man on a park bench making feeble jokes with random children? Could life get any sadder than that? I like to think not. But one man's sadness turns out to be the radio audience's gain, affording us the chance to listen to tight harmonies and soul crooning that echoes the best efforts from the doo-wop groups of the 50's. Have we seen her? Sorry...no. But we understand why you're still looking.

Which Way You Goin', Billy? may be cheesy in the extreme, but as sung by Susan Jacks, former wife of Terry Jacks (Seasons In The Sun), on the single released in 1969 under the name "The Poppy Family", it's a soulful plea to a deserting lover that has lost none of its resonance in the ensuing years. "Which way you goin', Billy? Can I go, too? Which way you goin', Billy? Can I go with you?" may not be the most profound musical question ever hurled at a person called Billy (just ask The Fifth Dimension, whose Wedding Bell Blues features yet another recalcitrant "Bill"), but it's certainly one of the most heartfelt. In fact, by the time she gets to the second verse, Jacks sounds like she just might break down and cry. But she doesn't, even though the wretched Billy never gives her a reason for the sudden good-bye. But, really, the best part about the song is the little twist that comes in the last verse, when Jacks reveals that not only will she miss Billy, but that she will remain his wife. His wife? Damnation! Never saw it coming. Now that's a good heartbreak song!

Well, that's it for now. Hope you enjoyed our picks. Skol. xoxoxxoxoxoxxo