Hearts of Stone

:"For the Southside Johnny album, see Hearts of Stone (Asbury Jukes)."

"Hearts of Stone" is an R&B song. It was written by Rudy Jackson, a member of the San Bernardino, California-based rhythm and blues vocal group The Jewels which first recorded it for the R&B label in 1954. [cite book|title=The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made|author=Dave Marsh|publisher=Da Capo Press|date=1999|isbn=030680901X|isbn13=9780306809019|page=128] The Jewels began as a gospel group,then became the Marbles, recording for the Lucky label out of L.A.

According to Johnny Torrence, leader of the Marbles/Jewels, it was taken from a song they recorded in their gospel days. "Hearts of Stone" was covered and taken to the charts by East Coast r&b vocal group The Charms, causing the real story of the Jewels' involvement to be ignored by various writers and DJs who assume the Charms cover was the original.

It also has been recorded by:
*Bill Black's Combo (1961)
*The Charms (1955)
*The Fontane Sisters (1954) - the biggest hit version, reaching #1 on the chart in 1955
*John Fogerty and The Blue Ridge Rangers (1973)
*Elvis Presley (1955)
*Don Walser and Mandy Barnett (1998)
* [Tommy Sands] on one of his LP's

Anita, June, Helen and Mother Maybelle Carter performed a memorable live version of this song on an appearance filmed in color by Albert Gannaway in Nashville in the mid-1950s.

References