Change Of Heart

Album: Greatest Hits (1988)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The original version of this aching country ballad appeared on The Judds' debut EP, Wynonna & Naomi, in 1984. Naomi, who'd just had her heart broken by her longtime boyfriend Larry Strickland, a former background singer for Elvis Presley, wrote the song from his perspective, wishing he would say the remorseful lyrics to her.

    "He broke my heart," she explained in the biography The Judds Story by Bob Millard. "I stayed up three days and three nights, couldn't eat or sleep, and I wrote 'Change Of Heart.' The song just came out beginning to end."
  • The Judds performed this at their live audition for RCA that earned them a recording contract. Around this time, Strickland was the one who had a change of heart and proposed to Naomi, but she rejected him. They took a break for a year and a half before rekindling their romance and eventually getting married in 1989.
  • After years of hearing that the first version should have been a single, The Judds' producer, Brent Maher, decided to have the duo re-record it for their Greatest Hits album. It became their 12th #1 hit on the Country chart and, according to the producer, outshone the original.

    "We'd grown a lot," Maher explained in the Billboard Book Of #1 Country Hits. "Wynonna has grown a lot vocally. We felt we could cut the track a little bit better, a little bit more dynamic, and we raised the key up a half-step."
  • The Judds performed this live at the Country Music Association Awards in 1988.
  • The compilation was The Judds' last album to reach #1 on the Country Albums chart.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

The Police

The PoliceFact or Fiction

Do their first three albums have French titles? Is "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" really meaningless? See if you can tell in this Fact or Fiction.

Glen Burtnik

Glen BurtnikSongwriter Interviews

On Glen's résumé: hit songwriter, Facebook dominator, and member of Styx.

Creedence Clearwater Revival

Creedence Clearwater RevivalFact or Fiction

Is "Have You Ever Seen the Rain" about Vietnam? Was John Fogerty really born on a Bayou? It's the CCR edition of Fact or Fiction.

Rock Stars of Horror

Rock Stars of HorrorMusic Quiz

Rock Stars - especially those in the metal realm - are often enlisted for horror movies. See if you know can match the rocker to the role.

Allen Toussaint - "Southern Nights"

Allen Toussaint - "Southern Nights"They're Playing My Song

A song he wrote and recorded from "sheer spiritual inspiration," Allen's didn't think "Southern Nights" had hit potential until Glen Campbell took it to #1 two years later.

JJ Burnel of The Stranglers

JJ Burnel of The StranglersSongwriter Interviews

JJ talks about The Stranglers' signature sound - keyboard and bass - which isn't your typical strain of punk rock.