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Hurts So Good

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Wikipedia article




{{Infobox song

| name = Hurts So Good

| cover = Hurts So Good Single.jpg

| alt =

| type = single

| artist = John Cougar

| album = American Fool

| B-side = Close Enough

| released =

| recorded =

| studio = Cherokee, Los Angeles

| venue =

| genre = Heartland rock

| length =

| label = Riva

| writer = John Mellencamp, George Green

| producer = John Mellencamp, Don Gehman

| prev_title = Ain't Even Done with the Night

| prev_year = 1981

| next_title = Jack & Diane

| next_year = 1982

| misc =

}}

"'Hurts So Good'" is a song by American singer-songwriter John Mellencamp, then performing under the stage name "John Cougar". The song was a number two hit on the 'Billboard' Hot 100Whitburn, Joel (2004). 'The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits,' 8th Edition (Billboard Publications), page 418. for the singer/songwriter. It was the first of three major hit singles from his 1982 album 'American Fool'. The others were "Jack & Diane" and "Hand to Hold On To," which were all released in 1982. The song was also a critical success with Mellencamp, winning the Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male at the 25th Grammy Awards on February 23, 1983.

Background and recording



"Hurts So Good" was written by Mellencamp and George Green, Mellencamp's childhood friend and occasional writing partner. The song was first conceived, Mellencamp claims, when he had uttered the phrase "hurt so good. Mellencamp repeated the lines to Green, and they finished the song very quickly. In 2004, Mellencamp expounded on the writing of "Hurts So Good" in an interview with 'American Songwriter' magazine: "George Green and I wrote that together. We exchanged lines back and forth between each other and laughed about it at the time. Then I went and picked up the guitar, and within seconds, I had those chords."

The song was recorded at Cherokee Studios in Los Angeles, California and was engineered by Don Gehman and George Tutko. Backing Mellencamp were Larry Crane and Mike Wanchic (guitars, backing vocals), Kenny Aronoff (drums), George "Chocolate" Perry (bass) and Dave Parman (backing vocals).

Reception



'Cash Box' said that "steady 4/4 snare work and choppy fuzz tone guitar chords kick off this steel-edged pop/rocker."

Music video



Much of the video was filmed in Medora, Indiana, a small town located approximately southwest of Seymour, Indiana, where Mellencamp was born and raised.

Personnel



* John Cougar lead vocals

* Larry Crane guitar, background vocals

* Mike Wanchic guitar, background vocals

* Kenny Aronoff drums

* George "Chocolate" Perry bass

Charts



The song hit number one on 'Billboard's' Hot Tracks mainstream rock chart. It peaked at number two on the 'Billboard' Hot 100 on August 7, 1982 and, although it failed to make number one, it spent 16 weeks in the top 10, the longest time for any song in the 1980s. It was kept off the top spot by "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor. The song was listed at #83 on 'Billboard's Greatest Songs of All Time'.

The single was also a hit in Canada reaching #3 on 'RPM' magazine's Top 50 Singles chart. It reached number five in Australia and South Africa

Weekly charts



Year-end charts



All-time charts



See also



*List of number-one mainstream rock hits (United States)

References



Category:1982 singles

Category:John Mellencamp songs

Category:Cashbox number-one singles

Category:Music videos directed by Bruce Gowers

Category:Songs written by John Mellencamp

Category:Song recordings produced by Don Gehman

Category:Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance

Category:Songs written by George Green (songwriter)

Category:Songs about BDSM

Category:1982 songs

Category:Riva Records singles

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