Break It to Me Gently

"Break It to Me Gently" is a pop song written by blues musician Joe Seneca with lyrics by Diane Lampert. Both Brenda Lee and Juice Newton met with considerable success with their versions of the song.

For the song by Aretha Franklin, see Break It to Me Gently (Aretha Franklin song). For the song by Loverboy, see Wildside (album).
"Break It to Me Gently"
Single by Brenda Lee
from the album ..."Let Me Sing"
B-side"So Deep"
ReleasedJanuary 8, 1962
RecordedAugust 31, 1961
GenreVocal, country
Length2:34
LabelDecca 31348
Songwriter(s)Joe Seneca, Diane Lampert
Producer(s)Owen Bradley
Brenda Lee singles chronology
"Fool #1"
(1961)		 "Break It to Me Gently"
(1962)		 "Speak to Me Pretty"
(1962)

Brenda Lee recorded "Break It to Me Gently" on August 31, 1961 with Owen Bradley producing the session at his Bradley Film and Recording Studio in Nashville:[1] after another track from the same session, "Fool #1", had become a Top Ten hit. "Break It To Me Gently" was released as a single at the end of 1961 and reached number four on the US Billboard Hot 100 in January 1962.[2] In 2008, the Brenda Lee version of the song was featured at the closing of season 2, episode 7 of the AMC series Mad Men. Lee's "Break It to Me Gently" is on the track list of the CD Pan Am: Music From and Inspired By the Original Series set for release January 17, 2012.[3]

Juice Newton cover
"Break It to Me Gently"
Single by Juice Newton
from the album Quiet Lies
B-side"Adios Mi Corazon"
ReleasedAugust 1982
GenreVocal, country
Length4:04
LabelCapitol
Songwriter(s)Joe Seneca, Diane Lampert
Producer(s)Richard Landis
Juice Newton singles chronology
"Love's Been a Little Bit Hard on Me"
(1982)		 "Break It to Me Gently"
(1982)		 "Heart of the Night"
(1983)

Juice Newton had included "Break It to Me Gently" in the set list for her 1981 national tour: New York Times music critic Stephen Holden terming Newton's "steamy version" of the song the concert's highlight.[4] Newton made her recording of the song at Soundcastle Studio in Hollywood CA on January 11, 1982: this was the first session of recording the tracks which would compose Newton's Quiet Lies album whose lead single: "Love's Been a Little Bit Hard on Me" was the one other track recorded in that session.[5] Issued as the second single from Quiet Lies in August 1982, "Break It to Me Gently" just missed becoming Newton's fifth consecutive Top Ten hit on the Billboard Hot 100 peaking at number 11 that October. The track reached number one on the US Adult Contemporary chart (making it Newton's third number one on that chart),[6] and number two on the US country singles chart.[7] Newton won the Grammy Award for Best Country Vocal Performance, Female, for her performance of the song. Newton would score three more Top 40 pop hits after "Break It to Me Gently".

Personnel
  • Juice Newton: lead vocals
  • Chuck Martin: electric guitar and solo
  • George Doering: electric guitar
  • Fred Tackett: acoustic guitar
  • Richard Tee: keyboards
  • Michael Boddicker: synthesizer
  • George Hawkins: bass
  • Rick Shlosser: drums

Chart performance

Weekly charts
Brenda Lee
Juice Newton

Johnny Hallyday version (in French)
"Quitte-moi doucement"
Single by Johnny Hallyday
Released1963 (1963)
LabelPhilips
Johnny Hallyday singles chronology
"Tes tendres années"
(1963)		 "Les Bras en croix" / "Quitte-moi doucement" / "Quand un air vous possède" / "Quitte-moi doucement" / "Quand un air vous possède" / "Dis-moi oui"
(1963)		 "Da dou ron ron"
(1964)

The French rendering "Quitte-moi doucement" was recorded by Johnny Hallyday.

Track listings

7" EP Philips 432.908 BE (1963, France, Spain, etc.)

A1. "Les bras en croix" (2:13)
A2. "Quitte-moi doucement" ("Break It to Me Gently") (2:30)
B1. "Quand un air vous possède" ("When My Little Girl Is Smiling") (2:17)
B2. "Dis-moi oui" ("We Say Yeah") (2:07)[20][21]

7" single "Ma guitare / Quitte-moi doucement" Philips JF 328 009 (1963, Netherlands)

A. "Ma guitare" (1:50)
AA. "Quitte-moi doucement" (2:15)[22]

Other cover versions

"Break It to Me Gently" has also been recorded by Ruth Brown, Linda Martin, Lorrie Morgan, Bobby Rydell and Guy Lombardo.

An alternate French rendering, "Brise doucement notre amour", was recorded by Québécois singer Michèle Richard (fr). Deana Martin recorded "Break It To Me Gently" on her 2013 album Destination Moon. In 2016, Aubrey Peeples performed the song at the Grand Ole Opry.

See also

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-07-08. Retrieved 2010-06-28.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  3. "'PAN AM: MUSIC FROM AND INSIRED BY THE ORIGINAL SERIES,' CD COMING JANUARY 17 FROM VERVE MUSIC GROUP, BRINGS MUSIC FROM A MORE OPTIMISTIC ERA IN AMERICA". Mi2N.com. 2012-01-17. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
  4. Holden, Stephen (22 June 1981). "Country-Pop: Juice Newton". The New York Times.
  5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-10-08. Retrieved 2011-07-22.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 180.
  7. Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 248.
  8. CHUM Hit Parade, February 26, 1962
  9. Flavour of New Zealand, 8 October 2020
  10. "Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. Missing or empty |url= (help)
  11. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  12. Musicoutfitters.com
  13. Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 29, 1962
  14. "Juice Newton Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
  15. "Juice Newton Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  16. "Juice Newton Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
  17. "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, November 6, 1982". Archived from the original on May 30, 2016. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  18. Whitburn, Joel (1999). Pop Annual. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. ISBN 0-89820-142-X.
  19. "Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 25, 1982". Archived from the original on July 11, 2018. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  20. "Johnny Hallyday - Les Bras En Croix at Discogs". Retrieved 2017-11-09.
  21. "ultratop.be - Johnny Hallyday - Les bras en croix". Retrieved 2017-11-09.
  22. "Johnny Hallyday - Ma Guitare / Quitte-Moi Doucement (Vinyl) at Discogs". Retrieved 2017-11-11.
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