B-side "So Deep" Recorded August 31, 1961 Length 2:34 | Released January 8, 1962 Genre Vocal, country Label Decca 31348 | |
"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.
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: 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. 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.
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. 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 comprise 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. 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), and number two on the US country singles chart. Newton won the Grammy Award for Best Country Vocal Performance, Female, for her performance of the song. Newton would score two more Top 40 hits after "Break It to Me Gently". Her next two albums found her embracing commercial Pop and Rock-oriented material. From 1985, Newton shifted the focus of her career in a more emphatically C&W-oriented direction.
"Break It to Me Gently" has also been recorded by Ruth Brown, Linda Martin, Lorrie Morgan, Bobby Rydell and Guy Lombardo. The French rendering "Quitte-moi doucement" was recorded by Johnny Hallyday: 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.