B-side "Dreamboat Annie" Format 7" single Genre Hard rock, folk rock | Released April 1976 Recorded August 1975 Length 4:16 (LP: 4:53) | |
"Crazy on You" is the debut American single from the rock band Heart. It was the first single following the release of their debut album Dreamboat Annie, released in 1976 (two earlier Canadian singles had preceded the release of the album).
Contents
Description
Starting with an acoustic guitar intro called "Silver Wheels," the song turns into fast-paced rock song that was the signature sound of the band in their early years. "Crazy on You" attracted attention both for the relatively unusual combination of an acoustic guitar paired with an electric guitar, and the fact that the acoustic guitarist was a female – a rarity in rock music during that time. According to co-writer/guitarist Nancy Wilson on an episode of In the Studio with Redbeard (which devoted an entire episode to the Dreamboat Annie album), the rapid acoustic rhythm part was inspired by The Moody Blues song "Question".
The song's lyrics tell of a person's desire to forget all the problems of the world during one night of passion. During an interview on Private Sessions, Ann Wilson revealed the song was written in response to the stress caused by the Vietnam War and social unrest in the United States in the early seventies.
Release
"Crazy on You" peaked at #35 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in the summer of 1976. It remains one of Heart's signature songs and is still a staple on U.S. classic rock radio stations.
Chicago superstation WLS-AM, which gave the song much airplay, ranked "Crazy on You" as the 30th biggest hit of 1976. It reached as high as number three on their survey of August 7, 1976.
In late 1977, Mushroom Records re-released the single with the same catalog number and B-Side. This re-release peaked at #62 on the Hot 100 in early 1978. In the Netherlands it reached number two on the singles chart in March 1977. The single's B-side, "Dreamboat Annie", was later released on its own as an A-side.
In 2013, the original lineup of the band performed the song for their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, their first performance together in over thirty years.