"Hearts of Stone" is an American R&B song. It was written by Eddie Ray and Rudy Jackson, a member of the San Bernardino, California-based rhythm and blues vocal group the Jewels (no relation to the female Jewels group from Washington, DC) which first recorded it for the R&B label in 1954. The Jewels began as a gospel group, then became the Marbles, recording for the Lucky label out of Los Angeles.
According to Johnny Torrence, leader of the Marbles/Jewels, it was taken from a song they recorded in their gospel days. "Hearts of Stone" was covered and taken to the charts by East Coast R&B vocal group the Charms, causing the story of the Jewels' involvement to be ignored by various writers and DJs who assume the Charms' cover was the original. The Charms' version of the song went to number one on the R&B Best Sellers and number fifteen on the pop charts.
A different song, also with the name "Hearts of Stone", was written by Bruce Springsteen and recorded during the Darkness on the Edge of Town sessions (appears on the anthology box set Tracks). It was recorded and released by Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes on their 1978 album Hearts of Stone.
Other recordings
It also has been recorded by: