This Top 10 Juice Newton Songs list looks at the best Juice Newton songs including the hits “Queen Of Hearts,” “Angel Of The Morning” and more. In 1952, Judy “Juice” Newton was born in New Jersey. She was partly raised in Virginia before moving to Los Altos Hills, California, to attend college. Before becoming a big name in the music industry, Newton received her first guitar when she was thirteen years old. Her mother served as her key influencer to pursue her dream, supporting Newton’s desire to obtain a music career. While in California, Newton performed folk music at local coffeehouses. It didn’t take long before she formed a band that mixed folk and rock music, now beginning to tour in bars and clubs. As Juice Newton & Silver Spur, she, along with Otha Young and Tom Kealey, signed up with RCA Records that saw two albums released in 1975 and 1976. With less than ideal success, they were dropped by RCA that saw them join Capitol Records in 1977. After releasing their first album with them, the group disbanded and Newton was now on her own.
Going Solo
Although now a solo artist, Juice Newton still kept Silver Spur as a backup band, at least until 1982. She did, however, legally change her name from Judy Newton to Juice Newton in 1978. Up to this point, “Juice” was merely her nickname. While with Capitol Records, she continued to record with them until 1983. During this time frame, her crossover hits between country and pop charts saw a solid run that made her a popular name with both genres of music. She was also a fan favorite in the folk music industry.
At first, Newton was able to chart hit singles but not enough to make a lasting impression. However, this changed as of 1981 when Juice Newton released her third solo album, Juice, the album that produced three consecutive top ten hits that served as the big breakthrough she needed to take the music industry by storm. As an album, Juice earned a platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and it became triple platinum with Music Canada. To date, this has remained as Newton’s best-selling album of all time.
In 1982, Juice Newton released her fourth solo album, Quiet Lies. In the U.S. it was certified gold while in Canada it became platinum. This would be the album that earned Juice Newton her first Grammy Award, as well as additional accolades and awards that kept her as a top name as a solo artist in the genres of country and pop music. When her sixth and final album with Capitol Records was released in 1983, Dirty Looks took on a stronger rock music style. Up to this point, she had mixed country, folk, and pop as a unique style that set her apart from most of the other stars in the music industry. It was popular enough in Canada to become certified gold but did not measure up to the success level of her two previous albums.
She’s Gone Country
For Juice Newton, the changes she experienced with Capitol Records prompted her to return to RCA as a label. In 1984, the album Can’t Wait All Night was her second rock-oriented recording. The single, “A Little Love,” as well as the album’s title track were the final occasions Newton saw pop chart success as a solo artist. Upon the realization her popularity among the pop-rock genre was waning, she opted to pour more focus into another genre where her moderate popularity had not yet faded. Now recording strictly as a country artist, Juice Newton first released the 1985 album, Old Flame. This change was key to bring Newton back to a height of success she enjoyed between 1981 to 1983. She remained with the RCA label until 1989 before finding herself and other country artists such as Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton dropped due to a big change that was shifting the face of the country music industry as a whole.
Juice Newton’s career as a recording artist began in 1975. Since then, she has brought forth seventeen studio albums, ten compilation albums, a live album, a video album, and thirty-nine singles. She has also produced nine music videos and has two audiobook anthologies to her credit.
Top 10 Juice Newton Songs
#10 – Tell Me True
On the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, “Tell Me True” peaked at number eight and it was a number two hit on the RPM Canadian Country Tracks chart in 1987. From the album, Emotion, Juice Newton’s final top ten hit in her recording career. This acoustic classic served up a toe-tapping, easy-listening Juice Newton style at her signature best. The range of vocals she has been noted for never waned over the years as a recording artist. One of Juice Newton’s biggest appeal for the fans has been the versatility in her music, regardless of genre, as it seemed like there wasn’t anything she couldn’t do as an artist.
#9 – Born to Each Other (Friends and Lovers) (featuring Eddie Rabbitt)
The 1985 duet of “Born to Each Other (Friends and Lovers)” featured Juice Newton and Eddie Rabbitt perform this country ballad was released just before the pop version made popular by Gloria Loring and Carl Anderson. For Newton and Rabbitt, their country classic was a number one hit on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart while the pop version did the same on the US Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.
For Loring and Anderson, the single was simply titled “Friends and Lovers” and it was recorded first. For Newton and Rabbitt, the title was altered to “Born to Each Other (Friends and Lovers)” as a means to avoid confusion and controversy among the fans since the two versions of this song were released just a couple weeks apart from each other.
#8 – Hurt
This 1954 original was first performed by Roy Hamilton as an R&B classic. Juice Newton’s 1985 country twist to “Hurt” turned it into a number one hit on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and on the RPM Canadian Country Tracks chart. Powerful ballads by Juice Newton was not uncommon, which saw “Hurt” as no exception to this fact. As a country ballad, her version of this song was performed beautifully as she seemed to have perform it as someone who was as caught up in the lyrical moment as the listener.
#7 – You Make Me Want to Make You Mine
“You Make Me Want to Make You Mine” became a number one hit for Juice Newton in 1985 on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and on the RPM Canadian Country tracks chart. It was the first single released from her album, Old Flame. For Newton, “You Make Me Want to Make You Mine” earned a fifth Grammy Award nomination for Best Female Vocal Performance in 1986. The full transition away from the pop-rock genre into country was the best move Newton made during this stage of her career as the face of the pop music industry was changing into a style that wasn’t nearly as folksy as Newton’s musical style, which came through beautifully through this hit single.
#6 – Love’s Been a Little Bit Hard on Me
From the 1982 album, Quiet Lies, “Love’s Been a Little Bit Hard on Me” joined the ranks of Juice Newton’s collection of top ten hits. This single earned her another Pop Female Vocalist Grammy Award nomination. The lyrical tale of a woman finding the quest for a loving relationship featured the cross of pop and country music styles the songstress is best known for. On the US Billboard Hot 100, “Love’s Been a Little Bit Hard on Me” peaked at number seven. On the US Billboard Adult Contemporary chart it peaked at number four and was a number three hit in Canada with its contemporary chart.
#5 – It’s a Heartache
The first solo record for Juice Newton occurred near the end of 1977 with “It’s a Heartache.” In Mexico, it became a major hit and was certified gold by its industry before it was released in 1978 to the U.S. It was no less popular in her home nation as it topped the US Billboard Hot 100 at number one. Although Newton’s recording of “It’s a Heartache” came out the same time as Bonnie Tyler’s version, the honor of who had it first belongs to Bonnie Tyler. It was first released in 1977 by Tyler in the UK before appearing in the US in 1978, which was timed exactly when Juice Newton’s version was released, as well as Ronnie Spector’s.
#4 – Break It to Me Gently
For Juice Newton, “Break It to Me Gently” became a steamy number one hit single on the US Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, a number two single on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, and a number eleven hit on the US Billboard Hot 100. This contemporary remake of Brenda Lee’s original hit single from 1961 won Newton her first Grammy Award, namely for Best Female Country Vocal Performance, in 1983. This is a classic ballad that saw no other artist come as close to Brenda Lee’s perfection as Juice Newton’s version did.
#3 – The Sweetest Thing (I’ve Ever Known)
From the album, Juice, “The Sweetest Thing (I’ve Ever Known)” was an instrumental hit that contributed to the album to jump from RIAA’s gold certification to platinum, despite the fact the single didn’t earn an official certification itself. “The Sweetest Thing” became a number one hit on US Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, US Billboard Country Songs chart, the RPM Canadian Adult Contemporary Tracks, and the RPM Canadian Country Tracks as the third single released in 1981. As far as crossover hits go, “The Sweetest Thing” remains as one of greatest examples illustrating the versatility behind Juice Newton’s musical talent as a performer.
#2 – Angel of the Morning
Juice Newton’s “Angel of the Morning” became the first music video from the country genre to air on MTV in 1981. She was also the third female solo artist to be featured on MTV while Pat Benatar and Carly Simon were the first two. This single also earned Juice Newton a 1982 Grammy Award nomination for Best Female Vocalist in the country music category. The inspiration behind “Angel of the Morning” came in 1967 when the writer, Chip Taylor, heard “Ruby Tuesday” by The Rolling Stones. After this song was written, it was offered to Connie Francis. It was turned down as the lyric of a love affair song would compromise her stage image.
Evie Sands was the first artist to record the single but it did not receive the amount of attention and popularity as Newton’s 1981 version did. Many Juice Newton fans consider “Angel of the Morning” to be one of her signature songs as it is best recognized with her vocal talent than the number of artists who have also covered what has become a cult classic. On the US Billboard Hot 100, Newton’s “Angel of the Morning” peaked at number four and was a number twenty-two hit on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. On the US Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, it was number one. In Australia, Canada, and the US, each of the nation’s music recognition industries certified “Angel of the Morning” as gold due to the amount of sales it earned between them.
#1 – Queen of Hearts
“Queen of Hearts” earned a 1982 Grammy Award nomination for Best Female Vocalist in the pop music category, which made it the most successful version of the Dave Edmunds 1979 original recording. For Juice Newton, “Queen of Hearts” peaked at number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 and the US Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. On the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, it peaked at number fourteen. The popularity of this song earned it a gold certification with the RIAA and a platinum certification with Music Canada.
Since its release, “Queen of Hearts” has been featured in two of Oliver Stone’s movies, namely Salvador (1986) and Boogie Nights (1997). It has also been featured in the 2013 television series, The Americans, as well as in episodes of King of the Hill and South Park. The 2004 video game, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, also has “Queen of Hearts” in its music roster.
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