He Hit Me (It Felt Like A Kiss)
Encyclopedia
"He Hit Me" is a pop song
written by Gerry Goffin
and Carole King
and recorded by The Crystals
under the guidance of Phil Spector
in 1962.
was being regularly beaten
by her boyfriend. When they inquired why she tolerated such treatment, Eva replied, with complete sincerity, that her boyfriend's actions were motivated by his love for her.
Phil Spector
's arrangement was ominous and ambiguous.
Upon its initial release, "He Hit Me" received some airplay, but then there was a widespread protest of the song, with many concluding that the song was an endorsement of spousal abuse. The song soon became played only rarely on the radio, as now.
The 1930 Frank Borzage
film Liliom
contains the line "He hit me and it felt like a kiss" in its final scene. The film was not a success and there's nothing to suggest that Goffin or King had seen it. However the two Brill building writers could hardly have avoided knowing Carousel
, the Rodgers and Hammerstein
musical
, and one of their most famous. The exact same phrase is not only used, it is a crucial part of the resolution of the plot.
Pop Song
Pop Song is the first single by the Drugs. It was released in 2000 and earned the Drugs some positive press. It has been described as "addictive". A live version was released on The Only Way Is Up...
written by Gerry Goffin
Gerry Goffin
Gerry Goffin is an American lyricist. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 with former songwriting partner and first wife, Carole King. he has co-written six Billboard Hot 100 chart-toppers.-Career:Goffin enlisted with the Marine Corps Reserve after graduating from...
and Carole King
Carole King
Carole King is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. King and her former husband Gerry Goffin wrote more than two dozen chart hits for numerous artists during the 1960s, many of which have become standards. As a singer, King had an album, Tapestry, top the U.S...
and recorded by The Crystals
The Crystals
The Crystals are an American vocal group based in New York, considered one of the defining acts of the girl group era of the first half of the 1960s. Their 1961–1964 chart hits, including "Uptown", "He's a Rebel", "Da Doo Ron Ron " and "Then He Kissed Me", featured three successive female lead...
under the guidance of Phil Spector
Phil Spector
Phillip Harvey "Phil" Spector is an American record producer and songwriter, later known for his conviction in the murder of actress Lana Clarkson....
in 1962.
The song
Goffin and King wrote the song after discovering that singer Little EvaLittle Eva
Eva Narcissus Boyd , known by the stage name of Little Eva , was an American pop singer.-Biography:...
was being regularly beaten
Physical abuse
Physical abuse is abuse involving contact intended to cause feelings of intimidation, injury, or other physical suffering or bodily harm.-Forms of physical abuse:*Striking*Punching*Belting*Pushing, pulling*Slapping*Whipping*Striking with an object...
by her boyfriend. When they inquired why she tolerated such treatment, Eva replied, with complete sincerity, that her boyfriend's actions were motivated by his love for her.
Phil Spector
Phil Spector
Phillip Harvey "Phil" Spector is an American record producer and songwriter, later known for his conviction in the murder of actress Lana Clarkson....
's arrangement was ominous and ambiguous.
Upon its initial release, "He Hit Me" received some airplay, but then there was a widespread protest of the song, with many concluding that the song was an endorsement of spousal abuse. The song soon became played only rarely on the radio, as now.
The 1930 Frank Borzage
Frank Borzage
Frank Borzage was an American film director and actor.-Biography:Frank Borzage's father, Luigi Borzaga, was born in Ronzone, in 1859. As a stonemason, he sometimes worked in Switzerland; he met his future wife, Maria Ruegg , where she worked in a silk factory...
film Liliom
Liliom
Liliom is a 1909 play by the Hungarian playwright Ferenc Molnár. It was very famous in its own right during the early to mid-20th century, but is best known today as the basis for the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Carousel.- Plot :...
contains the line "He hit me and it felt like a kiss" in its final scene. The film was not a success and there's nothing to suggest that Goffin or King had seen it. However the two Brill building writers could hardly have avoided knowing Carousel
Carousel (musical)
Carousel is the second stage musical by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II . The work premiered in 1945 and was adapted from Ferenc Molnár's 1909 play Liliom, transplanting its Budapest setting to the Maine coastline...
, the Rodgers and Hammerstein
Rodgers and Hammerstein
Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II were a well-known American songwriting duo, usually referred to as Rodgers and Hammerstein. They created a string of popular Broadway musicals in the 1940s and 1950s during what is considered the golden age of the medium...
musical
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
, and one of their most famous. The exact same phrase is not only used, it is a crucial part of the resolution of the plot.
Covers and references
- The MotelsThe MotelsThe Motels are a New Wave music band from the Los Angeles area best known for "Only the Lonely" and "Suddenly Last Summer", each of which peaked at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1982 and 1983, respectively. Their song "Total Control" reached #4 on the Australian charts in 1980...
covered the song on their 1982 album All Four OneAll Four OneAll Four One is the third studio album by the New Wave band The Motels, released in 1982. The album felt like the 'fourth album' to the band, as it is mostly a re-recording of an unreleased album titled Apocalypso.-Background and writing:...
.
- Courtney LoveCourtney LoveCourtney Michelle Love is an American rock musician. Love is the lead vocalist, lyricist, and rhythm guitarist for alternative rock band Hole, which she formed in 1989, and is an actress who has moved from bit parts in Alex Cox films to significant and acclaimed roles in The People vs...
's band, HoleHole (band)Hole is an American alternative rock band that originally formed in Los Angeles in 1989. The band is fronted by vocalist/songwriter and rhythm guitarist Courtney Love, who co-founded Hole with former songwriter/lead guitarist Eric Erlandson...
, played a cover of the song as part of their MTV UnpluggedMTV UnpluggedMTV Unplugged is a TV series showcasing many popular musical artists usually playing acoustic instruments. The show has received the George Foster Peabody Award and 3 Primetime Emmy nominations among many accolades.-Unplugged:...
performance. Love introduced the song by saying "This is a really sick song. It's one of those Spector songs and it was written by Carole KingCarole KingCarole King is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. King and her former husband Gerry Goffin wrote more than two dozen chart hits for numerous artists during the 1960s, many of which have become standards. As a singer, King had an album, Tapestry, top the U.S...
, which...you have to think." (King didn't, however, write the lyrics—her husband Gerry Goffin did.) At the end of the song, Love commented "Nice feminist anthem."
- AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n band, The Blackeyed SusansThe Blackeyed SusansThe Blackeyed Susans are an Australian rock band, formed in Perth in 1989, based in Melbourne since 1992.-Perth 1989-1990:The original line-up consisted of David McComb on vocals and guitar, Alsy MacDonald on drums , Phil Kakulas on bass guitar , Rob Snarski on vocals and guitar, and...
, recorded a cover of the song, changing the title to "She Hit Me (And It Felt Like a Kiss)" on their album Dedicated to the Ones We LoveDedicated to the Ones We LoveDedicated to the Ones We Love is the fifth studio album by the Australian folk rock group The Blackeyed Susans and was released on 23 April 2001. It is the first issued on their own label, Teardrop, and was distributed through Shock Records. As the name suggests, it is a collection of cover...
.
- In 2005, the BritishUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
band, SpiritualizedSpiritualizedSpiritualized are an English space rock band formed in 1990 in Rugby, Warwickshire by Jason Pierce after the demise of his previous outfit, space-rockers Spacemen 3...
, recorded a song called "She Kissed Me (It Felt Like a Hit)".
- The BrooklynBrooklynBrooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
band Grizzly BearGrizzly Bear (band)Grizzly Bear is a Brooklyn-based indie rock band, composed of Edward Droste , Daniel Rossen , Chris Taylor and Christopher Bear . The band employs traditional and electronic instruments...
sang the song during the 2007 headlining tour for their album, Yellow HouseYellow House (album)Yellow House is the second studio album by indie rock band Grizzly Bear, released on September 5, 2006 on Warp Records. The album's title is in reference to vocalist Ed Droste's mother's house where a majority of the recording took place...
. They also recorded the song during a DaytrotterDaytrotterDaytrotter is a website for the recording studio Horseshack, which hosts recording sessions with many popular and typically upcoming indie music acts, although it works with local bands in the Illinois area as well. The sessions can be compared to that of a radio station's lounge recordings, where...
session in February 2007, to be made available online for download. A studio version of the song was released on the band's FriendFriend (EP)Friend is an EP by the Brooklyn-based band Grizzly Bear, their first release following the critically acclaimed Yellow House. It was released on November 5, 2007 on Warp Records. The EP has tracks recorded during sessions for the Yellow House album, as well as covers of their songs by Band of...
EP, while a live take was released as the B-side to "While You Wait for the Others" on the Live on KCRW 7".
- The Saint EtienneSaint Etienne (band)Saint Etienne are an English Pop group comprising Sarah Cracknell, Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs. They are named after the French football team AS Saint-Étienne.-History:Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs were childhood friends and former music journalists...
song "She's the One" quotes the song's title.
- The My Life With the Thrill Kill KultMy Life With the Thrill Kill KultMy Life with the Thrill Kill Kult is an American electronic industrial rock band originally based out of Chicago, Illinois.-History:...
song "Glamour Is a Rocky Road" quotes the song's title.
- The song was played in its entirety on the September 26, 2007 episode of The Tom Leykis Show titled 'The One They Won't Play'. The subject of the show's hour was in relation to Phil SpectorPhil SpectorPhillip Harvey "Phil" Spector is an American record producer and songwriter, later known for his conviction in the murder of actress Lana Clarkson....
's writing and production of the song, and the fact that he got married in the period between being accused of the murders and the end of his trial.
- The Batman graphic novel, and animated series episode, Mad Love, about the origins of Harley Quinn, refer to this song. When Harley Quinn is asked how it felt to give everything to a man who abused her, she said it felt like a kiss.
- Amy WinehouseAmy WinehouseAmy Jade Winehouse was an English singer-songwriter known for her powerful deep contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres including R&B, soul and jazz. Winehouse's 2003 debut album, Frank, was critically successful in the UK and was nominated for the Mercury Prize...
had frequently mentioned the song as one of her all-time favourite tracks and biggest influences.
- In 2008, Glasvegas released a Christmas EP titled "A Snowflake Fell and It Felt Like A Kiss," the title being a homage to the Crystals.
- PunchdrunkPunchdrunkPunchdrunk is a British theatre company, formed in 2000, the pioneer of a form of "immersive" presentation in which the audience is free to choose what to watch and where to go. This format is related to "promenade theatre"....
/Adam CurtisAdam CurtisAdam Curtis is a British BAFTA winning documentarian and a writer, television producer, director and narrator. He works for BBC Current Affairs.-Early life and education:Curtis was born in 1955...
/Damon AlbarnDamon AlbarnDamon Albarn is an English singer-songwriter and record producer who has been involved in many high profile projects, coming to prominence as the frontman and primary songwriter of Britpop band Blur...
's entry to the 2009 Manchester International FestivalManchester International FestivalThe Manchester International Festival is an international cultural festival of original new work, held in the English city of Manchester. It is a biennial event, first taking place in June–July 2007, and subsequently recurring in the summers of 2009 and 2011...
, "It Felt Like A KissIt Felt Like A KissIt Felt Like a Kiss is an immersive theatre production, first performed between 2 and 19 July 2009 as part of the second Manchester International Festival, co-produced with the BBC...
" is a reference to the song. In this instance is it used to represent a love of American pop culture, which in turn heavily - some would say too heavily - dominates global popular culture.
- The Cardigans song "And Then You Kissed Me" rewrites and reinterprets "He Hit Me".
- The Antony and the JohnsonsAntony and the JohnsonsAntony and the Johnsons is a music group presenting the work of Antony Hegarty and his collaborators.-Career:British experimental musician David Tibet of Current 93 heard a demo and offered to release Antony's music through his Durtro label. The debut album, Antony and the Johnsons, was released...
song "Fistful of Love" deals with nearly identical themes of love and abuse, yet in this version the gender of the song's characters are ambiguous.
- Solo artist UnwomanUnwomanUnwoman is a solo artist from San Francisco, California. Musician Erica Mulkey mixes cello and vocals with electronic influences. The music she creates is difficult to label with an established genre, but contains characteristics of synth pop and goth...
covered this song in her 2009 album The Keys.
- Amy RigbyAmy RigbyAmy Rigby is an American singer-songwriter. After playing with several New York bands she began a solo career, recording several albums which had only modest sales despite enthusiastic reviews. She settled into a career of touring small venues and private parties while raising a daughter, then...
's song "Dancing With Joey Ramone" lists "He Hit Me (and it Felt Like a Kiss)" as one of the songs they danced to in her dream.