Love Hurts - Nazareth Version

Nazareth Version

Performed as a rock ballad, the Nazareth version was the most popular version of the song and the only rendition of "Love Hurts" to become a hit single in the United States, reaching #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1976. As part of the "Hot Tracks (EP)" it also reached #15 in the UK in 1977. Nazareth's version was an international hit (reaching #8 in the US, #15 in the UK, and #1 in Canada, South Africa and Norway), and remains the best-known recording of the song. The Nazareth single was so successful in Norway that it charted for 61 weeks on the Norwegian charts (VG-lista Top 10), including 14 weeks at #1, making it the top single of all time in that country.

A later recording by Nazareth, featuring the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, peaked at #89 in Germany.

The lyrics of the song remained unchanged on all versions up until Nazareth's 1975 recording, where the original line "love is like a stove/it burns you when it's hot" was changed to "love is like a flame/it burns you when it's hot". The Nazareth track has been featured in the movies Dazed and Confused, Detroit Rock City, Together, and Halloween, among others. It was edited for use in a late-'90s Gatorade TV commercial. Other companies to have used the song in advertising include Southwest Airlines, Molson, Nissan (for the Altima) and Toyota in Australia.