"Crazy on You" is a song by American rock bandHeart from their debut studio album, Dreamboat Annie. It was released as the album's third single in March 1976, while marking the band's debut single in the United States.
Description
Starting with an acoustic guitar intro called "Silver Wheels", the song turns into a fast-paced rock song that was the band's signature sound 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 woman – a rarity in rock music during that time. According to co-writer and guitarist Nancy Wilson, who discussed it on an episode of the radio program In the Studio with Redbeard that devoted an entire episode to the Dreamboat Annie album, the rapid acoustic rhythm part was inspired by The Moody Blues's 1970 song "Question". The guitar riff was created by Roger Fisher during recording sessions. 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 the television series Private Sessions in 2007, 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 1970s. The song was written while the band members were living in a small A-frame cottage in Point Roberts, Washington, situated on the Canada–United States border.
Release
"Crazy on You" peaked at number 25 onRPMs Top Singles chart in Canada in May 1976 and at number 35 on the US Billboard Hot 100 the following month. It remains one of Heart's signature songs and is still a staple on US classic rock radio stations. Despite moderate success on the pop charts, the track received heavy airplay on FM Album Oriented Rock stations, which drove sales of the parent album. Chicago-based radio stationWLS-AM, where the song received heavy airplay, ranked "Crazy on You" as the 30th biggest song of 1976. It reached number three on the station's survey of August 7, 1976. Mushroom Records re-released the single in late 1977 with the same catalog number and B-side. In February 1978, the re-release reached number 62 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 68 on RPMs Top Singles chart. 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 30 years.
The song is prominently featured during pivotal scenes in Jean-Marc Vallée's 2015 film Demolition starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Naomi Watts. It was also featured in the films American Pop, The Virgin Suicides, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle and Captain Marvel. The song was also featured in the Close Enough episode "Room Parents".
Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Dreamboat Annie.
