As revered as Neil Young has been over the course of his career, he has not had much success on the pop singles chart. Outside of his work with Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, he has reached the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 just three times. The first of those Top-40 hits was “Only Love Can Break Your Heart,” which was the second single from Young’s 1970 album After the Gold Rush. It only went as high as No. 33.
Yet for a song that didn’t make a huge impact on Top-40 radio, “Only Love Can Break Your Heart” has built quite a legacy. With nearly 30 million streams, it is one of Young’s 10 most popular tracks on Spotify. It has also been covered by several dozen artists, and the versions collectively span the six decades that have passed since the original was released.
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Many of the artists who have recorded their own interpretation of “Only Love Can Break Your Heart” have strayed far from Young’s straightforward, acoustic guitar-driven arrangement. Each of the four covers included here features a unique take on the song, and each places it in a different subgenre.
Jackie DeShannon, from Jackie (1972)
DeShannon scored a pair of big hits in the ‘60s with “What the World Needs Now is Love” and “Put a Little Love in Your Heart,” but her cover of “Only Love Can Break Your Heart” was one of her bigger commercial successes of the ‘70s. Hers was one of the earliest covers of “Only Love Can Break Your Heart,” and initially it appears to follow Young’s arrangement fairly closely. One obvious change is the inclusion of an accordion, which is played by the late producer, arranger, and record executive Arif Mardin. DeShannon’s version takes an unexpected turn after the first chorus, as it shifts from 3/4 time to 4/4 with fuller instrumentation and a stronger groove. DeShannon’s cover missed the Billboard Hot 100, but it went to No. 38 on the magazine’s Adult Contemporary chart.
Elkie Brooks, from Shooting Star (1978)
In the U.S., Brooks is probably best known for duetting with Cat Stevens on his 1977 hit “(Remember the Days of the) Old School Yard.” The English vocalist has had 13 chart singles in the UK, and her cover of “Only Love Can Break Your Heart” was one of them, peaking at No. 43. With one listen, you could probably pinpoint the exact year Brooks recorded and released her cover of Young’s song. Her soulful, disco-adjacent treatment has 1978 written all over it. The luscious arrangement features funky bass, strings, trumpet, flute, and a tasty groove provided by former Sly and the Family Stone drummer Andy Newmark.
Stephen Stills, from Right By You (1984)
Young’s one-time bandmate in Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young came up with a version that would never be confused with the original. The slick, keyboard-driven production is pure ‘80s. Stills co-produced all of the tracks on Right By You with Ron and Howard Albert, who were also on board to co-produce Crosby, Stills & Nash’s 1977 CSN album, though this version of “Only Love Can Break Your Heart” sounds like it could have been produced by Todd Rundgren. The cover has another link to CSN, as Graham Nash—whom Young allegedly wrote the song for—provides backing vocals.
Stills’ soft rock version is sonically different from the original and the other covers included here, and it also includes an additional verse that he wrote. “Only Love Can Break Your Heart” was the third single released from Right By You, but unlike its two predecessors (“Stranger” and “Can’t Let Go”), it did not land on any Billboard charts.
Saint Etienne, from Foxbase Alpha (1991)
Saint Etienne’s Eurodance version is the best-known cover of “Only Love Can Break Your Heart,” and it just might be even better known than the original among listeners born after 1980. Nearly two years after its initial 1990 release, Saint Etienne’s cover topped Billboard’s Dance Club Songs chart for two weeks and went to No. 11 on their Alternative Airplay chart. With more than 25 million streams, it has been nearly as popular on Spotify as Young’s original.
This cover of “Only Love Can Break Your Heart” is also notable for being the first single ever released by Saint Etienne, and it came out more than a year before their debut album Foxbase Alpha hit the shelves. It was recorded so early in Saint Etienne’s timeline that founding members Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs had yet to hire Sarah Cracknell as their lead vocalist. Moira Donegan sings the lead vocal on “Only Love Can Break Your Heart,” and it’s the only track on Foxbase Alpha that features her.
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