For the Spacehog song, see Cruel to Be Kind (Spacehog song).
1979 single by Nick Lowe
"Cruel to Be Kind"
Cover of the 1979 UK single
Single by Nick Lowe
from the album Labour of Lust
B-side
"Endless Grey Ribbon"
Released
17 August 1979 (1979-08-17) (UK)[1]
Genre
Power pop[2][3]
pop-soul[3]
Length
3:31
Label
Radar (UK)
Columbia (US)
Songwriter(s)
Nick Lowe
Ian Gomm
Producer(s)
Lowe
Nick Lowe singles chronology
"Cracking Up" (1979)
"Cruel to Be Kind" (1979)
"Switch Board Susan" (1979)
Official video
"Cruel to Be Kind" on YouTube
"Cruel to Be Kind" is a song co-written by Nick Lowe and his former bandmate Ian Gomm while the pair were in Brinsley Schwarz. The song only appeared as a 1978 B-side until Columbia Records convinced Lowe to rerecord it as a potential solo single. Musically, the song was inspired by "The Love I Lost" by Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, an influence reflected in more recent performances of the song.[4]
Released as a single in 1979, the song peaked at number 12 on the charts of Australia, Canada, the UK and the US.[5][4] In the US, where it is one of Lowe's most well-known works, it remains his only single to hit the top 40, whereas in the UK "I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass" remains his biggest hit, having reached number 7 a year earlier.[6] The song was accompanied by a music video featuring Lowe's marriage to Carlene Carter.
^"Nick Lowe – Cruel to be Kind".
^Mason, Stewart. Nick Lowe – Cruel to Be Kind at AllMusic. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
^ abBillboard Staff (19 October 2023). "The 500 Best Pop Songs: Staff List". Billboard. Retrieved 19 February 2024. An ode to tough love and heartache, but with a driving soul-pop rhythm...Heath Ledger's Patrick surprises Julia Stiles' Kat at prom with...an even jumpier version of Lowe's power pop gem.
^ abWatkins, Jack (15 February 2021). "How we made: Nick Lowe on Cruel to Be Kind". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
^"Nick Lowe, "Cruel to be Kind" Chart Positions". Archived from the original on 28 March 2014. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
^"Nick Lowe, "I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass" Chart Position". Retrieved 2 December 2016.
"CrueltoBeKind" is a song co-written by Nick Lowe and his former bandmate Ian Gomm while the pair were in Brinsley Schwarz. The song only appeared as...
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bass guitar, piano and harmonica. He is best known for the songs "CrueltoBeKind" (a US Top 40 single) and "I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass" (a top...
well as the single "CruelToBeKind". "In the Meantime" received heavy video and radio play, and was used as background music to BBC's Match of the Day...
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vocals 2012: Wilco - iTunes Session (dBpm) - lead vocals on track 8, "CrueltoBeKind" 2017: Blackie and the Rodeo Kings - Kings and Kings (File Under Music)...
(1979–1990) (Carter appears in the music video of Lowe's 1979 single "CrueltoBeKind" with real footage of their wedding.) Joseph Breen (2006–2020) Carter...
reached number 9 in 1979. Lowe's 1979 single and biggest worldwide hit "CrueltoBeKind" was co-written with Gomm and originally recorded by Brinsley Schwarz...
to memory, The lady doth protest too much, methinks. Act III, Scene 4: Hoist with his own petard Act III, Scene 4: I must becruel, only tobekind (several...
Kapahala: Back on Board in 2007, which is the sequel to the 1999 film Johnny Tsunami. From March to December 2009, she portrayed Summer Landsdown / Ranger...
The prohibition against cruel and unusual punishments has led courts to hold that the Constitution totally prohibits certain kinds of punishment, such as...
added as bonus tracks to the first UK CD release of this album in 1989. "Heart of the City" is the studio version. "CrueltoBeKind" is the original version...
version of Nick Lowe's "CrueltoBeKind" to Heath Ledger and Julia Stiles at their characters' high school prom, in addition to performing original song...
Patrick (2004). Conspicuous Compassion: Why Sometimes It Really Is CruelToBeKind. London: Civitas, Institute for the Study of Civil Society. ISBN 978-1-903386-34-7...
web-site". Retrieved 8 April 2014. Geldof, Bob. Live Aid DVD. David Rieff "Crueltobekind?", Archived 8 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine The Guardian, 24...
flicker of respect". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 25, 2019. "Crueltobekind: New citizen patrols will scare Edmonton coyotes with sticks and tennis...
released as a single in North America only. The follow-up to Lowe's biggest chart hit "CrueltoBeKind", the single reached number 81 Canada and number 107...
2019). "CrueltoBeKind: The Life and Music of Nick Lowe". Hachette Books – via Google Books. Buckley, Peter (15 March 2003). "The Rough Guide to Rock"...
1991 "Guaranteed" by Level 42 (single) 1991 "Cruel (ToBeKind)" by Lindy Layton (single) 1991 "I'll Be There For You" by Donna Gardier (video only) (single)...
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