"Breakaway" is a song written by

Jackie DeShannon Jackie DeShannon (born Sharon Lee Myers; August 21, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter and radio broadcaster who has had many hit song credits beginning in the 1960s, as both a singer and composer. She was one of the first female singer-son ...

and

Sharon Sheeley Sharon Kathleen Sheeley (April 4, 1940 – May 17, 2002) was an American songwriter who wrote songs for Glen Campbell, Ricky Nelson, Brenda Lee, and Eddie Cochran. Biography Sheeley attended Newport Harbor High School in Newport Beach, an ...

. It was originally recorded by

Irma Thomas Irma Thomas ( Lee; born February 18, 1941) is an American singer from New Orleans. She is known as the "Soul Queen of New Orleans". Thomas is a contemporary of Aretha Franklin and Etta James, but never experienced their level of commercial succ ...

in 1964 and released as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

of her biggest hit, the US No. 17 single "Wish Someone Would Care". The song was later a huge success for the British singer

Tracey Ullman Tracey Ullman (born Trace Ullman; 30 December 1959) is a British-American actress, singer, dancer, screenwriter, producer, and director. Despite being frequently referred to as a comedian, Ullman considers herself a character actress. Critics h ...

, who had a UK Top 5 hit with it in 1983. A demo version performed by DeShannon was also recorded but remained unreleased until a 1994 compilation. "Breakaway" is today generally a better-remembered song than the

A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of vinyl records and cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a single usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or ...

of Thomas' record, largely due to Ullman's 1983 hit cover of the song. It has become a staple in Thomas' live performances and appears on several later Irma Thomas and "New Orleans music" compilations. "Breakaway" was Tracey Ullman's debut single, released in the UK in February 1983. By April, it had reached No. 4 on the UK Singles Chart. The track then appeared on Ullman's UK Top 20 album ''

You Broke My Heart in 17 Places ''You Broke My Heart in 17 Places'' is the debut studio album by Tracey Ullman, released in 1983. It peaked at No. 14 on the UK Albums chart and No. 34 in the spring of 1984 on the ''Billboard'' 200 in the United States.''Joel Whitburn Present ...

'', which was released in November 1983. In North America, "Breakaway" was actually Ullman's second single, being released after her Top 10 hit " They Don't Know" (which was Ullman's second single in the UK). "Breakaway" charted at No. 70 in the US in 1984, although the video for Ullman's version received significant play on the then-fledgling

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

and Canada's

MuchMusic Much is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults. It is headquartered at 299 Queen Street West in what was o ...

. The song's lyrics speak of the singer's inability to find the strength to leave a relationship, and describe a situation where the song's first person protagonist is repeatedly on the verge of running away from the bad situation, only to find at the last moment she does not have the strength of will to follow through.

Other versions

British singer Beryl Marsden recorded a cover version of this song in 1965, for Columbia Records. In 2010, a version of the song by the Detroit Cobras was used in commercials for the NFL RedZone channel.

References

External links

Article from OffBeat Magazine
{{authority control Tracey Ullman songs 1964 singles 1983 debut singles Irma Thomas songs Songs written by Jackie DeShannon Jackie DeShannon songs Songs written by Sharon Sheeley 1964 songs Stiff Records singles Imperial Records singles