"Heartspark Dollarsign" is the third single released from American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band

Everclear Everclear is a line of rectified spirits (also known as grain alcohol and neutral spirit) produced by the American company Luxco. It is made from grain and is bottled at 60%, 75.5%, 94.5% and 95% alcohol by volume (120, 151, 189, and 190 U.S. ...

's second studio album, ''

Sparkle and Fade ''Sparkle and Fade'' is the second album by Everclear, released in 1995. It was their first album to be released exclusively on Capitol Records; their previous effort, '' World of Noise'', was re-released on Capitol after its introduction throu ...

''. Lead singer

Art Alexakis Arthur Paul Alexakis (born April 12, 1962) is an American musician best known as the singer-songwriter and guitarist of the rock band Everclear. He has been a member of several other bands in addition to his own work as a songwriter for other ...

wrote the song before Everclear formed, while he was in the band Colorfinger. The song was then recorded by Everclear in 1994 and included on ''Sparkle and Fade'', which was released in May 1995. The lyrics describe an

interracial relationship Interracial topics include: * Interracial marriage, marriage between two people of different races ** Interracial marriage in the United States *** 2009 Louisiana interracial marriage incident * Interracial adoption, placing a child of one raci ...

, something Alexakis often experienced in his youth. "Heartspark Dollarsign" was released as a single on March 26, 1996, and reached the top 50 in Australia and the United Kingdom. In the United States, the single became Everclear's first song to chart on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, peaking at number 85 in June 1996, and it also reached number 13 on the ''Billboard''

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks between 1988 and 2009, and Alternative Songs between 2009 and 2020) is a music chart published in the American magazine ''Billboard'' since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-playe ...

chart and number 29 on the ''Billboard''

Mainstream Rock Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada. Format background Mainstream rock stations represent a cross between classic rock, active rock and alternativ ...

chart. In Canada, the song peaked at number 12 on the ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...

'' Alternative 30.

Background and lyrics

lead singer

explained during an interview with ''Spin'' magazine that he first wrote and performed the song—originally titled "Colorblind"—while he was working with his third music project, Colorfinger, but it did not appear on their sole album, ''Deep in the Heart of the Beast in the Sun''. Alexakis explained the song is "just embracing the value of love and passion — your heart." The lyrics of the song describe an

that no one approves. In the ''Spin'' interview, Alexakis revealed that when he was young, he dated women of many races, including black women, Asian women, and a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

girl. One of his relationships with a black woman did not earn the approval from either of their mothers, and both adolescents were too young to stand up for their relationship, which ended about three weeks after it started.

Chart performance

On the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, "Heartspark Dollarsign" debuted at number 92 on the week dated May 18, 1996. Four weeks later, on June 8, it reached its peak of number 85, and it dropped off the Hot 100 from number 98 on July 6. Additionally, the single peaked at number 13 on the

chart and number 29 on the

chart. It was also an

alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (Kamen Rider), Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * Alternative comics, or independent comics are an altern ...

hit in Canada, debuting at number 29 on the ''

'' Alternative 30 on May 18, then reaching its peak of number 12 five weeks later, on June 17. Outside North America, the song managed to reach the top 50 in the United Kingdom and Australia. In the former country, "Heartspark Dollarsign" was released before "

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

", becoming Everclear's first single to chart in the UK. It debuted and peaked at number 48 on the UK Singles Chart on May 26, dropped to number 75 the following week, then left the top 100 on June 9. In Australia, the song debuted at number 40–its peak position–and stayed in the top 50 for two more weeks.

Track listings

US 7-inch jukebox vinyl :A. "Heartspark Dollarsign" – 2:52 :B. "Queen of the Air" – 3:00 US maxi-CD single # "Heartspark Dollarsign" (single mix) # "

Heroin Girl "Heroin Girl" is a rock song by the band Everclear from their 1995 album ''Sparkle and Fade''. This song is generally agreed to be about lead singer Art Alexakis's girlfriend and brother overdosing on heroin; he heard the policeman say "Just ano ...

" (acoustic version) # "Happy Hour" (demo) # "Sin City" UK CD1 # "Heartspark Dollarsign" (single mix) – 2:54 # "Pennsylvania Is..." (live) – 2:11 # "Nervous and Weird" (live) – 2:55 UK CD2 # "Heartspark Dollarsign" (album version) – 2:53 # "Loser Makes Good" (live) – 2:49 # "Sparkle" (live) – 3:20 UK 7-inch single :A. "Heartspark Dollarsign" (single mix) :B. "Loser Makes Good" (live) Australian and Dutch maxi-CD single # "Heartspark Dollarsign" (single edit) # "Pennsylvania Is..." (live—radio session) # "Loser Makes Good" (live—radio session) # "Sparkle" (live—radio session)

Charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control 1994 songs 1996 singles Capitol Records singles Everclear (band) songs Songs written by Art Alexakis Songs written by Craig Montoya Songs written by Greg Eklund Works about racism