"Three Hearts in a Tangle" is a song written by Ray Pennington and Sonny Thompson. It was first recorded by Pennington under the pseudonym "Ray Starr" for King Records in 1958. Pennington was unsatisfied with the quality of the recording and had it quickly withdrawn. In 1961 Roy Drusky made a hit recording of the song which reached No. 2 on the Country chart and No. 35 on the Billboard Hot 100. A year later, James Brown recorded it in 4
4 time rather than the 3
4 in which it was originally written, earning him a No. 18 R&B hit. Other performers who have recorded the song include Dave Dudley, Leroy Van Dyke, and George and Gwen McCrae.