Song · Old 97's
“Murder (or a Heart Attack)” by Old 97's
From the album Fight Songs (1999)
“Murder (or a Heart Attack)” by Old 97's appears on 9 radio countdowns from 3 stations between 1999 and 2026. It was first released in 1999 on the album Fight Songs. Its best result is #39 on the WYEP 913 Essential Songs. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #392 alternative song of 1999.
"Murder (or a Heart Attack)" comes from Fight Songs, the fourth Old 97's album, released in April 1999 and their second for Elektra, a slicker, poppier record than the alt-country band had made before. Its unlikely muse was a cat belonging to Rhett Miller's roommate in Los Angeles.
Miller and Murry Hammond share the vocals, Miller and Ken Bethea handle the guitars, Hammond plays bass and Philip Peeples drums, and all four are credited as writers. Jon Brion drops by on organ, and Tom Lord-Alge added some extra mixing. Blender later placed it at 176 on its list of the 500 greatest songs from 1980 to 2005.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 80 | 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana | 91X Top 91 Songs of 1999 | 91 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 39 | WYEP | WYEP 913 Essential Songs | 913 |
| 2016 | 196 | WYEP | WYEP 913 Countdown 2016 | 913 |
| 2019 | 284 | WYEP | WYEP Labor Day Weekend Countdown 2019 | 1099 |
| 2019 | 284 | WYEP | WYEP Big Spring Countdown 2019 | 1017 |
| 2022 | 131 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 900 Songs of the '90s | 900 |
| 2022 | 1016 | WYEP | WYEP Countdown to Fall 2022 | 603 |
| 2022 | 147 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Colorado Sound Songs of All Time | 1055 |
| 2026 | 786 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Songs You Discovered on The Colorado Sound | 1055 |
Also listed as: Murder (Or a Heart Attack); Murder (Or A Heart Attack).
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