"Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress" | ||||
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![]() Cover of the 1972 French single | ||||
Single by the Hollies | ||||
from the album Distant Light | ||||
B-side |
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Released | 17 April 1972 [1] | |||
Recorded | 16–30 July 1971 [2] | |||
Studio | AIR, London [2] | |||
Genre | Swamp rock | |||
Length | 3:15 | |||
Label |
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Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) |
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The Hollies singles chronology | ||||
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"Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress" (also titled "Long Cool Woman" or "Long Cool Woman (in a Black Dress)") is a song written by Allan Clarke, Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway, and performed by the British rock group the Hollies. In an interview with Johnnie Walker on BBC Radio 2 on Sounds of the 70s in April 2023, Clarke said it had been written by himself and Cook. Cook had a long-standing agreement with Greenaway that any songs written by one of them should be credited to both.
Originally appearing on the album Distant Light , it was released as a single on 17 April 1972 (on Parlophone in the United Kingdom), [1] selling 2 million copies worldwide, including 1.5 million in the United States. [3] It reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in September 1972 for two weeks, behind Gilbert O'Sullivan's "Alone Again (Naturally)". Billboard ranked it as the No. 24 song for 1972.
On the day "Long Cool Woman" was recorded at AIR Studios, the group's producer, Ron Richards, was ill and, as a result, the song was produced by the group. "Long Cool Woman" is different from most other Hollies songs in that there are no three-part vocal harmonies. Allan Clarke's lead vocal is the only voice prominently heard. It also features lead guitar by Clarke. Upon his return, Richards mixed the recording. [2]
The lyrics set a scene similar to a film noir crime-drama. The singer, who is an FBI agent, is in a speakeasy filled with criminals. He falls for an attractive 5’9" woman in a black dress and helps rescue her when gun shots ring out. [4]
The song was written initially in the country / rockabilly style of Jerry Reed [ citation needed ] then adapted over recording more to the swamp rock [5] [6] style of Creedence Clearwater Revival, in terms of the vocal, rhythm, and melodic style. Clarke imitated John Fogerty's vocal style, which was based on the Creedence song "Green River". According to Clarke, the song was written "in about five minutes". [2]
U.S. music-business magazine Cash Box said of the song: "rockin' in the tradition of Creedence and T Rex, the Hollies at their most commercial since 'He Ain't Heavy.'" [7] In the Hollies' native United Kingdom, the song was only a modest success, peaking at number 32 on the charts. However, it was a much bigger hit in the United States, peaking at number 2 for two weeks, making it the group's highest-charting single ever in the U.S. It topped the charts in South Africa, and also reached number 2 in Australia and New Zealand. By that time Clarke had left the band, but he feels that "it wasn't unfortunate", for he had co-written the song. [2] Clarke rejoined the Hollies in the summer of 1973, partly due to the success of the song.
Weekly singles charts
| Year-end charts
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Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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United States (RIAA) [20] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
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The Hollies are an English rock and pop band formed in 1962. One of the leading British groups of the 1960s and into the mid-1970s, they are known for their distinctive three-part vocal harmony style. Allan Clarke and Graham Nash founded the band as a Merseybeat-type group in Manchester, although some of the band members came from towns further north, in east Lancashire. Nash left the group in 1968 to form Crosby, Stills & Nash, though he has reunited with the Hollies on occasion.
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Hot Butter Popcorn single sold million copies 1972.
to swamp rock ("Long Cool Woman (In a Black Dress)"