"Carrie Anne" | ||||
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![]() US Picture Sleeve | ||||
Single by the Hollies | ||||
B-side | "Signs That Will Never Change" | |||
Released | 26 May 1967 [1] | |||
Recorded | 1 May 1967 [1] | |||
Studio | EMI, London [1] | |||
Genre | Pop rock, soft rock [2] | |||
Length | 2:55 | |||
Label |
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Songwriter(s) | Allan Clarke, Graham Nash, Tony Hicks | |||
Producer(s) | Ron Richards | |||
The Hollies singles chronology | ||||
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"Carrie Anne" is a song written by Allan Clarke, Graham Nash, and Tony Hicks and released by British pop rock group the Hollies. It was recorded on 1 May 1967 and was released as a single in the same month by Parlophone Records in the United Kingdom and Epic Records in the United States. It became a hit in 1967, reaching No.3 on the UK Singles Chart. It was also a hit in the US and Canada, peaking at No.9 on both pop charts. It also reached No.4 in the Irish charts.
According to Allan Clarke the song was written during a concert the group did with Tom Jones; Graham Nash and Tony Hicks were the main composers, with Allan Clarke supplying the lyrics for the middle eight. [1] The introduction features vocal harmonies strongly influenced by the Beach Boys. A steelpan solo is featured, probably the first use of the instrument on a pop record. The solo (mostly a harmonized restatement of the vocal melody) was probably played by Trinidadian Ralph Richardson, [3] though others argue it may have been Mario Gibbins. [4] The track was recorded in only two takes on 1 May 1967 at EMI's Abbey Road Studios. The first take was a false start and can be heard on the compilation The Hollies at Abbey Road: 1966 to 1970.
Cashbox called it "a gently driving, pulsating, soft-rock venture that is likely to stir up a lot of activity with the teens". [2]
The song is a shy tribute to Marianne Faithfull. [5]
"Carrie Anne" appeared on the soundtrack of Michael Apted's 1974 movie Stardust . It was also used in the HBO series The Sopranos , episode "Down Neck" (Season 1, Episode 7), during one of Tony's flashbacks.
The story with Carrie Anne is that we wrote it – started it – as a song for Marianne Faithfull. We’d all seen her and we all wanted her. She was a deliciously sexy young Catholic schoolgirl with all of the baggage that comes along with that. We loved Marianne and she actually came on the road with the Hollies for a month or so... We tried to find a name that was kind of similar to Marianne and one that would not give the game away, shall we say.
–Graham Nash [6]
Chart (1967) | Peak position |
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Australia ( Go-Set ) [7] | 7 |
Finland (Soumen Virallinen) [8] | 32 |
West Germany (GfK) [9] | 8 |
Ireland (IRMA) [10] | 4 |
Netherlands (Dutch Singles Chart) [11] | 4 |
Norway (VG-Lista) [12] | 7 |
United Kingdom (UK Singles Chart) [13] | 3 |
United States Billboard Hot 100 | 9 |
Actress Carrie-Anne Moss reportedly was named (by her mother) in honour of the song, which was released three months before her birth.