"It Ain't Easy" is a song written by Ron Davies. It was a hit for him in Canada in 1970. It has since been covered by many other artists, including David Bowie and Three Dog Night.
| "It Ain't Easy" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 German release picture sleeve | ||||
| Single by Ron Davies | ||||
| B-side | "Silent Song Through the Land" | |||
| Released | 1970 | |||
| Length | 2:29 | |||
| Label | A&M 1188 | |||
| Composer(s) | Ron Davies | |||
| Producer(s) | Chad Stuart | |||
| USsingles chronology | ||||
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The backing musicians on Davies's recording were described by RPM Weekly as Joe Cocker's Mad Dogs & Englishmen group. [1] The backing musicians and singers included Leon Russell on piano, Merry Clayton, Venetta Fields, Clydie King and Mrs. Ron Davies. [2] It appears on the Silent Song Through the Land album that was released on A&M Records. [3]
Over the years the song has been recorded by other artists. [4] [5] [6] Three Dog Night recorded the song which was the flip side to their single, "One Man Band" that was released in 1971. [7] [8] The group Detroit recorded the song which was the A side of their single, released on Paramount in May that year. [9] It was received well by Record World and Cash Box . [10] [11] It was one of the Nimbus Nine Productions singles that did see some international action. [12] Long John Baldry recorded the song which was included on his 1971 album of the same name. [13] David Bowie released his version on his 1972 album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. [14] Dennis Waterman recorded a version which was released in 1977. [15] The Raconteurs recorded a version which was released as the B side of their single, "Hands". [16] [17]
As shown in Kal Rudman's Money Music section of Record World for the week of 4 July 1970, "It Ain't Easy" was new on the KILT play list. His name was also mis-spelt as Fran Davies. [18]
According to the 12 November 1973 issue of the Walrus, Davies' new release was one to watch. [19] Also, the songs from his U.F.O. album,"It Ain't Easy", "Long Hard Climb" and "Shadows" were Consensus Cuts, which were derived from information obtained by special survey of the Walrus contributors. [20] [21]
A Cash Box Choice Programming single, "It Ain't Easy" was reviewed in the magazine's 30 May 1970 issue. The reviewer called the song a "Country blues bash with a vocal that will either tear out your brain or win immediate favor". The reviewer also said that there was very good FM play potential. The B side was given as "Yesterday is All I Want". [22]
For the week of 1 August 1970, "It Ain't Easy debuted at no. 98 in the RPM 100 Singles chart. [23] The single peaked at no. 55 for the week of 26 September. [24] [25]