Leave Virginia Alone

Last updated
"Leave Virginia Alone"
Single by Rod Stewart
from the album A Spanner in the Works
Released16 May 1995 (1995-05-16) [1]
Genre Rock
Length4:07
Label Warner Bros.
Songwriter(s) Tom Petty
Producer(s)
Rod Stewart singles chronology
"You're the Star"
(1995)		"Leave Virginia Alone"
(1995)		"Lady Luck"
(1995)

"Leave Virginia Alone" is a song written by Tom Petty and performed by Rod Stewart on Stewart's album A Spanner in the Works . The song reached number one on the Canadian RPM Top Singles and Adult Contemporary charts in 1995. It also reached number 52 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 53 in Australia. It was later included on Petty's album Wildflowers and All the Rest (2020).

Contents

Background

"Leave Virginia Alone" was originally meant to be on Tom Petty's studio album Wildflowers , but the track did not make the album. [2] In a Billboard interview with Rod Stewart, Stewart revealed that Petty's manager gave him the song when Petty believed the track was too similar to a previous hit of his. [3] "Leave Virginia Alone" was added to Stewart's album A Spanner in the Works after the audio mastering was finished and was the first single for the album. [4]

Release

On 13 May 1995, Stewart debuted "Leave Virginia Alone" on Saturday Night Live 's twentieth-season finale. [5]

Reception

"Leave Virginia Alone" received positive reviews from critics. Popdose said the song was a "solid song with a fitting vocal performance" [6] while Billboard complimented the connection between Rod Stewart's voice with the beats and acoustic guitars of the track. [7] All the same, Stewart admitted to Billboard that at first, he did not like the song and had to be convinced to record the track. [4]

Music video

In the music video, a woman runs away from people wearing costumes after holding a press conference. In an article in the Chicago Tribune , Susan Alexander said "Leave Virginia Alone" fit the music video format of having a "bad girl" who uses emotional manipulation. [8] A few years later in Michigan Sociological Review, Alexander said she believed the woman in the video committed a sinful act, and the lyrics of "Leave Virginia Alone" point towards drug abuse and promiscuity. [9]

Charts

Tom Petty version

"Leave Virginia Alone"
Single by Tom Petty
from the album Wildflowers & All the Rest
Released2020 (2020)
Recorded1993
Genre Rock
Length4:15
Label Warner Bros.
Songwriter(s) Tom Petty
Tom Petty singles chronology
"Wildflowers (Home Recording)"
(2020)		"Leave Virginia Alone"
(2020)

"Leave Virginia Alone", this time sung by the writer Tom Petty, would later appear on the track list for the posthumous album released by his estate, Wildflowers & All the Rest . The song was released as a single from the album on October 1, 2020. [19]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Leave Virginia Alone / Shock to the System". Amazon . Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  2. ↑ Zanes, Warren (2015). Petty: The Biography. New York: Henry Holt and Company. p. 248. ISBN   9780805099683 . Retrieved 2 May 2017.
  3. ↑ Newman, Melinda (27 May 1995). "Stewart Crafts a Fine 'Spanner'". Billboard. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  4. 1 2 Newman 1995, p. 10.
  5. ↑ Newman 1995, p. 115.
  6. ↑ Bolin, Matthew. "Redeeming Rod: "Leave Virginia Alone" (1995)". Popdose. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  7. ↑ Flick, Larry, ed. (27 May 1995). "Single Reviews". Billboard. p. 59. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  8. ↑ Alexander, Susan (26 May 1996). "Music Videos Show Our Changing Roles". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  9. ↑ Alexander, Susan (Fall 1999). "The Gender Role Paradox in Youth Culture: An Analysis of Women in Music Videos". Michigan Sociological Review. 13: 54–55. JSTOR   40969035
  10. ↑ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  11. ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 9043." RPM . Library and Archives Canada.
  12. ↑ "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 9052." RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
  13. ↑ "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (23.7. '95 – 30.7. '95)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 22 July 1995. p. 20. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  14. ↑ "Rod Stewart Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  15. ↑ "Rod Stewart Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
  16. ↑ "Rod Stewart Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard.
  17. ↑ "RPM Top 100 Hit Tracks of 1995". RPM . Vol. 62, no. 20. 28 December 1995. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
  18. ↑ "RPM Top 100 Adult Contemporary of 1995". RPM . Vol. 62, no. 20. 28 December 1995. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
  19. ↑ Kreps, Daniel (1 October 2020). "Watch Tom Petty's 'Leave Virginia Alone' Video From 'Wildflowers' Reissue". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
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