"Kentucky Woman" is a 1967 song written and originally recorded by Neil Diamond.
| "Kentucky Woman" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Neil Diamond | ||||
| B-side | "The Time Is Now" | |||
| Released | October 1967 | |||
| Genre | Pop, country | |||
| Length | 2:34 | |||
| Label | Bang | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Neil Diamond | |||
| Producer(s) | ||||
| Neil Diamond singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Background
editDiamond recorded "Kentucky Woman" as his last hit single for Bang Records. The song was mixed in monophonic, which is the common version heard on all Neil Diamond compilations featuring original Bang singles. The only known stereo mix was done in 1978 for a Frog King/Columbia House album called Early Classics, which has never been released on CD.
Chart history
editReleased in October 1967, it reached number 22 on the U.S. pop singles chart,[1] number 58 on the Australian charts, and number 6 on the Canadian charts.[2]
| Chart (1967–68) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report) | 58 |
| Canada RPM Top Singles[3] | 29 |
| New Zealand (Listener)[4] | 10 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[5] | 22 |
| US Cash Box Top 100[6] | 12 |
Deep Purple cover
edit| "Kentucky Woman" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Deep Purple | ||||
| from the album The Book of Taliesyn | ||||
| B-side | "Wring That Neck" | |||
| Released | October 1968[7] | |||
| Recorded | August 1968 | |||
| Genre | Hard rock[8] | |||
| Length | 3:57 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriter(s) | Neil Diamond | |||
| Producer(s) | Derek Lawrence | |||
| Deep Purple singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Audio sample | ||||
Another well-known version is the 1968 recording by Deep Purple. The group's cover had vastly different instrumental feel, if not vocal line. It was their second single release in 1968. It managed to reach #38 on the Billboard Hot 100,[9] #21 Canadian RPM charts, and #27 on the Australian Singles Chart where it was released as a double A-Side with "Hush."
The single version is an edit of the album version and is four minutes and four seconds in length. Cash Box said that it has a "heavy dance beat and a splendid instrumental burst".[10] A remastered version appears on the two-CD 30th anniversary album 30: Very Best of Deep Purple and runs a full four minutes and 43 seconds.[11] Both those versions end on a fadeout. The album version, which does not fade out at the end, is five minutes and 31 seconds in length.[citation needed]
Deep Purple played "Kentucky Woman" live on tour in 1968 and 1969, even after Ian Gillan and Roger Glover joined the band in the summer of 1969. It has never been on Deep Purple's set list since. The song was also featured in Quentin Tarantino's 2019 film and soundtrack for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
Other covers
edit- Waylon Jennings also released a version on his 1968 album, Only the Greatest.[12]
- Mark Juhns recorded the song which was included on the Los preferidos de hoy en USA compilation, issued on RCA in 1969.[13]
- Gary Puckett & The Union Gap included a cover of the song on their first album, Woman, Woman.[14]
- Neil Diamond re-recorded the song for his 1996 country album Tennessee Moon. He performed the song with Jennings on a TV special to promote the album.[15]
References
edit- ^ Neil Diamond's charting singles Retrieved September 28, 2011
- ^ Neil Diamond's song chart entries Retrieved September 28, 2011
- ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1967-11-18. Retrieved 2018-03-01.
- ^ "Flavour of New Zealand, 19 January 1968". Archived from the original on 23 June 2021. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
- ^ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
- ^ Cash Box Top 100 Singles, November 22, 1967[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Billboard". 26 October 1968.
- ^ David Ewen (1987). American Songwriters: An H.W. Wilson Biographical Dictionary. H.W. Wilson. p. 118. ISBN 978-0-8242-0744-1.
- ^ Deep Purple's charting singles Retrieved September 28, 2011
- ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. October 26, 1968. p. 18. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
- ^ Deep Purple, The Very Best of Deep Purple Retrieved September 28, 2011
- ^ Waylon Jennings, Only the Greatest Retrieved September 28, 2011
- ^ Crónica, Lunes 5 de Mayo de 1969 - - Página 23 CRONICA DE NEUVOS DISCOS, SUS PREFERENCIAS
- ^ Gary Puckett & the Union Gap, Woman Woman Retrieved September 28, 2011
- ^ Kentucky Woman by Neil Diamond and friends 1996, 14 February 2016, retrieved 2023-08-14
