Kentucky Woman
{{Short description|1967 song by Neil Diamond}}{{for|the 1983 film|Kentucky Woman (film)}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Kentucky Woman
| cover = Kentucky Woman.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Neil Diamond
| album =
| B-side = The Time Is Now
| released = {{Start date|1967|10}}
| recorded =
| studio =
| venue =
| length = {{Duration|m=2|s=34}}
| label = Bang
| writer = Neil Diamond
| producer = {{hlist|Jeff Barry|Ellie Greenwich}}
| prev_title = Thank the Lord for the Night Time
| prev_year = 1967
| next_title = Some Day Baby
| next_year = 1967
}}
"Kentucky Woman" is a 1967 song written and originally recorded by Neil Diamond.
Background
Diamond 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
Released in October 1967, it reached number 22 on the U.S. pop singles chart,[http://www.allmusic.com/artist/neil-diamond-p4083/charts-awards/billboard-singles Neil Diamond's charting singles] Retrieved September 28, 2011 number 58 on the Australian charts, and number 6 on the Canadian charts.[http://tsort.info/music/sc6f5p.htm Neil Diamond's song chart entries] Retrieved September 28, 2011
Deep Purple cover<span class="anchor" id="Deep Purple cover"></span>
{{Infobox song
| name = Kentucky Woman
| cover = Kentucky Woman.png
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Deep Purple
| album = The Book of Taliesyn
| B-side = Wring That Neck
| released = October 1968{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cUUEAAAAMBAJ&q=deep+purple&pg=PA79|title=Billboard|date=26 October 1968}}
| recorded = August 1968
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = Hard rock{{cite book|author=David Ewen|title=American Songwriters: An H.W. Wilson Biographical Dictionary|url=https://archive.org/details/americansongwrit00ewen|url-access=registration|year=1987|publisher=H.W. Wilson|isbn=978-0-8242-0744-1|page=[https://archive.org/details/americansongwrit00ewen/page/118 118]}}
| length = {{Duration|m=3|s=57}}
| label = *Parlophone
| writer = Neil Diamond
| producer = Derek Lawrence
| prev_title = Hush
| prev_year = 1968
| next_title = River Deep Mountain High
| next_year = 1968
| misc = {{Audio sample
| type = single
| file = Kentucky woman.ogg
}}
}}
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,[http://www.allmusic.com/artist/deep-purple-p4061/charts-awards/billboard-singles Deep Purple's charting singles] Retrieved September 28, 2011 #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 runs 4:04. Cash Box said that it has a "heavy dance beat and a splendid instrumental burst".{{cite magazine |title=CashBox Record Reviews |date=October 26, 1968 |page=18 |access-date=2022-01-12 |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/60s/1968/CB-1968-10-26.pdf |magazine=Cash Box}} A remastered version appears on the two-CD 30th anniversary album 30: Very Best of Deep Purple and runs 4:43.[http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-very-best-of-deep-purple-emi-2-disc-r381200 Deep Purple, The Very Best of Deep Purple] Retrieved September 28, 2011 Both those versions end on a fadeout. The album version, which does not fade out at the end, runs 5:31.{{fact|date=July 2024|reason=The original The Book Of Taliesyn 1968 LP release clocks in at only 4:43}}
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
- Waylon Jennings also released a version on his 1968 album, Only the Greatest.[http://www.allmusic.com/album/only-the-greatest-r92728 Waylon Jennings, Only the Greatest] Retrieved September 28, 2011
- Mark Juhns recorded the song which was included on the Los preferidos de hoy en USA compilation, issued on RCA in 1969.Crónica, Lunes 5 de Mayo de 1969 - [https://archive.org/details/DiarioCronicaBuenosAires19690505_6/page/n21/mode/2up?q=%22Mark+Juhns%22 - Página 23 CRONICA DE NEUVOS DISCOS, SUS PREFERENCIAS]
- Gary Puckett & The Union Gap included a cover of the song on their first album, Woman, Woman.[http://www.allmusic.com/album/woman-woman-r47317 Gary Puckett & the Union Gap, Woman Woman] Retrieved September 28, 2011
- 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.{{Citation |title=Kentucky Woman by Neil Diamond and friends 1996 | date=14 February 2016 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geBFGisVn-E |access-date=2023-08-14 |language=en}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{Neil Diamond singles}}
{{Deep Purple}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Songs written by Neil Diamond
Category:Gary Puckett & The Union Gap songs