American Woman (song)

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"American Woman"
Single by The Guess Who
from the album American Woman
B-side "No Sugar Tonight"
Released March 1970 (1970-03)[1]
Format 7" 45 RPM
Recorded August 13, 1969[2]
Genre Rock
Length 3:51 (single version)
5:08 (album version)
Label RCA
Writer(s) Randy Bachman, Burton Cummings, Garry Peterson, Jim Kale
Producer Jack Richardson[2]
Certification Gold (RIAA)[3]
The Guess Who singles chronology
"No Time"
(February 1970)		 "American Woman"
(March 1970)		 "Hand Me Down World"
(July 1970)
"American Woman"
Single by Lenny Kravitz
from the album 5
Released June 29, 1999
Format CD
Genre Hard rock, funk rock
Length 4:25
Label Virgin Records America
Producer Lenny Kravitz
Lenny Kravitz singles chronology
"Fly Away"
(1998)		 "American Woman"
(1999)		 "Black Velveteen"
(1999)
Alternative cover
Limited edition cover (with exclusive poster)

"American Woman" is a song by Canadian rock band The Guess Who, first released in January 1970 on the album of the same name and later in March as a single,[1] which reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.[4] The song has been covered by many rock artists, including Lenny Kravitz, Krokus, and The Butthole Surfers. It was also featured in Sam Mendes's movie American Beauty. Sam the Eagle performed a karaoke version of this song in a Muppets viral video. It is being used in the HBO trailer for the movie Game Change.

Contents

[edit] Versions

The album version begins with an acoustic blues intro:

American woman, gonna mess your mind.
American woman, gonna mess a-your mind.

The intro then proceeds to spell out the title, then repeats the first verse before fading out and entering the hard rock portion.

The single version omits this intro and goes straight to the hard rock portion of the song.

[edit] Background

The song's origins took the form of a live jam at a curling rink concert in Kitchener, Ontario.[5] The group was rushing into the second set and began improvising a rhythm to liven up the crowd. Burton Cummings, the lead singer, began improvising lyrics to fit the music.[5]

Shortly after its release, The Guess Who were invited to play at the White House. Because of its supposed anti-American lyrics, Pat Nixon asked that they not play "American Woman".[6]

[edit] Interpretations of the lyrics

The song's lyrics have been the matter of some debate, often interpreted as an attack on U.S. politics (especially the draft). Jim Kale, the group's bassist and the song's co-author, explained his take on the lyrics:

“ The popular misconception was that it was a chauvinistic tune, which was anything but the case. The fact was, we came from a very strait-laced, conservative, laid-back country, and all of a sudden, there we were in Chicago, Detroit, New York — all these horrendously large places with their big city problems. After that one particularly grinding tour, it was just a real treat to go home and see the girls we had grown up with. Also, the war was going on, and that was terribly unpopular. We didn't have a draft system in Canada, and we were grateful for that. A lot of people called it anti-American, but it wasn't really. We weren't anti-anything. John Lennon once said that the meanings of all songs come after they are recorded. Someone else has to interpret them.[5] ”


[edit] Chart performance

Chart (1970) Peak
position
UK (The Official Charts Company)[7] 19
Canadian RPM Singles Chart[8] 1
Switzerland (Hit Parade Top 75 Singles)[9] 4
Austria (Top 40)[10] 7
Netherlands (Dutch Charts)[11] 4
US Billboard Hot 100[4] 1
US Cash Box Top Singles[12] 1

[edit] Lenny Kravitz version

Lenny Kravitz covered "American Woman" for the soundtrack of Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. Kravitz did a slower and softer version, without the signature guitar solo; he later said to Randy Bachman that the reason why he skipped the guitar part was "I couldn't get the sound. I couldn't get the tone."[13] It was later included in the 1999 re-issue of his 5 album. The music video featured actress Heather Graham (who starred in The Spy Who Shagged Me); the original political themes of the song were largely replaced by sex appeal. The song has been used in season 2, episode 13 of Alias.

[edit] Track listing

  1. "American Woman" (Single version) – 3:50
  2. "Straight Cold Player" (Live performance) – 3:42
  3. "Thinking of You" (Hexum Dancehall Remix) – 5:58
  4. "Fields of Joy" (Live performance) – 4:20

[edit] Awards

Grammy Awards 2000

  • Best Male Rock Performance: Won

[edit] Chart performance

Chart (1999) Peak
position
Canadian RPM Singles Chart[14] 26
Canadian RPM Rock Chart[15] 2
US Billboard Hot 100[16] 49
US Billboard Adult Top 40[16] 23
US Billboard Top 40 Mainstream[16] 17
US Billboard Mainstream Rock[16] 3
Preceded by
"ABC" by The Jackson 5		 Billboard Hot 100 number one single (The Guess Who version)
May 9, 1970 - May 29, 1970
(three weeks)		 Succeeded by
"Everything is Beautiful" by Ray Stevens

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Strong, Martin Charles (2002). The great rock discography (Sixth ed.). The National Academies. p. 912. ISBN 978-1-84195-312-0. http://books.google.com/books?id=eyvXOydfVt8C&pg=PT912#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved October 18, 2010. 
  2. ^ a b Greatest Hits RCA BG2 67774 liner notes
  3. ^ "Type "The Guess Who" under '''Artist'''". Riaa.com. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH. Retrieved 2011-08-13. 
  4. ^ a b http://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-guess-who-p4412/charts-awards/billboard-singles
  5. ^ a b c ""American Woman" - The Guess Who". Superseventies.com. 1970-05-09. http://www.superseventies.com/1970_2singles.html. Retrieved 2011-08-13. 
  6. ^ allmusic ((( The Guess Who > Biography )))
  7. ^ "The Guess Who - American Woman/No Sugar Tonight". Chart Stats. http://www.chartstats.com/songinfo.php?id=5388. Retrieved 2011-08-13. 
  8. ^ "Top Singles - Volume 13, No. 12, May 9, 1970". RPM. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.3781&type=2&interval=20&PHPSESSID=m89iq841abagb37ld9c0fdc1f3. Retrieved 2011-02-23. 
  9. ^ Steffen Hung. "The Guess Who - American Woman". hitparade.ch. http://hitparade.ch/showitem.asp?interpret=The+Guess+Who&titel=American+Woman&cat=s. Retrieved 2011-08-13. 
  10. ^ Steffen Hung. "The Guess Who - American Woman". austriancharts.at. http://austriancharts.at/showitem.asp?interpret=The+Guess+Who&titel=American+Woman&cat=s. Retrieved 2011-08-13. 
  11. ^ Steffen Hung. "The Guess Who - American Woman". dutchcharts.nl. http://dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=The+Guess+Who&titel=American+Woman&cat=s. Retrieved 2011-08-13. 
  12. ^ "Cash Box Top Singles - 1970". Cashboxmagazine.com. http://www.cashboxmagazine.com/archives/70s_files/1970.html. Retrieved 2011-08-13. 
  13. ^ Pat Pemberton (2010-08-06). "Randy Bachman Learns to Enjoy Lenny Kravitz's 'American Woman' Cover - Spinner Canada". www.spinner.ca. http://www.spinner.ca/2010/08/06/randy-bachman-lenny-kravitz-american-woman/. Retrieved 2010-11-11. 
  14. ^ "Top Singles - Volume 69, No. 15, August 2, 1999". RPM. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?brws_s=1&file_num=nlc008388.8373&type=1&interval=24&PHPSESSID=c6btf3r8hs459qqt5ln3o3dcv5. Retrieved 2011-02-23. 
  15. ^ "Rock/Alternative - Volume 69, No. 8, June 14, 1999". RPM. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?brws_s=1&file_num=nlc008388.8170&type=1&interval=24&PHPSESSID=c6btf3r8hs459qqt5ln3o3dcv5. Retrieved 2011-02-23. 
  16. ^ a b c d http://www.allmusic.com/artist/lenny-kravitz-p4708/charts-awards/billboard-singles

[edit] External links

The Guess Who
Studio albums
Live albums
Compilations
Singles
Related articles
Lenny Kravitz
Studio albums
Compilations
Extended plays
  • Is There Any Love in the World
  • Maximum Kravitz
Video albums
Promos
  • "The Soul of Lenny Kravitz" (1999)
  • "Super Soul Fighter" (1999)
Tours

Universal Love (1993-1994)

  • Circus (1996)
  • The Freedom Tour (1998)
  • Lenny (2002-2003)
  • Baptism (2005)
  • Electric Church (2006)
  • Get On The Bus Mini-Tour (2008)
  • Love Revolution (2008-2009)
Filmography
Related articles
Lenny Kravitz singles discography
Let Love Rule
Mama Said
Are You Gonna Go My Way
Circus
5
Greatest Hits
Lenny
Baptism
It Is Time for a Love Revolution
Black and White America
Soundtracks
Other singles
Promotional singles
  • "The Soul of Lenny Kravitz" (1999)
  • "Super Soul Fighter" (1999)
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