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Hair (Hair song)

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"Hair"
Song by Original Broadway cast
from the album Hair
Released1968 (1968)
RecordedMay 6, 1968
Genre
Length2:55
LabelRCA Victor
Composer(s)Galt MacDermot
Lyricist(s)
Producer(s)

"Hair" is the title song to the 1967 musical Hair and the 1979 film adaptation of the musical.

Context in the musical

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The musical’s title song begins as character Claude slowly croons his reason for his long hair, as tribe-mate Berger joins in singing they "don't know."[1] They lead the tribe, singing "Give me a head with hair," "as long as God can grow it,"[1] listing what they want in a head of hair and their uses for it. Later the song takes the tune of "The Star-Spangled Banner" with the tribe punning "Oh say can you see/ My eyes if you can/Then my hair’s too short!"[1] Claude and Berger’s religious references continue with many a "Hallelujah" as they consciously compare their hair to Jesus’s, and if Mary loved her son, "why don’t my mother love me?"[1][2] The song shows the Tribe's enthusiasm and pride for their hair as well as comparing Claude to a Jesus figure.[2]

The Cowsills version

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"Hair"
Single by The Cowsills
from the album The Cowsills in Concert
B-side"What Is Happy?"
ReleasedMarch 1969 (1969-03)
RecordedOctober 1968
StudioCleveland, Ohio
Genre
Length3:32
LabelMGM
Composer(s)Galt MacDermot
Lyricist(s)
Producer(s)
The Cowsills singles chronology
"The Impossible Years"
(1968) 		"Hair"
(1969) 		"The Prophecy of Daniel and John the Divine"
(1969)

The song was a major hit for the Cowsills in 1969 and their most successful single. The Cowsills' version cuts out most of the religion-themed lyrics, changing "long as God can grow it" to "long as I can grow it" and removing some verses. Their version spent two weeks at number one on the Cash Box Top 100[5] and reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100.[6] "Hair" was kept out of the number-one spot by another song from the Hair cast album: "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" by The 5th Dimension.[7] It also reached number one on the RPM Canadian Singles Chart.[8]

Chart performance

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Weekly charts

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Chart (1969) Peak
position
Australia KMR 1
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[9] 1
Canada RPM Adult Contemporary[10] 12
New Zealand [11] 1
South Africa (Springbok Radio)[12] 1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[13] 2
U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary[14] 19
U.S. Cash Box Top 100[15] 1

Year-end charts

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Chart (1969) Rank
Canada [16] 14
South Africa [17] 20
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 [18] 13
U.S. Cash Box [19] 10

Other versions

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"Hair" was also covered in Australia in 1969 and released as a single by Doug Parkinson in Focus (B-side with "Without You") and was a top ten hit for him there that year.[20]

A version by Dutch rock band Zen reached the top of the Dutch Top 40 in January 1969.[21] A cover was released as a B-side by girl group Gilded Cage in 1969.[22]

Appearances in media

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References

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Citations

  1. ^ a b c d "Hair lyrics by Hair Cast from Hair soundtrack". Stlyrics.com. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  2. ^ a b Dayton. "Scott Miller on Hair". Orlok.com. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  3. ^ Molanphy, Chris (June 28, 2019). "The Lullaby of Broadway Edition". Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia (Podcast). Slate. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  4. ^ Doherty, Bob (2001). "The Cowsills". In Cooper, Kim; Smay, David (eds.). Bubblegum Music is the Naked Truth. Los Angeles: Feral House. p. 58.
  5. ^ "cashboxmagazine.com". cashboxmagazine.com. Archived from the original on 7 August 2012. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  6. ^ "The Cowsills Chart History: Hot 100". Billboard.com. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  7. ^ "The Hot 100". Billboard. 2 January 2013.
  8. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 28 July 2017. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  9. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 6045." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
  10. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1969-05-26. Retrieved 2018-12-10.
  11. ^ "flavour of new zealand - search listener". Flavourofnz.co.nz. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  12. ^ "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Rock.co.za. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  13. ^ [Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-2002]
  14. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 59.
  15. ^ "Cash Box Top 100 5/17/69". tropicalglen.com. Archived from the original on 2 October 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  16. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  17. ^ "Top 20 Hit Singles of 1969". Rock.co.za. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
  18. ^ "Top 100 Hits of 1969/Top 100 Songs of 1969". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  19. ^ "Cash Box YE Pop Singles - 1969". tropicalglen.com. Archived from the original on 25 January 2019. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  20. ^ [Australian Chart Book 1970-1992]
  21. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 - week 1, 1969". Top40.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved March 13, 2010.
  22. ^ "Gilded Cage - My Bonnie / Hair". Discogs.com. 1969. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  23. ^ ""Mystery Science Theater 3000" Hercules Unchained (TV Episode 1992)". IMDb.com. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  24. ^ ""The Simpsons" Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious (TV Episode 1997)". IMDb.com. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  25. ^ ""The Simpsons" D'oh-in' in the Wind (TV Episode 1998)". IMDb.com. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  26. ^ ""Glee" Hairography (TV Episode 2009)". IMDb.com. Retrieved 28 July 2017.

Sources

  • Joel Whitburn, The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits (6th ed. 1996), p. 148.
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