| "The First Cut Is the Deepest" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Cat Stevens from the album New Masters | |
| Published | 1967 |
| Released | December 1967 |
| Recorded | October 1967 |
| Genre | Rock |
| Length | 3:03 |
| Label | Deram Records/Decca Records |
| Writer | Cat Stevens |
| Producer | Mike Hurst |
| New Masters track listing | |
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Side 1
Side 2
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"The First Cut Is the Deepest" is a 1967 song written by Cat Stevens, originally released by P. P. Arnold in the spring of 1967. Stevens' own version of the song is technically a cover, and originally appeared on his album New Masters in December 1967.
The song has been widely covered and has become a hit single for four different artists: P. P. Arnold (1967), Keith Hampshire (1973), Rod Stewart (1977) and Sheryl Crow (2003).
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The song concerns someone apprehensive about entering a new romantic relationship because he is still suffering from being hurt by his first love:
However, the song continues:
While the Stevens, Arnold and Hampshire recordings sang this chorus intact, the Stewart and Crow renderings omitted the last three lines, an omission which might give the listener a different sense of the song.
Stevens made a demo recording of "The First Cut Is the Deepest" in 1965, but originally hoped to become a songwriter.[1] Stevens wrote the song earlier to promote his songs to other artists, but did not record it as his own performance until early October 1967, and it did not appear until his second album, New Masters, was released in December 1967. He sold the song for £30 to P. P. Arnold becoming a huge hit for her,[2] and an international hit, for Keith Hampshire, Rod Stewart, and Sheryl Crow. The song has won Stevens songwriting awards, including two consecutive ASCAP songwriting awards for "Songwriter of the Year" in 2005 and 2006.[3]
| ""The First Cut Is the Deepest"" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by P. P. Arnold | ||||
| B-side | "Speak to Me" | |||
| Released | May 1967 | |||
| Label | Immediate Records | |||
| Writer(s) | Cat Stevens | |||
| P. P. Arnold singles chronology | ||||
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American expatriate singer P. P. Arnold had the first hit with the song, reaching #18 on the UK Singles Chart[4] with her version in May 1967, well ahead of the song appearing on Stevens' album. The Arnold hit featured an up-tempo, soulful vocal set against harpsichord, horns, and strings. The band that was backing her at that time would later become The Nice, and featured Keith Emerson on organ and piano, David O'List on guitar, Lee Jackson on bass and Ian Hague on drums. British psych group The Koobas also covered the song at this time, but Arnold's version overshadowed theirs.
Noted 1960s British filmmaker Peter Lorrimer Whitehead made a primordial music video clip for the song, featuring a non-singing Arnold cavorting on a British beach alongside The Small Faces. Stevens never released his original recording as a single, because he felt Arnold's version was definitive.
Canadian singer Keith Hampshire had the first chart-topping hit of the song when his recording of it became a number one hit in Canada in 1973, reaching the top of the RPM 100 national singles chart on May 12 of that year.[5] This recording also charted in the US, albeit outside the top 40.
| "The First Cut Is the Deepest" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Rod Stewart | ||||
| from the album A Night on the Town | ||||
| B-side | "I Don't Want to Talk About It" "The Balltrap" (U.S.) |
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| Released | 1977 | |||
| Format | 7-inch | |||
| Recorded | 1976 | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 3:52 | |||
| Label | Riva | |||
| Writer(s) | Cat Stevens | |||
| Producer | Tom Dowd | |||
| Rod Stewart singles chronology | ||||
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Stewart recorded the song at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, USA and, and it appeared on his 1976 album A Night on the Town. It was released as a double A-side single with "I Don't Want to Talk About It". It was a huge success, and spent four weeks at number one on the UK Singles Chart in May 1977, #11 in April in Canada, and also reached #21 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. In a notable departure from the original, Stewart excludes the concluding "But when it comes to being loved, she's first" from the refrain.
| "The First Cut Is the Deepest" | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Sheryl Crow | |||||||||
| from the album The Very Best of Sheryl Crow | |||||||||
| Released | October 20, 2003 October 21, 2003 November 18, 2003 December 15, 2003 December 30, 2003 |
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| Format | CD maxi single CD single |
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| Recorded | 2003 | ||||||||
| Genre | Pop rock, Country, country rock | ||||||||
| Length | 3:44 | ||||||||
| Label | A&M | ||||||||
| Writer(s) | Cat Stevens | ||||||||
| Producer | John Shanks | ||||||||
| Sheryl Crow singles chronology | |||||||||
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Sheryl Crow's version was the first of two singles released to promote her 2003 The Very Best of Sheryl Crow compilation album. It became one of Crow's biggest radio hits, remaining 36 weeks in the Billboard Hot 100, and was also Crow's first Top 40 solo country hit, following the success of her hit duet with Kid Rock, "Picture". The song topped the Airplay charts in the U.S. and became a platinum seller, also reaching #14 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and went to number one on Adult Contemporary chart on two non consecutive weeks. It was also featured during an episode of the CW's "One Tree Hill (TV series), in which she also guest starred.
The Sheryl Crow music video for "The First Cut Is the Deepest", directed by Wayne Isham. Filmed in southern Utah, the video features Crow in a rocky desert singing with her guitar, riding horses and interacting in a cowboy environment. Crow's single was nominated for a Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the Grammy Awards,[6] losing to "Sunrise" by Norah Jones.
| Chart (2003–2004) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian ARIA Charts | 50[7] |
| Austrian Singles Chart | 31 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 13 |
| New Zealand RIANZ Charts | 19 |
| UK Singles Chart | 37 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 14 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs | 35 |
| Chart (2008) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Billboard Hot 100 | 28 |
The song has been recorded or performed by many other artists, including:
| Preceded by "The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia" by Vicki Lawrence |
Canadian RPM 100 number-one single (Keith Hampshire version) May 12, 1973 |
Succeeded by "The Cisko Kid" by War (band) |
| Preceded by "Free" by Deniece Williams |
UK number one single (Rod Stewart version) May 21, 1977 (4 weeks) |
Succeeded by "Lucille" by Kenny Rogers |
| Preceded by "You Raise Me Up" by Josh Groban |
US Billboard Adult Contemporary number-one single (Sheryl Crow version) April 10, 2004 (first run) May 1, 2004 (second run) |
Succeeded by "You Raise Me Up" by Josh Groban "100 Years" by Five for Fighting |