Dark Horse (Amanda Marshall song)
| "Dark Horse" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Amanda Marshall | ||||
| from the album Amanda Marshall | ||||
| Released | January 8, 1997 | |||
| Format | CD single | |||
| Genre | Adult contemporary | |||
| Length | 5:37 | |||
| Label | Epic | |||
| Writer(s) |
Amanda Marshall David Tyson Dean McTaggart | |||
| Producer(s) | David Tyson | |||
| Amanda Marshall singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Dark Horse" is a song co-written and originally recorded by Canadian pop singer Amanda Marshall. It was the fifth single from her 1995 self-titled debut album. In 1997, American country music singer Mila Mason covered the song for her own debut album, That's Enough of That.
Critical reception
Colin Larkin, in The Encyclopedia of Popular Music, wrote that it was "more personal" than the other story songs on Marshall's album.[1] Jeremy Helligar of Entertainment Weekly said that Marshall "drums up momentum with the gently percussive 'Dark Horse'".[2] While not a music critic, Elton John remarked on the The Rosie O'Donnell Show that 'Dark Horse' was a "guaranteed hit" after he mentioned that he was listening to Amanda Marshall's album.[3]
Chart performance
"Dark Horse" peaked at number five on the RPM Top Singles charts dated for the week of March 17, 1997.[4] It also peaked at number one on the same publication's Adult Contemporary charts two weeks later.[5]
| Chart (1997) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[5] | 1 |
| Canada Top Singles (RPM)[4] | 5 |
| Preceded by "Un-Break My Heart" by Toni Braxton |
RPM Adult Contemporary number-one single March 31—April 21, 1997 |
Succeeded by "All by Myself" by Céline Dion |
Mila Mason version
| "Dark Horse" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Mila Mason | ||||
| from the album That's Enough of That | ||||
| B-side | "I Do"[6] | |||
| Released | February 1997 | |||
| Format | CD single | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 4:59 | |||
| Label | Atlantic | |||
| Producer(s) | Blake Mevis | |||
| Mila Mason singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Mila Mason's version appears on her 1996 debut album That's Enough of That. It was the second single from the album, entering the charts in February 1997.
Critical reception
Brian Wahlert of Country Standard Time described Mason's cover as "the least country song on the album" but said that "Mason's smoky voice works perfectly on the opening lyric[…]and the pretty ensuing story of young love that lasted."[7]
Chart performance
Mason's version of the song spent twenty weeks on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, peaking at number 21. In Canada, it peaked at number 12 on the RPM Country Tracks charts dated for May 12, 1997.[8]
| Chart (1997) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[9] | 12 |
| US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[10] | 21 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (1997) | Position |
|---|---|
| Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[11] | 86 |
References
- ↑ Larkin, Colin (1997). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music 5. MacMillan. p. 3477.
- ↑ Helligar, Jeremy (13 December 1996). "Amanda Marshall review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
- ↑ "Sir Elton provided shocker".
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 by Michele Lee and bought by rpm and rewrote for Marshall's album &file_num=nlc008388.3155&type=1&interval=20&PHPSESSID=jeuf8n0tl4vjgetd1pbunsda94 "RPM Top Singles". RPM. 17 March 1997. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "RPM Adult Contemporary". RPM. 31 March 1997. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
- ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. p. 258. ISBN 0-89820-177-2.
- ↑ Wahlert, Brian. "That's Enough of That review". Country Standard Time. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
- ↑ "RPM Country Tracks". RPM. 12 May 1997. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
- ↑ "Top RPM Country Tracks: Issue 3207." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. May 12, 1997. Retrieved July 17, 2013.
- ↑ "Mila Mason Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Hot Country Songs for Mila Mason.
- ↑ "RPM Top 100 Country Tracks of 1997". RPM. December 15, 1997. Retrieved July 17, 2013.
