The First Cut Is the Deepest

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Template:Short description Script error: No such module "other uses". Template:Use British English Template:Use dmy dates Script error: No such module "Infobox".Template:Template otherScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Template:Main other Script error: No such module "Infobox".Template:Template otherScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Template:Main other "The First Cut Is the Deepest" is a 1967 song written by British singer-songwriter Cat Stevens, originally released by P. P. Arnold for her album The First Lady of Immediate in April 1967. Stevens' own version originally appeared on his album New Masters in December 1967.

The song has been widely recorded and has become a hit single for six different artists: Arnold, Stevens, Keith Hampshire (1973), Rod Stewart (1977), Papa Dee (1995), and Sheryl Crow (2003).

Background

The lyrics of "The First Cut is the Deepest" describe a person wondering if and how it is possible to love again after their first love was lost. "The first cut" of the title refers to one's first love disappointment.[1]

Cat Stevens version

File:Fanclub1966CatStevens2.jpg
Cat Stevens performing on Dutch TV in 1966

Cat Stevens made a demo recording of "The First Cut Is the Deepest" in 1965, while hoping to become a songwriter.[2] He wrote the song to promote his songs to other artists, but did not record his own performance until early October 1967 with guitarist Big Jim Sullivan, and it did not appear until his second album, New Masters, was released in December 1967. The year he wrote the song, he sold it for Template:GBP (Template:Inflation) to P. P. Arnold, who recorded it a year later for her album The First Lady of Immediate, becoming a huge hit for her in early 1967.[3] Over decades, it also became 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.[4] Stevens's version was not released as a single until 1972 when it was released as an Australia-only single in promotion of Stevens' 1970 compilation album The World of Cat Stevens.[5]

Personnel

P. P. Arnold version

American expatriate singer P. P. Arnold had the first hit with the song, reaching No. 18 on the UK Singles Chart[6] with her version in May 1967, well ahead of it appearing on Stevens' album New Masters. The Arnold hit, included on her album The First Lady of Immediate, featured an up-tempo, soulful vocal set against harpsichord, horns, and strings. It also appeared in the 2012 feature film Seven Psychopaths.

Record World said that "this gal shouts it out and then caresses it on a big beat rocker."[7]

Keith Hampshire version

Script error: No such module "Infobox".Template:Template otherScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Template:Main other Keith Hampshire had the first chart-topping hit of the song when his recording of it from his album The First Cut became a number-one hit in Canada in 1973, reaching the top of the RPM 100 national singles chart on 12 May of that year.[8] It also topped the Canadian Adult Contemporary chart and charted in the United States, albeit outside the top 40.[9][10]

Charts

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Release history

Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United States Template:Start date Vinyl A&M [12]
Canada Template:Start date [13]
United Kingdom Template:Start date [14]
Japan Template:Start date [12]

Rod Stewart version

Script error: No such module "Infobox".Template:Template otherScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Template:Main other Stewart recorded the song at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Sheffield, Alabama, United States, and it appeared on his 1976 album A Night on the Town. Originally released as a single in the US and in some European territories, it was released as a double A-side single with "I Don't Want to Talk About It" in the UK in April. It was a huge success, and spent four weeks at No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart in May 1977,[15] No. 11 in April in Canada, and also reached No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. In a departure from the original, Stewart excludes the concluding "But when it comes to being loved, she's first" from the refrain. In 1993, he recorded a live version during a session of MTV Unplugged. This was included on the 1993 live album Unplugged...and Seated.

Record World called it a "love ballad, this time penned by Cat Stevens back in the sixties. Watch for another rapid chart ascent."[16]

Charts

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Release history

Region Date Format(s) Label(s)
United States Template:Start date Vinyl Warner Bros.
United Kingdom Template:Start date

Papa Dee version

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Swedish musician Papa Dee released a reggae cover of "The First Cut Is the Deepest" in 1995. It was released as the first single from his fourth album, The Journey (1996), and remains his most commercially successful track. Scoring chart success in Europe, it peaked at No. 5 in Sweden, No. 9 in Denmark and Norway, No. 20 in Austria, and No. 38 in Iceland.

Critical reception

Pan-European magazine Music & Media wrote, "Dee-lightfully our Swedish Papa tackles the old Cat Stevens hit in a pop dance-infused reggae style with a snappy ragga interlude. Radio, club and dub edits are available too."[23]

Track listings

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Charts

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Sheryl Crow version

Script error: No such module "Infobox".Template:Template otherScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Template:Main other Sheryl Crow's version of "The First Cut Is the Deepest", inspired by Rod Stewart's version, is the first single released from her 2003 compilation album The Very Best of Sheryl Crow. It became one of Crow's biggest radio hits, peaking at No. 14 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and becoming her first solo top-40 country hit following the success of her duet with Kid Rock, "Picture".[28] The song stayed on the Hot 100 for 36 weeks and became a gold seller, also reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary, Adult Top 40, and Triple-A charts. Internationally, it was a top-20 success in Hungary, Ireland and New Zealand.

Music video

The Sheryl Crow music video for "The First Cut Is the Deepest" was directed by Wayne Isham. Filmed in southern Utah, the video features Sheryl in a rocky desert singing with her guitar, riding horses and interacting in a cowboy environment.[29] Sheryl's single was nominated for a Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 47th Annual Grammy Awards,[30] losing to "Sunrise" by Norah Jones.

Charts

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Certifications

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Release history

Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United States 22 September 2003 Template:Hlist A&M [37]
United Kingdom 20 October 2003 CD [38]
Australia 27 October 2003 [39]
United States Country radio [40]
17 November 2003 Contemporary hit radio [41]

See also

References

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Template:Cat Stevens Template:Rod Stewart songs Template:Sheryl Crow Template:Authority control

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