The First Cut Is the Deepest

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“The First Cut Is the Deepest”
Song by Cat Stevens
Album New Masters
Published 1967
Released December 1967
Recorded October 1967
Length 3:03
Label Deram
Writer Cat Stevens
Producer Mike Hurst
Cover versions

P.P. Arnold, Keith Hampshire, Linda Ronstadt, Rod Stewart, Sheryl Crow
New Masters track listing

Side 1

  1. "Kitty"
  2. "I'm So Sleepy"
  3. "Northern Wind"
  4. "The Laughing Apple"
  5. "Smash Your Heart"
  6. "Moonstone"

Side 2

  1. "The First Cut Is the Deepest"
  2. "I'm Gonna Be King"
  3. "Ceylon City"
  4. "Blackness of the Night"
  5. "Come on Baby (Shift That Log)"
  6. "I Love Them All"

"The First Cut Is the Deepest" is a 1967 song written and sung by Cat Stevens. It has become a hit single for four different artists: P.P. Arnold(1967), Keith Hampshire (1973), Rod Stewart (1977) and Sheryl Crow (2003).

Contents

[edit] Cat Stevens original

The song concerns someone apprehensive about entering a new romantic relationship because they are still suffering from being hurt in a previous one. The chorus is ambiguous:

The first cut is the deepest, Baby I know —
The first cut is the deepest
'Cause when it comes to being lucky, she's cursed
When it comes to lovin' me, she's worst
But when it comes to being loved, she's first
That's how I know.

It is not completely clear whether the singer is talking about his former love. Moreover, while the Stevens, Arnold and Hampshire recordings sang this chorus intact, the Stewart and Crow renditions omitted the last two lines, an omission which many have felt changed the sense of the song.

While Stevens may have made a demo recording of "The First Cut Is the Deepest" earlier as part of the process of promoting his songs to other artists, he 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.

[edit] P. P. Arnold version

“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
"Everything's Gonna Be Alright" "The First Cut Is the Deepest"
(1967)		 "The Time Has Come"

African-American expatriate singer P.P. Arnold, popular in the United Kingdom, had the first hit with the song, reaching number 18 on the UK Singles Chart with her cover 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.

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 is said to have never released his original recording as a single, because he felt Arnold's version was definitive.

[edit] Keith Hampshire version

Canadian singer and covers expert Keith Hampshire had a number one hit in Canada in May 1973 with his recording of the song.

[edit] Linda Ronstadt version

Top flight country rock vocalist, Linda Ronstadt, performed the song on ABC's In Concert in a show starring Cat Stevens. Held on November 9, 1973, this event is also known as "The Moon And Stars Concert". Other than this live performance, the song was never released by Linda Ronstadt on a single or on any album. The clip is widely available on YouTube.

[edit] Rod Stewart version

“The First Cut Is the Deepest”
“The First Cut Is the Deepest” cover
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.)
Released 1977
Format 7-inch
Genre Rock
Length 3:52
Label Warner Bros. Records
Writer(s) Cat Stevens
Producer Tom Dowd
Rod Stewart singles chronology
"Tonight's the Night (Gonna Be Alright)"
(1976)		 "The First Cut Is the Deepest"
(1977)		 "The Killing of Georgie (Part I and II)"
(1977)

The most popular version of the song in the United Kingdom has been the one by Rod Stewart, which was recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Muscle Shoals,AL and 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". As such it was a huge success, and spent four weeks at number one on the UK Singles Chart in May 1977, and also reached #21 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S.

A music video clip was made for this recording, featuring Stewart lip-synching the song as he wandered in a formal garden with an elaborate fountain.


[edit] Sheryl Crow version

“The First Cut Is the Deepest”
“The First Cut Is the Deepest” cover
Single by Sheryl Crow
from the album The Very Best of Sheryl Crow
Released October 20, 2003 (UK)
October 21, 2003 (Canada
November 18, 2003 (United States)
December 15, 2003 (Germany)
December 30, 2003 (France)
Format CD maxi single
CD single
Recorded 2003
Genre Pop/Country
Length 3:44
Label Polydor
Writer(s) Cat Stevens
Producer Andreas Schulz ??
Andre Bergholz ??
Sheryl Crow singles chronology
"Steve McQueen"
(2002)		 "The First Cut Is the Deepest"
(2003)		 "Light in Your Eyes"
(2004)
Audio sample
Info (help·info)

Sheryl Crow's version was the first of two singles released to promote her 2003 The Very Best of Sheryl Crow compilation album. It was one of Crow's biggest radio hits, remaining 36 weeks in the Billboard Hot 100. It 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.

The music video[1] for "The First Cut Is the Deepest", directed by Wayne Isham, features Crow in a rocky desert singing with her guitar, riding horses and interacting in a cowboy environment.

The single was nominated for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the Grammy Awards, losing to "Sunrise" by Norah Jones.

Chart positions: #14 (U.S.); #37 (UK); #31 (Austria); #13 (Ireland); #19 (New Zealand); #10 (Portugal); #35 US Country; #50 (Australia) [1].

[edit] Other versions

In addition to the renditions already mentioned, the song has been recorded or performed by many other artists, including:

Preceded by
"Free" by Deniece Williams		 UK number one single
(Rod Stewart version)
May 21, 1977 (4 weeks)		 Succeeded by
"Lucille" by Kenny Rogers

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TGiqef2Fp0 Sheryl Crow music video
  2. ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/oliver/video/index.shtml?week=0&video=8 Niamh Perry song