Американская женщина: История хита группы The Guess Who

1970 single by the Guess Who
the song

"American Woman" is a song by Canadian rock band the Guess Who, released January 1970, from the album of the same name. It was later released in March 1970 as a single backed with "No Sugar Tonight", and it reached number one for three weeks commencing May 9 on both the United States' Billboard Hot 100 and the Canadian RPM magazine singles chart. Billboard magazine placed the single at number three on the Year End Hot 100 singles of 1970 list, and it was listed as number five for 1970 on the RPM Year End Chart. On May 22, 1970, the single was certified as gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It also reached the top ten in the Netherlands, Switzerland and Austria, and the top twenty in the United Kingdom and New Zealand. Produced by Jack Richardson, the single was recorded on August 13, 1969, at RCA's Mid America Recording Center in Chicago.

The music and lyrics of the song were improvised on stage during a concert in Southern Ontario (the guitarist, Randy Bachman, recalled it being at a concert in Kitchener, Bachman was playing notes while tuning his guitar after replacing a broken string, and he realized he was playing a new riff that he wanted to remember. He continued playing it and the other band members returned to the stage and joined in, creating a jam session in which Cummings improvised the lyrics. They listened to the tape and noted down the words that Cummings had extemporized, and which he later revised. The Guess Who were invited to play at the White House on July 17, 1970, shortly after the song's release. Because of its perceived anti American lyrics, Pat Nixon, the wife of President Richard Nixon, asked that they not play "American Woman".

Chart (1970)RankAustralia5Netherlands (Single Top 100)76U. S. Billboard Hot 1003U. S. Cash Box7

American singer songwriter Lenny Kravitz covered "American Woman" for the soundtrack of Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. It was released as a single in May 1999 and was later included on the reissue of Kravitz's album 5. Kravitz's version is slower and softer than the original, without the signature guitar solo; he later said to Randy Bachman that the reason why he skipped the lead guitar part was "I couldn't get the sound. I couldn't get the tone." The cover reached the top 20 in Australia, Finland, Iceland, New Zealand, and Spain, as well as number 26 in Canada and number 49 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The music video (directed by Paul Hunter) featured actress Heather Graham (who starred in The Spy Who Shagged Me); the original themes of the song were largely replaced by sex appeal. In 1999, the Guess Who joined Kravitz and his band for a live performance of "American Woman" at the MuchMusic Video Awards.

RegionDateFormat(s)Label(s)Ref(s). (Reference(s))United StatesMay 10, 1999Mainstream rock, active rock, alternative radioVirginJune 21, 1999Hot adult contemporary, modern adult contemporary, contemporary hit radioUnited KingdomAugust 30, 1999CD, cassette

"American Woman" has been covered by a number of artists. In 1982, Swiss hard rock band Krokus included a cover on their album One Vice at a Time. Butthole Surfers released a cover version on a bonus 5" vinyl single included with their 1985 home video release Blind Eye Sees All. The 2002 DVD reissue uses the same version as background music for the bonus photo gallery. They also made a drum heavy experimental remix version of this recording, which appeared on their 1986 album Rembrandt Pussyhorse. Anal Cunt recorded a grindcore version for their 1995 album Top 40 Hits.

It was featured in Sam Mendes's film American Beauty, performed by main character Lester Burnham (played by Kevin Spacey). Sam the Eagle performed a karaoke version of this song in a Muppets viral video, until he stops in protest of its lyrics, and finds that it is a Canadian song even more upsetting. It was used in the HBO trailer for the film Game Change. A version sung by an older man was used in the film The Cable Guy (1996). It was heard during the ending credits of the Witchblade TV film (2000), starring Yancy Butler and based on the Top Cow comic book series. American Woman was featured in the second installment of the Austin Powers film trilogy, The Spy Who Shagged Me, with Heather Graham dancing provocatively whilst it played. The song was featured in an episode of "Due South"s first season (Diefenbaker's Day Off S01 E02). Kelly Clarkson recorded a cover version of the song as a theme song from the Paramount Network TV series, American Woman.