"Single Girl" is a song written by Martha Sharp.[1] It was an international hit for American singer Sandy Posey from late 1966 to early 1967.
| "Single Girl" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Sandy Posey | ||||
| from the album Single Girl | ||||
| B-side | "Blue Is My Best Color" | |||
| Released | 1966 | |||
| Recorded | August 19, 1966 | |||
| Studio | Fred Foster Sound Studio, Nashville, Tennessee | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 2:27 | |||
| Label | MGM Records | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Martha Sharp | |||
| Producer(s) | Chips Moman | |||
| Sandy Posey singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
The song
editLike Born a Woman, which was also written by Martha Sharp, Single Girl contained some sentiments that were ostensibly skeptical of men (for example, "I know all about men and their lies"). But whereas Born a Woman was seen by some as having feminist overtones, Single Girl was essentially more traditional in outlook—a young, isolated woman anticipating that "some day", despite not knowing anybody, people being "phoney" and the nights getting "so lonely", she would find waiting for her a man to "lean on". As one later commentator put it, drawing a contrast with Julie Rogers' The Wedding (1964), "Single Girl... touched a nerve with every 'wallflower' who possessed a record player".[2]
The score of Single Girl was notable for its gradual crescendo towards the end and a piano backing that, between the closing lines,
- Someday I’ll have a sweet loving man to lean on
- The single girl needs a sweet loving man to lean on,
contained two distinctive high notes that were apt to linger in the mind of the listener. Billboard described Single Girl as "a strong piece of ballad material with driving rhythm background".[3] The production overall conveyed very well the sense that "to make it in pop music in the 1960s, a girl needed a really strong song and a strong production, as well as a lot of tenacity and dogged determination".[4]
Recording by Sandy Posey (1966)
editSandy Posey recorded "Single Girl"[5] at the Fred Foster Sound Studio in Nashville, Tennessee on August 19, 1966.[6][7] Although not strictly a country song, her rendition gave it a country feel – a style that some years later was often referred to as "countrypolitan".
"Single Girl" was produced by "Chips" Moman and released by MGM, reaching number 12 in the US sales charts in January 1967[8] and number 15 in Britain.[9] It was re-released in 1975, and it entered the British top 50 again.[10] and, as Posey's signature song, appeared on a number of compilations,[11] including a Posey retrospective, A Single Girl: The Very Best of the MGM Recordings, in 2002. The sleeve notes for the latter drew on an interview with Posey about her time at MGM.
Charts
edit| Chart (1966–67) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Go-Set)[12] | 5 |
| Canada Top Singles (RPM)[13] | 5 |
| New Zealand (Listener Chart)[14] | 5 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[15] | 15 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[16] | 12 |
Other versions
edit- An Italian version, "Sempre Solo," recorded in Milan,[17] was coupled with "Nata Donna," Posey's first hit single, known in English as "Born a Woman.".[18]
- In the late 1960s, a Chinese cover version, titled 獨身女, was recorded by Singaporean-Chinese singer Ling Yun (singer) (凌雲, also known as Rita Chao).
- A French version, "Drôle de fille" was recorded by Sylvie Vartan on the album 2'35 de bonheur in 1967.
- In 1968, Belgian singer Liliane Saint-Pierre reached number 37[19] in the Belgian charts with her French adaptation "Je suis une fille toute seule".
- Martha Sharp recorded her own version of "Single Girl" for an album in 1973.[20]
- In 1997, South African singer Patricia Lewis (singer) recorded Single Girl for her debut album "Ek Is Lief Vir Jou"
- In 2012 the English indie band the Primitives released a slightly more up-tempo recording, featuring their lead singer Tracy Cattell (known as Tracy Tracy), on their album Echoes and Rhymes.
Notes
edit- ^ "secondhandsongs.com". secondhandsongs.com. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
- ^ Sleeve notes for It's My Party: Hit Girls of the Sixties (Pickwick CD, 1989)
- ^ Quoted in sleeve notes for A Single Girl CD, 2002
- ^ Sleeve notes for It's My Party: Hit Girls of the Sixties (Pickwick CD, 1989)
- ^ There is no article in the title, although this is sometimes given as A Single Girl (the title of a 2002 Posey compilation) or The Single Girl (as on a 1989 compilation of "hit girls of the sixties" issued by Pickwick).
- ^ McNutt, Randy (7 August 2011). "Ghosts of Nashville's Recording Studios, Part 1". Home of the Hits. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
- ^ Sandy Posey – MGM Home Page
- ^ Single Girl entered the US top twenty on Christmas Eve, 1966.
- ^ Charlie Gillett & Simon Frith (1976) Rock File 4
- ^ Guinness British Hit Singles (15th ed, 2002)
- ^ An early example on CD was It's My Party: Hit Girls of the Sixties (Pickwick, 1989).
- ^ "Go-Set Australian charts - 8 February 1967". www.poparchives.com.au.
- ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 10034." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
- ^ "Sandy Posey (search)". Flavour of New Zealand.
- ^ "Sandy Posey: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
- ^ "Sandy Posey Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
- ^ See sleeve notes for CD, A Single Girl: The Very Best of the MGM Recordings (2002)
- ^ Released in Italy as MG 70-012
- ^ https://www.ultratop.be/fr/song/18671c/Liliane-Saint-Pierre-Je-suis-une-fille-toute-seule
- ^ Monument album, Any Woman (KZ 32234)
