"The Horses" is a song written by Rickie Lee Jones and Walter Becker. It was originally performed by Jones on her 1989 album, Flying Cowboys. While not released as a single, the original version did appear in the 1996 film Jerry Maguire and was also included on the film's soundtrack. The song was covered in 1990 by Daryl Braithwaite; his version reached No. 1 in Australia, and by 2022, it had been certified decuple platinum.

"The Horses"
Single by Daryl Braithwaite
from the album Rise
B-side"I Can't Wait"
Released28 January 1991 (1991-01-28)
GenrePop
Length4:16
LabelCBS
Songwriter(s)Rickie Lee Jones, Walter Becker
Producer(s)Simon Hussey
Daryl Braithwaite singles chronology
"Rise"
(1990)
"The Horses"
(1991)
"Higher Than Hope"
(1991)

Background and release

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The song was covered by Daryl Braithwaite on his 1990 album Rise. It was released as a single on 28 January 1991 and reached No. 1 on the Australian Singles Chart in May.[1][2] "The Horses" has been certified ten-times platinum in Australia by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA).[3] Margaret Urlich provided the female vocals on the recording but chose not to appear in the music video due to other work commitments. A model, Gillian Mather, lip-synced Urlich's voice for the music video.

In May 2016, while celebrating the 25th anniversary of the song peaking at No. 1 in Australia, Braithwaite said: "I would never have thought that 25 years down the track, 'The Horses' – a song that I heard quite by accident and then recorded, would be liked by so many people for so many different reasons. And for this I am eternally grateful. I am sure that Rickie Lee Jones and Walter Becker could never imagine how endearing the song would and has become."[4][5]

In January 2018, as part of Triple M's "Ozzest 100", the "most Australian" songs of all time, Daryl Braithwaite's version of "The Horses" was ranked number 14.[6]

Track listings

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Australian 7-inch, CD, and cassette single[7][8][9]

  1. "The Horses" − 4:16
  2. "I Can't Wait" − 4:12

European maxi-CD single[10]

  1. "The Horses" − 4:16
  2. "Let Me Be" − 5:36
  3. "You Could Be Wrong" − 3:23
  4. "I Can't Wait" − 4:12

Personnel

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  • Daryl Braithwaite – vocals
  • John Watson – drums
  • Scott Griffiths – keyboards, piano
  • Jef Scott – acoustic and electric guitar
  • Tommy Emmanuel – electric guitar
  • Alex Pertout – shaker, sleigh bells, vibraslap, tambourine
  • Jeremy Alsop – bass
  • Simon Hussey – keyboards
  • Margaret Urlich – backing vocals

Charts

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"The Horses" made its ARIA chart debut at No. 38 on 3 March before peaking at No. 1 on 19 May. The song spent 23 weeks in the Australian top 50.[2]

Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[3] 10× Platinum 700,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "New Release Summary – Product Available from: 28/01/91 (from The ARIA Report Issue No. 53)". ARIA. Retrieved 17 July 2017 – via Imgur.
  2. ^ a b c "Daryl Braithwaite – The Horses". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 30 December 2010.
  3. ^ a b "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2022 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  4. ^ "Happy 25th, Daryl Braithwaite's Horses!". www.auspop.com.au. 19 May 2016. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  5. ^ "Daryl Braithwaite 'The Horses' Celebrates 25th Anniversary". www.noise11.com. 18 May 2016. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  6. ^ "Here Are The Songs That Made Triple M's 'Ozzest 100'". Musicfeeds. 27 January 2018. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  7. ^ The Horses (Australian 7-inch single sleeve). Daryl Braithwaite. CBS Records. 1992. 656617 7.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  8. ^ The Horses (Australian CD single liner notes). Daryl Braithwaite. CBS Records. 1992. 656617 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  9. ^ The Horses (Australian cassette single sleeve). Daryl Braithwaite. CBS Records. 1992. 656617 4.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  10. ^ The Horses (European maxi-CD single liner notes). Daryl Braithwaite. Epic Records. 1992. 658199 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  11. ^ "ARIA Top 100 Singles for 1991". ARIA. Retrieved 31 March 2021.