American Woman

"American Woman"
Cover of the 1970 German single
Single by the Guess Who
from the album American Woman
B-side"No Sugar Tonight"
ReleasedMarch 1970 (1970-03)
RecordedAugust 13, 1969
Genre
Length
  • 3:50 (single version)
  • 5:07 (album version)
LabelRCA Victor
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Jack Richardson
The Guess Who singles chronology
"No Time"
(1969)
"American Woman"
(1970)
"Hand Me Down World"
(1970)
Audio
"The Guess Who - American Woman (Official Audio)" on YouTube

"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[4][5] and the Canadian RPM magazine singles chart.[6] Billboard magazine placed the single at number three on the Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1970 list,[7] 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).[8] 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.[9]

  1. ^ Joan Nicks; Jeannette Sloniowski (October 21, 2009). Slippery Pastimes: Reading the Popular in Canadian Culture. Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press. p. 221. ISBN 978-1-55458-761-2.
  2. ^ James E. Perone (2001). Songs of the Vietnam Conflict. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 62. ISBN 978-0-313-31528-2.
  3. ^ Jacqueline Edmondson Ph.D. (October 3, 2013). Music in American Life: An Encyclopedia of the Songs, Styles, Stars, and Stories that Shaped our Culture [4 volumes]: An Encyclopedia of the Songs, Styles, Stars, and Stories That Shaped Our Culture. ABC-CLIO. p. 53. ISBN 978-0-313-39348-8.
  4. ^ Martin Charles Strong (2002). The Great Rock Discography. Canongate. p. 912. ISBN 978-1-84195-312-0.
  5. ^ The Guess Who - Awards at AllMusic
  6. ^ "Top Singles - Volume 13, No. 12, May 9, 1970". RPM. Retrieved February 23, 2011.
  7. ^ Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1970
  8. ^ "Type "The Guess Who" under Artist". RIAA. Archived from the original on June 26, 2007. Retrieved August 13, 2011. This song was originally written and performed at a curling club in Waterloo, Ontario, which at that time brought in bands. The club has since closed and became a Home Hardware Store on Weber St. near University Ave. Not far from Laurier University. There is a commemorative plaque inside the current store memorializing this event.
  9. ^ Greatest Hits RCA Victor BG2 67774 liner notes