"Gypsy" is the debut single by British

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

band Uriah Heep. It is the opening track on their first album, ''

…Very 'Eavy …Very 'Umble ''...Very 'Eavy ...Very 'Umble'' is the debut studio album by English rock band Uriah Heep. Release The album was released in June 1970 by Vertigo Records in the UK. The original vinyl release was a gatefold sleeve, featuring frontman David B ...

'', released in 1970. "Gypsy" was written by Mick Box and

David Byron David Garrick (29 January 1947 – 28 February 1985), better known by his stage name David Byron, was a British singer, who was best known in the early 1970s as the lead vocalist with the rock band Uriah Heep. Byron possessed a powerful oper ...

. The album version of "Gypsy" lasts more than six and half minutes, while the single version lasts less than three minutes. The song was also included on the band's first compilation album, ''

The Best of Uriah Heep ''The Best of Uriah Heep'' (also known as ''Best of...'') is the title of the most successful compilation album by the British rock band Uriah Heep. It was released by Bronze Records and Mercury Records in three distinct editions with roughly th ...

'', and on two live albums, 1973's ''

Uriah Heep Live ''Uriah Heep Live'' is a double live album by British rock group Uriah Heep (band), Uriah Heep, released in April 1973 in the US by Mercury Records, and in May 1973 in the UK by Bronze Records. It was the band's first live album. The album was ...

'' and the later '' Live in Armenia''. The song is structured with an intro, outro and three verses with no chorus, and uses only four chords: Cm, G#, G and C#-C.

Covers

The song was covered by American

noise rock Noise rock (sometimes called noise punk) is a noise music, noise-oriented style of experimental rock that spun off from punk rock in the 1980s. Drawing on movements such as minimal music, minimalism, industrial music, and New York hardcore, a ...

band

godheadSilo godheadSilo is an American noise rock duo formed in Moorhead, Minnesota, that later moved to Olympia, Washington, before disbanding and moving to different parts of the country. The duo is composed of bassist Mike Kunka and drummer Dan Haugh, ...

in 1996, appearing on their self-titled ''

GodheadSilo godheadSilo is an American noise rock duo formed in Moorhead, Minnesota, that later moved to Olympia, Washington, before disbanding and moving to different parts of the country. The duo is composed of bassist Mike Kunka and drummer Dan Haugh, ...

'' 7-inch EP. In 2023 the British heavy metal band

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

covered the song for their covers album '' More Inspirations''.Discogs - Saxon, More Inspirations
, ''Discogs''. Retrieved 26 March 2023

Personnel

* Mick Box – lead and acoustic guitars *

– lead vocals * Ken Hensley – piano, organ * Paul Newton – bass guitar * Alex Napier – drums

Charts

References

Uriah Heep (band) songs 1970 debut singles Songs written by Mick Box Songs written by David Byron 1970 songs {{1970s-single-stub