"Hair" is the title song to the 1967 musical ''

Hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and f ...

'' and the 1979

film adaptation A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dial ...

of the musical.

Context in the musical

The musical’s title song begins as character Claude slowly croons his reason for his long hair, as tribe-mate Berger joins in singing they "don't know." They lead the tribe, singing "Give me a head with hair," "as long as God can grow it," listing what they want in a head of hair and their uses for it. Later the song takes the tune of "

The Star-Spangled Banner "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written on September 14, 1814, by 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the b ...

" with the tribe punning "Oh say can you see/ My eyes if you can/Then my hair’s too short!" Claude and Berger’s religious references continue with many a "Hallelujah" as they consciously compare their hair to Jesus’s, and if Mary loved her son, "why don’t my mother love me?" The song shows the Tribe's enthusiasm and pride for their hair as well as comparing Claude to a Jesus figure.

The Cowsills version

The song was a major hit for

the Cowsills The Cowsills are an American singing group from Newport, Rhode Island, six siblings noted for performing professionally and singing harmonies at an early age, later with their mother. The band was formed in early 1965 by brothers Bill, Bob, and ...

in 1969 and their most successful single. The Cowsills version cuts out most of the religion-themed lyrics, changing "long as God can grow it" to "long as I can grow it" and removing some verses. Their version spent two weeks at number one on the ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' Top 100 and reached number two on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

. "Hair" was kept out of the number-one spot by another song from the ''Hair'' cast album: "

Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In "Medley: Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In (The Flesh Failures)" (commonly called "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In", "The Age of Aquarius" or "Let the Sunshine In") is a medley of two songs written for the 1967 musical ''Hair'' by James Rado and Gerome R ...

" by

The 5th Dimension The 5th Dimension is an American popular music vocal group, whose repertoire includes pop, R&B, soul, jazz, light opera, and Broadway. Formed as the Versatiles in late 1965, the group changed its name to "the 5th Dimension" by 1966. Betwee ...

. It also reached number one on the ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

Canadian Singles Chart The Canadian Singles Chart was a chart compiled by the American-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan, which began publication in November 1996. It was published every Wednesday and also published on Thursday by '' Jam!''/Canoe. I ...

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Other versions

"Hair" was also covered in Australia in 1969 and released as a single by Doug Parkinson in Focus (

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

with " Without You") and was a top ten hit for him there that year. ustralian Chart Book 1970-1992/ref> A version by Dutch rock band

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reached the top of the

Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 ( nl, Nederlandse Top 40) is a weekly music chart compiled by ''Stichting Nederlandse Top 40''. It started as a radio program titled "Veronica Top 40", on the offshore station Radio Veronica in 1965. It remained "The Veronica ...

in January 1969. A cover was released as a B-side by girl group Gilded Cage in 1969.

Appearances in media

* The title song as well as another song from

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, "

Good Morning Starshine "Good Morning Starshine" is a pop song from the musical '' Hair'' (1967). It was a No. 3 hit in the United States in July 1969 and a No. 6 hit in the United Kingdom in October 1969 for the singer Oliver. The chorus makes extensive use of appar ...

," were featured in ''

Mystery Science Theater 3000 ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (abbreviated as ''MST3K'') is an American science fiction comedy film review television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on KTMA-TV (now WUCW) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 24, 1988. ...

'' in the Season 5, 8th episode "Hercules Unchained". * On ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...

'' episode, "

Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious "Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious", also known as "Simpsoncalifragilisticexpialad'ohcious" is the thirteenth episode of the eighth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons'', that originally aired on the Fo ...

", the song is played in the background as

Marge Marge is a feminine given name, a shortened form of Marjorie, Margot or Margaret (name), Margaret. Notable Marges include: People *Marge (cartoonist) (1904–1993), pen name of Marjorie Henderson Buell, American cartoonist *Marge Anderson (1932� ...

's hair starts to fall out from stress. * On ''

'' episode, "

D'oh-in' in the Wind "D'oh-in' in the Wind" is the sixth episode of the tenth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 15, 1998. In the episode, Homer Simpson travels to a ...

", the song is played in the hippies' car as

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

wears a jester hat. * In ''

My Wife and Kids ''My Wife and Kids'' is an American sitcom that ran on ABC from March 28, 2001, to May 17, 2005. The series was produced by Touchstone Television. It starred Damon Wayans as Michael Kyle, the patriarch of an African-American family. Wayans and ve ...

'' episode, "The Sweet Hairafter", Michael Kyle (

Damon Wayans Damon Kyle Wayans Sr. (; born September 4, 1960) is an American actor, comedian, producer, and writer. Wayans performed as a comedian and actor throughout the 1980s, including a year long stint on the sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live.' ...

), sings the song playing his keyboard, while his hair supplement grows in. * In 2009, the song was used in a mash-up with

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

's "

Crazy in Love "Crazy in Love" is a song recorded by American singer Beyoncé, featuring a rap verse and ad-libs from her future husband Jay-Z from her debut solo studio album '' Dangerously in Love'' (2003). The song was released as her official debut single ...

" in the ''

Glee Glee means delight, a form of happiness. Glee may also refer to: * Glee (music), a type of English choral music * ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy * ''Glee'' (Bran Van 30 ...

'' episode 11, "

Hairography "Hairography" is the eleventh episode of the American television series '' Glee''. The episode premiered on the Fox network on November 25, 2009. It was written by series creator Ian Brennan and directed by Bill D'Elia. The episode introduces New ...

". * In the 2015 animated film '' Minions'', Stuart used a "hypno hat" to hypnotize three of the palace guards while breaking into the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...

, and made them sing the song (in the Minion Language), dance, strip to their underwear and let their hair down.

References

Citations Sources *

Joel Whitburn Joel Carver Whitburn (November 29, 1939 – June 14, 2022) was an American author and music historian, responsible for setting up the Record Research, Inc. series of books on record chart placings. Early life Joel Carver Whitburn was born in Wau ...

, ''The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits'' (6th ed. 1996), p. 148.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hair 1967 songs 1969 singles Cowsills songs Songs written for films Songs from Hair (musical) Song recordings produced by Norrie Paramor Cashbox number-one singles Number-one singles in Australia RPM Top Singles number-one singles Number-one singles in New Zealand Number-one singles in South Africa MGM Records singles