"Walks Like a Lady" is a song written by Steve Perry that was first released by his band Journey on their 1980 album '' Departure''. It was also released as the second single from the album and reached No. 32 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It also reached #31 in Canada.

Music and lyrics

''Ultimate Classic Rock'' described the writing of the song, saying that "Perry brought in a rough sketch, ealSchon added a blues-inspired uitarriff, then teveSmith picked up his brushes," and then reggRolie added his "

Hammond B3 Hammond may refer to: People * Hammond Innes (1913–1998), English novelist * Hammond (surname) * Justice Hammond (disambiguation) Places Antarctica * Hammond Glacier, Antarctica Australia *Hammond, South Australia, a small settlement in South ...

groove." Critics and the band have disagreed on the classification of "Walks Like a Lady". During concerts in 1980, Perry used to introduce the song by asking if anyone wants to hear the

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

. ''

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'' correspondent Jim Sullivan, who described the song as "semi-blues" found the audience's confused reaction to that introduction humorous. ''Citizen's Voice'' critic Jerry Kishbaugh accepted the Perry's classification and described Journey's playing on the song as "blues at its best." ''Daily Record'' critic Jim Bohen completely rejected the notion of the song being the blues, stating that "of course the song has nothing to do with the blues." Several critics have noted the similarity of the line "She walks like a lady / But she cries like a little girl" to the chorus from

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

's 1966 song " Just Like a Woman."

Reception

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 ...

'' called "Walks Like a Lady" a "short, to-the-point, easy blues/pop track" with "finger lickin’ good blues uitarleads in a subdued but tasteful style" and "moodsetting organ work." ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of the three main music industry trade magazines in the United States, along with '' Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 under the name ''Music Vendor'', but in 1964 it was changed to ''Record Wo ...

'' said of it that "Drawing from the infamous organ blues trios of another era, Journey adds some boogie rock with Steve Perry's vocals providing the pop front." ''The Morning Call'' critic Eric Hegedus described it as "lugubrious". ''Ultimate Classic Rock'' critic Nick DeRiso rated it Journey's all-time 22nd best song. ' "Walks Like a Lady" has been included on several Journey

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

s, including the limited edition 3.0 version of ''

The Essential Journey ''The Essential Journey'' is a compilation of songs from the rock band Journey. Released on October 16, 2001, it is part of Sony BMG's "Essential" series of compilation albums. The album includes most of Journey's major and minor hits that have c ...

'' and '' Greatest Hits 2''. It was also included on the 1981

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

'' Captured''.

References

{{Journey 1980 singles 1980 songs Journey (band) songs Songs written by Steve Perry Columbia Records singles