"Black Velvet" is a song written by Canadian songwriters

Christopher Ward Christopher Ward may refer to: * Christopher Ward (British politician) (born 1942), British solicitor and Conservative Party politician * Christopher Ward (conductor) (born 1980), British conductor * Christopher Ward (entomologist) (1836–1900), E ...

and

David Tyson David Michael Tyson is a Canadian rock music producer and songwriter. He is best known for co-writing Alannah Myles' 1990 #1 hit " Black Velvet" (with Christopher Ward) and producing her debut album. He also co-wrote three hit songs (with Dean ...

, and recorded by Canadian singer-songwriter

Alannah Myles Alannah Myles (née Byles; born December 25, 1958) is a Canadian singer-songwriter who has won both a Grammy and a Juno Award for the song " Black Velvet". The song was a top-ten hit in Canada; it was also a number one hit on the US ''Billboar ...

. It was released in January 1990 as one of four singles from Myles' 1989 eponymous album from Atlantic Records. It became a number-one hit for two weeks on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in 1990 and reached number one on the Album Rock Tracks chart, as well as number ten in her native Canada and number two on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. The song also reached number one in Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland and was a major success in several other countries. It contains blues verses with a

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

chorus. Myles won the 1991 Grammy for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance for the song and the 1990 Juno Award for Single of the Year. Since its release, the song has received substantial airplay, receiving a "Millionaire Award" from ASCAP in 2005 for more than four million radio plays.

Background and writing

The song is a

paean A paean () is a song or lyric poem expressing triumph or thanksgiving. In classical antiquity, it is usually performed by a chorus, but some examples seem intended for an individual voice ( monody). It comes from the Greek παιάν (also πα ...

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

, whose portrait was often painted on black velvet, and who used a hair dye named Black Velvet. Co-writer Christopher Ward, who was Myles' then-boyfriend, was inspired on a bus full of Elvis fans riding to Memphis attending the 10th anniversary vigil at Graceland, in 1987. Upon his return to Canada, he brought his idea to Alannah and producer David Tyson, who wrote the chords for the bridge. The song was one of three in a demo Myles presented to Atlantic Records, which eventually got her signed to the label. Atlantic Records, much to the disappointment of Myles for whom the song had been written, gave the song to country artist

Robin Lee Robin Huntington Lee (December 2, 1919 in Saint Paul, Minnesota – October 8, 1997 in Minneapolis) was an American figure skater. He was the 1935-1939 U.S. national champion. At age 12, he became the youngest skater to win the junior nationa ...

to record. In the United States, Myles' version was released in December 1989, while Lee's version was released two months later in February 1990. This led to Myles being promoted by Atlantic on the pop and rock radio stations, and Lee on the country radio stations. Lee even filmed a videoclip of the song very similar to Myles' video. Myles released a new version of the song on a digitally released Elvis tribute EP in August 2007 to commemorate the 30 years since his death. It was later included on her 2008 ''Black Velvet'' CD. The song is performed in the key of

E minor E minor is a minor scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative major is G major and its parallel major is E major. The E natural minor scale is: : Changes needed ...

, with a swinging

tempo In musical terminology, tempo ( Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (ofte ...

of 92 beats per minute in time. Myles' lead vocals span from E₃ to E₅ in the song. One aspect of the song listeners have frequently noted is the tune's distinctive fretless bassline. While a common belief holds that the melody was played using an actual

fretless bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and sc ...

, Myles' bassist for the rest of her self-titled album, Steve Webster, acknowledged in an online discussion forum that he did not perform the bassline on "Black Velvet" himself; rather, it was Tyson who played the riff on a synthesizer, using a fretless bass sample.

Reception

Critical reception

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later ...

'' described the song as "a

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 ...

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

featuring some straight-from-the-heart vocals from Miles and inspired guitar playing".

Commercial reception

As the second single of Myles' debut album, it was first released in her native Canada in July 1989. It peaked at number 10 in September of that year, becoming the first of four top-10 hits for Myles in her homeland. Worldwide, it was released as Myles' debut single. It was released in the United States in December 1989 and worldwide in early 1990, becoming a top-10 hit in most countries where it was released. It peaked at number one in four countries: Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States and received gold and platinum discs in several countries. This would go on to be her biggest hit in the US, leading to her being seen as a one-hit wonder there.

Music video

The

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

, directed by Doug Freel, was partially shot on Myles' family ranch in Buckhorn, Ontario. Myles is seen singing on a cabin porch with her guitarist, Kurt Schefter (Raving Mojos), intercut with scenes from Myles in concert with her band. The concert scene was filmed in

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between To ...

, in a bar called Stages.

Track listings

CD maxi # "Black Velvet" – 4:40 # "If You Want To" – 4:11 # "Who Loves You" – 3:36 7" single # "Black Velvet" – 4:02 # "If You Want To" – 4:11 12" maxi # "Black Velvet" – 4:40 # "If You Want To" – 4:11 # "Who Loves You" – 3:36

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Other versions

Country music artist

, also signed to Atlantic at the time, covered "Black Velvet" in 1990 on her third studio album, also titled '' Black Velvet''. Lee's version peaked at No. 12 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

) chart. Canadian-American singer-songwriter and actress

Alexz Johnson Alexzandra Spencer Johnson (born November 4, 1986) is a Canadian musician, actress, and philanthropist. Her debut album ''Voodoo'' was independently released with her brother Brendan Johnson in 2010, followed by the demo release of ''The Basem ...

performs an a cappella cover of "Black Velvet" in the 2005 film ''

Selling Innocence ''Selling Innocence'' is a 2005 television film depicting the exploitation of teenagers on the internet. The film was a co-production among the Edmonton-based television production company ImagiNation, Montreal's Cite-Amerique, and CTV, for CTV's ...

''. It is her character Angel DeSousa's swan song in a talent contest just before she is stalked and tragically murdered. ''

Idols South Africa ''Idols'' is a television show on the South African television network Mzansi Magic, and previously on M-Net, based on the popular British show ''Pop Idol''. The show is a contest to determine the best young singer in South Africa. The general ...

'' winner Anke Pietrangeli covered the song on her album ''Tribute to the Great Female Vocalists'' in 2009. "Black Velvet" has also been recorded by Valentina Gautier (as "Hey tu" _Italian), Gee Gee & Soluna featuring

Soluna Samay Soluna Samay Kettel (born 27 August 1990, Guatemala City, Guatemala) is a Guatemalan-Danish singer of Swiss and German origin based in Denmark. Samay represented Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012, Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest 2 ...

Bert Heerink Bert or BERT may refer to: Persons, characters, or animals known as Bert *Bert (name), commonly an abbreviated forename and sometimes a surname *Bert, a character in the poem "Bert the Wombat" by The Wiggles; from their 1992 album Here Comes a Son ...

(as "Rocksterren" _Dutch),

Vicky Rosti Virve Hannele "Vicky" Rosti (born 10 November 1958, Helsinki, Finland) is a Finnish singer of popular music. Her most famous songs include "Kun Chicago kuoli" (the debut single from 1975, a Finnish language cover version of " The Night Chicago Di ...

(as "Yön helmaan" _Finnish), Jackie Thomas, and

Sandi Thom Alexandria "Sandi" Thom () (born 11 August 1981) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Banff, Scotland. She became widely known in 2006 after her debut single, "I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker (With Flowers in My Hair)", t ...

. "Black Velvet" was recorded by the group The Lost Fingers "Lost in the 80s" in 2008. It was also roughed up and recorded by Canadian Rock artist Kami and released on her single "Death Toll Rising" in January 2013. In 2015, Canadian heavy metal band

Kobra and the Lotus Kobra and the Lotus (also initialized as KATL) is a Canadian heavy metal band formed in 2009 by lead vocalist and songwriter Kobra Paige. History Formation, ''Out of the Pit'' (2009–2010) Kobra and the Lotus was formed by classical sing ...

recorded the song for their first EP, entitled ''

Words of the Prophets Words of the Prophets is the first EP from Canadian heavy metal band Kobra and the Lotus. It was released on August 28, 2015 via Titan Music, and was produced by Johnny K. Background The album consists of cover songs, as a tribute to the Can ...

''. In 2021, ''X Factor'' winner

Sam Bailey Samantha Florence Bailey (born 29 June 1977) is an English pop singer who won the tenth series of ''The X Factor'' in 2013. Following her win, her debut single, a cover of Demi Lovato's "Skyscraper" was released on 15 December 2013, achieving ...

recorded the song as her rock debut. The song was released through independent record label

Saga Entertainment Saga Entertainment is an independent record label, based in London, founded in 2017 by music producers Grahame and Jack Corbyn. Artists on the label include Sam Bailey, Bargain Hunt, Shona McGarty and the Celebs, a supergroup of celebritie ...

on August 6, 2021. The song peaked at number one on the Amazon best sellers chart. In 2022,

Infected Mushroom Infected Mushroom is an Israeli musical duo formed in Haifa in 1996 by producers Erez Eisen and Amit Duvdevani. They produce and perform psytrance, electronica, dream trance and psychedelic music. They are one of the best-selling groups in I ...

released a cover of the song featuring Ninet Tayeb. It was released through record label

Monstercat Monstercat (formerly known as Monstercat Media) is a Canadian independent electronic music record label based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Founded in 2011 by Mike Darlington and Ari Paunonen, the label released music on a tri-weekly basis unt ...

and is to be featured on Infected Mushroom's ''IM25'' album.

Chart performance for Robin Lee version

References

{{Authority control 1989 songs 1989 singles 1990 singles Alannah Myles songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Black-and-white music videos Cashbox number-one singles Number-one singles in Norway Number-one singles in Sweden Number-one singles in Switzerland Robin Lee Bruce songs Songs about Elvis Presley Songs written by David Tyson Songs written by Christopher Ward (songwriter) Atlantic Records singles Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance Rock ballads 1980s ballads Juno Award for Single of the Year singles Country ballads