''Am I Not Your Girl?'' is the third studio album by Irish singer

Sinéad O'Connor Shuhada' Sadaqat (born Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor; , ; 8 December 1966 – 26 July 2023) was an Irish singer, songwriter, record producer and activist. Her debut studio album, ''The Lion and the Cobra'', was released in 1987 and achieve ...

and the follow-up to the hugely successful ''

I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got ''I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got'' is the second studio album by Irish singer Sinéad O'Connor, released in March 1990 by Ensign/Chrysalis Records. It contains O'Connor's version of the Prince song " Nothing Compares 2 U", which was released a ...

''. It is a collection of covers of mostly jazz standards, which O'Connor describes as "the songs I grew up listening to ndthat made me want to be a singer". The album title comes from the song "Success Has Made a Failure of Our Home". The album is dedicated to the people of New York City and especially the

homeless Homelessness, also known as houselessness or being unhoused or unsheltered, is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and functional housing. It includes living on the streets, moving between temporary accommodation with family or friends, liv ...

whom O'Connor met at St. Mark's Place.Booklet of ''Am I Not Your Girl'' The album did not gain much critical acclaim, perhaps because O'Connor had become a major artist in the modern pop genre due to her previous album ''

'' and this album was composed of songs written from 1932 to 1978. This, coupled with the Garden State Arts Center controversy and an introduction in the album in which she mentions sexual abuse, addiction, emotional abuse, and asks "Où est le roi perdu? ranslation: "Where is the lost king?"If you're out there—I want to see you.", led to O'Connor losing much of the commercial momentum her career had built up until then. The album's promotion was marked by a controversial appearance on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'', where O'Connor tore up a photo of

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

, leading to public and media scrutiny.

Promotion

On 3 October 1992, O'Connor appeared on ''

'' as a

musical guest A musical guest is a singer, band, or other musician who makes a brief musical appearance on a television program of a non-musical nature. While some shows have a format that traditionally includes numerous performances by musical guests (such ...

, and sang the album's lead single, "Success Has Made a Failure of Our Home". She was then scheduled to sing " Scarlet Ribbons" from the album, but the day before the appearance she changed to "

War War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

", a

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981) was a Jamaican singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, he fused elements of reggae, ska and rocksteady and was renowned for his distinctive voca ...

song which she intended as a protest against

sexual abuse of children Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in sexual activities with a child (whe ...

in the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, referring to child abuse rather than racism. During the performance O'Connor wore a necklace with the

Rastafari Rastafari is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic religion that developed in Jamaica during the 1930s. It is classified as both a new religious movement and a social movement by Religious studies, scholars of religion. There is no central authori ...

star and also had a scarf with the Rastafari and

Ethiopian Ethiopians are the native inhabitants of Ethiopia, as well as the global diaspora of Ethiopia. Ethiopians constitute several component ethnic groups, many of which are closely related to ethnic groups in neighboring Eritrea and other parts of ...

colors of red, green, and gold. She then presented a photo of

to the camera while singing the word "

evil Evil, as a concept, is usually defined as profoundly immoral behavior, and it is related to acts that cause unnecessary pain and suffering to others. Evil is commonly seen as the opposite, or sometimes absence, of good. It can be an extreme ...

", after which she tore the photo into pieces, while saying "Fight the real enemy". O'Connor's action led into a public and media frenzy. NBC received more than 500 calls on Sunday, and 400 more on Monday, with all but seven criticising O'Connor; the network received 4,400 calls in total. Contrary to rumour, NBC was not fined by the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains j ...

for O'Connor's act; the FCC has no regulatory power over such behaviour. NBC did not edit the performance out of the West Coast tape-delayed broadcast that night.

Track listing

Japanese release

Three exclusive bonus tracks only appear on some copies of the original Japanese release of this album: "

My Heart Belongs to Daddy "My Heart Belongs to Daddy" is a song written by Cole Porter for the musical '' Leave It to Me!'' which premiered on November 9, 1938. It was originally performed by Mary Martin, who played Dolly Winslow, the young "protégée" of a rich newspape ...

", "Almost in Your Arms" and "

Fly Me to the Moon "Fly Me to the Moon", originally titled "In Other Words", is a song written in 1954 by Bart Howard. The first recording of the song was made in 1954 by Kaye Ballard. Frank Sinatra, Frank Sinatra's 1964 version was closely associated with the Apo ...

Personnel

*Sinéad O'Connor – vocals *Ira Siegel – guitar *David Finck – bass *David LeBolt – keyboards *

Richard Tee Richard Edward Tee (born Richard Edward Ten Ryk; November 24, 1943 – July 21, 1993) was an American jazz fusion pianist, studio musician, singer and arranger, who had several hundred studio credits and played on such notable hits as " I'll B ...

– keyboards, vocals * Chris Parker – drums * John Reynolds – drums *Gloria Agostini – harp * Jerry O'Sullivan – Uilleann pipes *

Joanie Madden Joanie Madden is an Irish-American flute and whistle player of Irish traditional music. She is best known as leader of the all-female group Cherish the Ladies, but has also recorded and performed with numerous other musicians, and as a solo art ...

– tin whistle *Gerry Niewood – tenor saxophone, clarinet *Ted Nash – tenor saxophone, clarinet * Dave Tofani – alto saxophone, flute *Dennis Anderson – alto saxophone, flute *

Ronnie Cuber Ronald Edward Cuber (December 25, 1941 – October 7, 2022) was an American jazz saxophonist. He also played in Latin, pop, rock, and blues sessions. In addition to his primary instrument, baritone sax, he played tenor sax, soprano sax, clarinet, ...

– baritone saxophone, bass clarinet *

Alan Rubin Alan Rubin (February 11, 1943 – June 8, 2011), also known as Mr. Fabulous, was an American musician. He played trumpet, flugelhorn, and piccolo trumpet. Early life and education Rubin was born in Brooklyn. He began attending Juilliard ...

– trumpet, flugelhorn *Brian O'Flaherty – trumpet, flugelhorn *Joe Shepley – trumpet, flugelhorn *

Lew Soloff Lewis Michael Soloff (February 20, 1944 – March 8, 2015) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and actor. He was a founding member of the band Blood, Sweat & Tears. Biography From his birth place of New York City, United States, he studie ...

– trumpet, flugelhorn *Robert Millikan – trumpet, flugelhorn *Birch Johnson – trombone *Jim Pugh – trombone *Keith O'Quinn – trombone *Kim Allan Cissel – trombone *George Flynn – trombone *Dave Braynard – tuba *Charles McCracken – cello *Fred Zlotkin – cello *Richard Locker – cello *Shelly Woodworth – English horn, oboe *Bob Carlisle – French horn *Fred Griffin – French horn *John Clark – French horn *Alan Martin – violin *Arnold Eidus – violin *Barry Finclair – violin *Charles Libove – violin *Donna Tecco – violin *Elena Barere – violin *Gerald Tarack – violin *Jan Mullen – violin *John Pintavalle – violin *Laura Seaton – violin *Marti Sweet – violin *Matthew Raimondi – violin *Nancy McAlhany – violin *Richard Sortomme – violin *Jesse Levine – viola *Julien Barber – viola *Lamar Alsop – viola *

David Nadien David Nadien (March 12, 1926 – May 28, 2014) was an American virtuoso violinist and violin teacher. He was the concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic from 1966 to 1970. His playing style, characterized by fast vibrato, audible shifting noise ...

– concertmaster, violin * Torrie Zito – arranger, conductor * Patrick Williams – arrangement *

Rob Mounsey Rob Mounsey (born December 2, 1952) is an American musician, composer, and arranger. Music career Mounsey was born in Berea, Ohio, and grew up in Seattle, Washington, spending a few years each in Findlay and Granville, Ohio. At the age of 17, ...

– arranger, conductor *

Doug Katsaros Doug Katsaros is an American keyboardist, arranger, composer, and conductor. Biography In 1978 he played on Paul Stanley's debut album, followed by working on albums by Richie Havens, Michael Bolton, Arc Angel, Bon Jovi and his band Balance ...

– arranger, conductor *

Sid Ramin Sidney Nathan RaminGates, Anita ''The New York Times'', July 5, 2019. Accessed April 15, 2020. (January 22, 1919 – July 1, 2019) was an American orchestrator, arranger, and composer. Life Sidney Nathan Ramin (or Sidney Norton Ramin), born in ...

– arranger, conductor

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

References

{{Authority control 1992 albums Sinéad O'Connor albums Chrysalis Records albums Albums produced by Phil Ramone 1990s covers albums 1990s in Irish music