"Oh, Pretty Woman", or simply "Pretty Woman", is a song recorded by

Roy Orbison Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist known for his distinctive and powerful voice, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. Orbison's most successful periods were ...

and written by Orbison and Bill Dees. It was released as a single in August 1964 on

Monument Records Monument Records is an American record label co-founded in 1958 by Fred Foster. Originally founded in Washington, D.C., the label moved to Nashville in 1960, and experienced success over the next two decades with a number of artists including ...

and spent three weeks at number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 from September 26, 1964, making it the second and final single by Orbison (after " Running Scared") to reach number one in the United States. It was also Orbison's third single to top the UK Singles Chart, where it spent three weeks at number one. The single version (in mono) and the LP version (in stereo on the Oribisongs LP) have slightly differing lyrics. The LP version with the intended lyric: "come ''with'' me baby" was changed for the single to "come to me baby" as the former was considered too risque. The record ultimately sold seven million copies and marked the high point in Orbison's career. In October 1964, the single was certified

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

. At the year's end, ''Billboard'' ranked it the number four song of 1964. "Oh, Pretty Woman" was later used for the title of the 1990 film ''

Pretty Woman ''Pretty Woman'' is a 1990 American romantic comedy film directed by Garry Marshall and written by J. F. Lawton. The film stars Richard Gere and Julia Roberts, and features Héctor Elizondo, Ralph Bellamy (in his final performance), ...

'' and its 2018 Broadway musical adaptation.

Acuff-Rose Music Acuff-Rose Music, Inc. was an American music publishing firm formed in 1942 by Roy Acuff and Fred Rose (songwriter), Fred Rose in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Currently, the company's catalog is owned by Sony Music Publishing. Early hi ...

's lawsuit over a

parody A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satire, satirical or irony, ironic imitation. Often its subject is an Originality, original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, e ...

of "Oh, Pretty Woman" by

2 Live Crew 2 Live Crew is an American hip hop group from Miami, Florida, formed in 1984. The group was originally composed of DJ Mr. Mixx (David Hobbs), Fresh Kid Ice (Christopher Wong Won), and Amazing Vee (Yuri Vielot), though its most well-known lineup ...

led to a

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

ruling establishing that parody was a valid form of

fair use Fair use is a Legal doctrine, doctrine in United States law that permits limited use of copyrighted material without having to first acquire permission from the copyright holder. Fair use is one of the limitations to copyright intended to bal ...

Overview

The title was inspired by Orbison's wife, Claudette, interrupting a conversation to announce that she was going out. When Orbison asked if she had enough cash, his co-writer Bill Dees interjected, "A pretty woman never needs any money." Orbison's recording of the song was produced by Fred Foster and engineered by Bill Porter on August 1, 1964. There were four guitar players at the session: Orbison, Billy Sanford,

Jerry Kennedy Jerry Glenn Kennedy (born 10 August 1940)Cusic, Don. (1998) "Jerry Kennedy". In ''The Encyclopedia of Country Music''. Paul Kingsbury, ed. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 277–278. is an American record producer, songwriter and guitar pla ...

, and

Wayne Moss Wayne Moss (born February 9, 1938, in South Charleston, West Virginia, United States) is an American guitar player, bassist, record producer and songwriter best known for his session work in Nashville. In 1961, Moss founded Cinderella Sound reco ...

. Sanford, who later played on sessions for

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

Don Williams Donald Ray Williams (May 27, 1939 – September 8, 2017) was an American country music singer, songwriter, and 2010 inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Country Music Hall of Fame. He began his solo career in 1971, singing p ...

, and many others, played the song's introductory guitar

riff A riff is a short, repeated motif or figure in the melody or accompaniment of a musical composition. Riffs are most often found in rock music, punk, heavy metal music, Latin, funk, and jazz, although classical music is also sometimes based ...

. Other musicians on the recording included

Floyd Cramer Floyd Cramer (October 27, 1933 – December 31, 1997) was an American pianist who became famous for his use of melodic "whole-step" attacks. He was inducted into both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. His signatur ...

on piano, Henry Strzelecki on bass,

Boots Randolph Homer Louis "Boots" Randolph III (June 3, 1927 – July 3, 2007) was an American musician. His 1963 saxophone hit " Yakety Sax" became the signature tune of ''The Benny Hill Show''. Randolph was a prolific session musician and member of the Nas ...

and

Charlie McCoy Charlie McCoy (born Charles Ray McCoy, March 28, 1941) is an American harmonica virtuoso and multi-instrumentalist in country music. He is best known for his harmonica solos on iconic recordings such as " Candy Man" ( Roy Orbison), "He Stoppe ...

on saxophones,

Buddy Harman Murrey Mizell "Buddy" Harman, Jr. (December 23, 1928 – August 21, 2008) was an American country music session musician. Career Born in Nashville, Tennessee, Harman studied music at Roy C. Knapp School of Percussion. He returned to Nashville ...

on drums, and Paul Garrison on percussion. Dees sang harmony vocals, as he did on many Orbison songs. ''

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 advertis ...

'' described the song as having a "great dance beat coupled with fine arrangement." ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is 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 ...

'' described it as "a catchy, quick-beat salute with a number of ear-catching rockin' ingredients." Orbison posthumously won the 1991

Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance was a Grammy Award recognizing superior vocal performance by a male in the pop category, the first of which was presented in 1959. It was discontinued after the 2011 Grammy season. The award wen ...

for the recording of "Oh, Pretty Woman" from his 1988

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

television special '' Roy Orbison and Friends: A Black and White Night''. In 1999, the song was inducted into the

Grammy Hall of Fame The Grammy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame to honor musical recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance. Inductees are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of ...

and was named one of the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and the ...

's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. In 2004, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' magazine ranked the song at number 224 on their "

500 Greatest Songs of All Time "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring song ranking compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2 ...

" list. On May 14, 2008, the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

selected the song for preservation in the

National Recording Registry The National Recording Registry is a list of sound recordings that "are culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant, and inform or reflect life in the United States." The registry was established by the National Recording Preservation ...

Promotional video

A promotional video for the song directed by

Stanley Dorfman Stanley Dorfman (born 24 November 1927) is a South African-born British music television director, producer, and painter. He is known as the co-creator and original producer and director of the world's longest running music television series, '' ...

was filmed on October 19, 1964, in the rooftop garden of the Derry and Toms department store in

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

, London. The clip was filmed to air on ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...

'' on October 22, as Orbison was unable to attend the show's live taping. It subsequently aired on October 29, November 12, and November 19.

Copyright issue

In 1989,

Miami bass Miami bass (also known as booty music or booty bass) is a subgenre of hip hop music that became popular in the 1980s and 1990s. The use of drums from the Roland TR-808, sustained kick drum, heavy bass, raised dance tempos, and frequently sexual ...

group

recorded "Pretty Woman", a

of "Oh, Pretty Woman", for their album '' As Clean as They Wanna Be''. The group sampled the distinctive

bassline Bassline (also known as a bass line or bass part) is the term used in many styles of music, such as blues, jazz, funk, Dub music, dub and electronic music, electronic, traditional music, traditional, and classical music, for the low-pitched P ...

from Orbison's recording, but wrote new lyrics about a hairy woman, her bald-headed friend, and their appeal to the singer, as well as denunciation of a "two-timing woman". Orbison's music publisher,

, sued 2 Live Crew on the basis that

did not permit reuse of their

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive legal right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, ...

ed material for profit. The United States

unanimously ruled in 2 Live Crew's favor in 1994, greatly expanding the doctrine of fair use and extending its protections to parodies created for profit.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Van Halen version

Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1973. Credited with restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene, Van Halen was known for their energetic live performances and the virtuosity of their guit ...

recorded a cover of "Oh, Pretty Woman" to be released as a non-album single in January 1982 before a planned hiatus. However, the single's sudden success brought pressure from

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...

to produce an entire LP; the resulting album, ''

Diver Down ''Diver Down'' is the fifth studio album by American rock band Van Halen, released on April 14, 1982, by Warner Bros. Records. It spent 65 weeks on the album chart in the United States and had, by 1998, sold four million copies in the United St ...

'', was released that April. On ''Diver Down'' and in the song's music video, "(Oh) Pretty Woman" is preceded by the instrumental "Intruder", which features frontman

David Lee Roth David Lee Roth (born October 10, 1954) is an American rock singer. Known for his wild and energetic stage persona, he was the lead vocalist of the hard rock band Van Halen for three stints: from 1974 to 1985, during 1996, and from 2006 to when ...

playing an

Electro-Harmonix Electro-Harmonix (also commonly referred to as EHX) is a New York City-based company that makes electronic audio processors and sells rebranded vacuum tubes. The company was founded by Mike Matthews in 1968. It is best known for a series of g ...

synthesizer. Roth had written "Intruder" because the video the band had filmed for "(Oh) Pretty Woman" was longer than the song's running time.

Music video

In the music video, filmed at Indian Dunes near

Valencia, California Valencia is an unincorporated community in northwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States. The area, west of Interstate 5, is expanding with residential development and already includes major commercial and industrial parks. It stra ...

, the band members appear dressed as a samurai (bassist Michael Anthony), Tarzan (drummer

Alex Van Halen Alexander Arthur Van Halen ( , ; born May 8, 1953) is an American musician who was the drummer and a co-founder of the rock band Van Halen, which was formed in 1972 by Van Halen and his younger brother Eddie Van Halen, Eddie under the name "Ma ...

), a cowboy (guitarist

Eddie Van Halen Edward Lodewijk Van Halen ( , ; January 26, 1955 – October 6, 2020) was an American musician. He was the guitarist, keyboardist, backing vocalist and primary songwriter of the rock band Van Halen, which he founded with his brother Alex V ...

), and

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

(Roth). Per a hunch-backed onlooker's request, they rescue a captive girl. It was one of the first videos banned by

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

, due to its opening sequence featuring the captive girl (played by International Chrysis) being tied up and fondled against her will by a pair of dwarves. At the end of the video, she is revealed to be a man cross-dressing. The ban was eventually lifted, as MTV Classic would later air the video.

Charts

"Oh, Pretty Woman" was Van Halen's second Top 20 hit in the United States, peaking at number 12 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and peaked at number one on the ''Billboard''

Mainstream Rock Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada. Format background Mainstream rock stations represent a cross between classic rock, active rock and alternativ ...

chart.

Sylvie Vartan version (in French)

In 1964, the song was adapted into French by Georges Aber as ''L'homme en noir'' ("The man in black") and performed by French pop singer

Sylvie Vartan Sylvie Vartan (; born Sylvie Georges Vartanian on 15 August 1944) is a Bulgarians in France, Bulgarian-French singer and actress. She is known as one of the most productive and tough-sounding yé-yé artists. Her performances often featured ela ...

and backed by her brother Eddie's orchestra, released as a single in January 1965 as a non-album single. This version presents the same narrative as the original from the woman's point of view. The single was backed by Aber's French adaption of "

Can't You See That She's Mine "Can't You See That She's Mine" is the fourth single released in the United States by the Dave Clark Five. The song was written by Dave Clark and Mike Smith, and was the Dave Clark Five's fourth Gold Record. The B-side "No Time To Lose" was tak ...

" by

the Dave Clark Five The Dave Clark Five, also known as the DC5, were an English rock and roll band formed in 1958 in Tottenham, London. Drummer Dave Clark was the group's leader, producer and co-songwriter. In January 1964, they had their first UK top-ten single, ...

, entitled ''N'oublie pas qu'il est à moi'' ("Don't forget he's mine"). Vartan's version peaked at Number 15 on the

Ultratop Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium. Ultratop is a non-profit organization, created in 1995 on the initiative of the Belgian Entertainment Association (BEA), the Belgian member organiz ...

50 charts in

Wallonia Wallonia ( ; ; or ), officially the Walloon Region ( ; ), is one of the three communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, regions of Belgium—along with Flemish Region, Flanders and Brussels. Covering the southern portion of the c ...

in March 1965. Vartan had previously covered Orbison's " Dream Baby" in French as ''Cri de ma vie'' ("Cry of my life") on her 1962 debut album '' Sylvie'', but it was not released as a single.

Charts

References

External links

* * *

Overview

Promotional video

Copyright issue

Charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Van Halen version

Music video

Charts

Sylvie Vartan version (in French)

Charts

See also

References

External links

Further reading