"Woman's Gotta Have It" is a song written by Darryl Carter,

Bobby Womack Robert Dwayne Womack ( ; March 4, 1944 – June 27, 2014) was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. Starting in the early 1950s as the lead singer of his family musical group the Valentinos and as Sam Cooke's backing guitarist, Womack's ...

and

Linda Womack Linda Womack (née Cooke; born April 25, 1953), now known as Zeriiya Zekkariyas, is an American singer and songwriter. She is the daughter of soul singer Sam Cooke. She later had a successful career as half of the duo Womack & Womack with her h ...

. The song was recorded at American Sound Studio in Memphis, Tennessee.

Song background

The idea for the song came from a marital situation that Darryl Carter knew of where the wife was about to "tip out" on an unresponsive husband. allmusic/ref> Carter and Linda Womack (the daughter of

Sam Cooke Samuel Cooke (; January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964) was an American singer and songwriter. Considered one of the most influential soul music, soul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred to as the "King of Soul" for his distin ...

and one-time stepdaughter of Bobby who later married Bobby's brother, Cecil) originally wrote the song with

Jackie Wilson Jack Leroy "Jackie" Wilson Jr. (June 9, 1934 – January 21, 1984) was an American singer who was a prominent figure in the transition of rhythm and blues into soul. Nicknamed "Mr. Excitement", he was considered a master showman and one of th ...

in mind.

Chart performance

Released as a single from Bobby's 1972 album ''

Understanding Understanding is a cognitive process related to an abstract or physical object, such as a person, situation, or message whereby one is able to use concepts to model that object. Understanding is a relation between the knower and an object of u ...

'', it reached number one on the

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

and peaked at number 60 on the

pop chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include re ...

in the US.

Wendy Matthews' version

Australian recording artist

Wendy Matthews Wendy Joan Matthews (born 13 January 1960) is a Canadian-born Australian singer-songwriter who has been a member of Models (band), Models and Absent Friends (band), Absent Friends and is a solo artist. She released Top 20 hit singles in th ...

released a version of the song in January 1991 as the second single from her debut solo

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

, ''

Émigré An ''émigré'' () is a person who has emigrated, often with a connotation of political or social exile or self-exile. The word is the past participle of the French verb ''émigrer'' meaning "to emigrate". French Huguenots Many French Huguenot ...

''. The song peaked at number 34 on the ARIA Charts.

Track listing

CD/7" single # "Woman's Gotta Have It" - 4:21 # "Acid Rain" - 3:27 12" single # "Woman's Gotta Have It" (Club Mix) # "Acid Rain" # "Woman's Gotta Have It" (Club Dub) # "Token Angels"

Charts

Other versions

*The song was covered by

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. Taylor achieved his breakthrough in 1970 with the single "Fi ...

and included on Taylor's 1976 album '' In the Pocket''. ''

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 ...

'' critic Kit Rachlis described this version as "listless." On the other hand, ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

'' said that "Taylor's breezy vocal sound suits material like this Bobby Womack number perfectly." *It has also been covered by

Nona Gaye Nona Aisha Gaye (born September 4, 1974) is an American singer-songwriter, former fashion model, and retired actress. The daughter of singer Marvin Gaye and maternal granddaughter of jazz musician Slim Gaillard, Gaye began her career as a vocali ...

for the compilation ''1-800-NEW FUNK'' *

The Neville Brothers The Neville Brothers were an American R&B/soul/funk group, formed in 1976 in New Orleans, Louisiana. History The group notion started in 1976, when the four brothers of the Neville family, Art (1937–2019), Charles (1938–2018), Aaron (b. 19 ...

on their: "Live At Tipitina's, September 24, 1982" LP *

K-Ci Cedric Renard Hailey (born September 2, 1969), known professionally as K-Ci (formerly Little Cedric as a member of Little Cedric and the Hailey Singers), is an American singer, songwriter and member of K-Ci & JoJo and Jodeci. Although Hailey i ...

covered it on his 2006 album "My Book" *

Taylor Hicks Taylor Reuben Hicks (born October 7, 1976) is an American singer who won the American Idol (season 5), fifth season of ''American Idol'' in May 2006. Hicks got his start as a professional musician in his late teens and performed around the Sout ...

on his 2009 album '' The Distance'', and

Calvin Richardson Calvin Richardson (born December 16, 1976) is an American R&B singer-songwriter. He signed with Universal Motown Records to release his debut studio album, ''Country Boy'' (1999). His second album, '' 2:35 PM'' (2003), was released by Hollywoo ...

References

1972 songs 1972 singles 1991 singles 1977 singles Bobby Womack songs James Taylor songs Wendy Matthews songs Songs written by Bobby Womack Songs written by Linda Womack Song recordings produced by Bobby Womack United Artists Records singles {{1970s-R&B-song-stub