| "Carrie Anne" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 US Picture Sleeve | ||||
| Single by the Hollies | ||||
| B-side | "Signs That Will Never Change" | |||
| Released | 26 May 1967 (1967-05-26) | |||
| Recorded | 1 May 1967 | |||
| Studio | EMI, London | |||
| Genre | Pop rock, soft rock | |||
| Length | 2:55 | |||
| Label |
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| Songwriter(s) | Allan Clarke, Graham Nash, Tony Hicks | |||
| Producer(s) | Ron Richards | |||
| The Hollies singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Carrie Anne" is a song written by Allan Clarke, Graham Nash, and Tony Hicks and released by British pop rock group the Hollies. It was recorded on 1 May 1967 and was released as a single in the same month by Parlophone Records in the United Kingdom and Epic Records in the United States. It became a hit in 1967, reaching No.3 on the UK Singles Chart. It was also a hit in the US and Canada, peaking at No.9 on both pop charts. It also reached No.4 in the Irish charts.
Conception and recording
According to Allan Clarke the song was written during a concert the group did with Tom Jones; Graham Nash and Tony Hicks were the main composers, with Allan Clarke supplying the lyrics for the middle eight. The introduction features vocal harmonies strongly influenced by the Beach Boys. A steelpan solo is featured, probably the first use of the instrument on a pop record. The solo (mostly a harmonized restatement of the vocal melody) was probably played by Trinidadian Ralph Richardson, though others argue it may have been Mario Gibbins. The track was recorded in only two takes on 1 May 1967 at EMI's Abbey Road Studios. The first take was a false start and can be heard on the compilation The Hollies at Abbey Road: 1966 to 1970.
Cashbox called it "a gently driving, pulsating, soft-rock venture that is likely to stir up a lot of activity with the teens".
The song is a shy tribute to Marianne Faithfull.
"Carrie Anne" appeared on the soundtrack of Michael Apted's 1974 movie Stardust. It was also used in the HBO series The Sopranos, episode "Down Neck" (Season 1, Episode 7), during one of Tony's flashbacks.
Charts
The story with Carrie Anne is that we wrote it – started it – as a song for Marianne Faithfull. We’d all seen her and we all wanted her. She was a deliciously sexy young Catholic schoolgirl with all of the baggage that comes along with that. We loved Marianne and she actually came on the road with the Hollies for a month or so... We tried to find a name that was kind of similar to Marianne and one that would not give the game away, shall we say.
–Graham Nash
| Chart (1967) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Go-Set) | 7 |
| Finland (Soumen Virallinen) | 32 |
| West Germany (GfK) | 8 |
| Ireland (IRMA) | 4 |
| Netherlands (Dutch Singles Chart) | 4 |
| Norway (VG-Lista) | 7 |
| United Kingdom (UK Singles Chart) | 3 |
| United States Billboard Hot 100 | 9 |
Cover versions
- The Slovak-language rendering "Je môj sen" was recorded in 1968 by Tatjana Hubinská.
- American singer-songwriter Tommy Keene, on his 2004 rarities compilation, Drowning—A Tommy Keene Miscellany. It was also included on the 1995 Eggbert Records release Sing Hollies in Reverse
- Ali Campbell, on his 2010 album 'Great British Songs'. It was released as a UK single on 8 November 2010
- The B-side "Signs That Will Never Change" was recorded first by the Everly Brothers, released in 1966 on the Two Yanks in England album.
- Shania Twain performed this song as a cover in her Las Vegas show, Shania: Still the One, that ran from December 2012 to December 2014.
- Game Theory recorded a live version that was included on the 2016 reissue of their album Lolita Nation.
- Claude François, in November 1967 under the French title "L'Homme au traineau"
In popular culture
Actress Carrie-Anne Moss reportedly was named (by her mother) in honour of the song, which was released three months before her birth.
References
- ^ The Hollies – Epic Anthology: From the Original Master Tapes Epic Records EGK 46161 liner notes
- ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. 10 June 1967. p. 22. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
- Jeffrey Thomas, Forty Years of Steel: An Annotated Discography of Steel Band and Pan Recordings, 1951-1991. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1992,
- "The First of the First – The Hollies – Steelpan History". When Steel Talks/PanOnTheNet. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
- Ragogna, Mike (2011). "Sex, Freedom, and Marianne Faithfull's Voice in the Afterlight of the 1960s". p. 203.
- Ragogna, Mike (2011). "Sex, Freedom, and Marianne Faithfull's Voice in the Afterlight of the 1960s". p. 203.
- "Go-Set Australian Charts –9 August 1967". Pop Archives. Archived from the original on 29 March 2007. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
- Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. p. 132. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
- "Offiziellecharts.de – Hollies, The – Carrie Anne" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. To see peak chart position, click "TITEL VON Hollies, The"
- "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Carrie Anne". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
- Steffen Hung. "The Hollies – Carrie Anne". dutchcharts.nl. Archived from the original on 25 October 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2011.
- Steffen Hung. "The Hollies – Carrie Anne". norwegiancharts.com. Archived from the original on 3 November 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2011.
- "The Hollies – Carrie-Anne". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 July 2011.
- Roch Parisien (29 August 1995). "Sing Hollies in Reverse – Various Artists | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
- "Ali Campbell: Dub been good to me". Bluesandsoul.com. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
- "Claude François – Comme D'Habitude". Discogs. November 1967. Retrieved 20 December 2020.