| "Oh, Pretty Woman" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byRoy Orbison andthe Candy Men | ||||
| from the album Oh, Pretty Woman(non-US) | ||||
| B-side | "Yo te Amo María" | |||
| Published | August 26, 1964 (1964-08-26)Acuff-Rose Publications, Inc.[1] | |||
| Released | August 15, 1964 | |||
| Recorded | August 1, 1964[2] | |||
| Studio | Fred Foster Sound Studio, Nashville, Tennessee[2] | |||
| Genre | Rock and roll,rockabilly | |||
| Length | 2:58 | |||
| Label | Monument | |||
| Songwriters | ||||
| Producer | Fred Foster | |||
| Roy Orbison andthe Candy Men singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Audio sample | ||||
"Oh, Pretty Woman", or simply "Pretty Woman", is a song recorded byRoy Orbison and written by Orbison andBill Dees.[3] It was released as a single in August 1964 onMonument Records and spent three weeks at number one on theBillboard 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.[4] It was also Orbison's third single to top theUK Singles Chart, where it spent three weeks at number one.[5]
The single version (in mono) and the LP version (in stereo on theOrbisongs LP) have slightly differing lyrics. The LP version with the intended lyric: "comewith me baby" was changed for the single to "cometo 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.[6] In October 1964, the single was certifiedgold by theRIAA.[7] At the year's end,Billboard ranked it thenumber four song of 1964.[8]
"Oh, Pretty Woman" was later used for the title of the 1990 filmPretty Woman and its 2018Broadway musical adaptation.
Acuff-Rose Music's lawsuit over aparody of "Oh, Pretty Woman" by2 Live Crew led to aSupreme Courtruling establishing that parody was a valid form offair use.[9]
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."[10]
Orbison's recording of the song was produced byFred Foster[3] and engineered byBill Porter[11] on August 1, 1964. There were four guitar players at the session: Orbison, Billy Sanford,Jerry Kennedy, andWayne Moss.[12] Sanford, who later played on sessions forElvis Presley,Don Williams, and many others, played the song's introductory guitarriff. Other musicians on the recording includedFloyd Cramer on piano,Henry Strzelecki on bass,Boots Randolph andCharlie McCoy on saxophones,Buddy Harman on drums, and Paul Garrison on percussion.[12] Dees sang harmony vocals, as he did on many Orbison songs.[13][better source needed]Billboard described the song as having a "great dance beat coupled with fine arrangement."[14]Cash Box described it as "a catchy, quick-beat salute with a number of ear-catching rockin' ingredients."[15]
Orbison posthumously won the 1991Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for the recording of "Oh, Pretty Woman" from his 1988HBO television specialRoy Orbison and Friends: A Black and White Night. In 1999, the song was inducted into theGrammy Hall of Fame and was named one of theRock and Roll Hall of Fame's500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. In 2004,Rolling Stone magazine ranked the song at number 224 on their "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" list. On May 14, 2008, theLibrary of Congress selected the song for preservation in theNational Recording Registry.
A promotional video for the song directed byStanley Dorfman[16][17] was filmed on October 19, 1964, in the rooftop garden of theDerry and Toms department store inKensington, London. The clip was filmed to air onTop of the Pops 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.[16][17]
In 1989,Miami bass group2 Live Crew recorded "Pretty Woman", aparody of "Oh, Pretty Woman", for their albumAs Clean as They Wanna Be. The groupsampled the distinctivebassline 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,Acuff-Rose Music, sued 2 Live Crew on the basis thatfair use did not permit reuse of theircopyrighted material for profit. The United StatesSupreme Court 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.[9]
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada | — | 180,000[41] |
| Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[42] | Gold | 45,000‡ |
| Germany | — | 350,000[41] |
| Italy (FIMI)[43] | Gold | 50,000‡ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[44] | Platinum | 30,000‡ |
| Spain (PROMUSICAE)[45] | Platinum | 60,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[46] | Platinum | 680,000[41] |
| United States (RIAA)[47] | Gold | 1,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
| "(Oh) Pretty Woman" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
_Pretty_Woman_-_Van_Halen.jpg) | ||||
| Single byVan Halen | ||||
| from the albumDiver Down | ||||
| B-side | "Happy Trails" | |||
| Released | January 18, 1982 (1982-01-18)[48] | |||
| Studio | Sunset Sound Recorders,Hollywood | |||
| Genre | Hard rock | |||
| Length |
| |||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Songwriters | ||||
| Producer | Ted Templeman | |||
| Van Halen singles chronology | ||||
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| Music videos | ||||
| "(Oh) Pretty Woman" onYouTube | ||||
Van Halen 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 fromWarner Bros. Records to produce an entire LP; the resulting album,Diver Down, was released that April.
OnDiver Down and in the song's music video, "(Oh) Pretty Woman" is preceded by the instrumental "Intruder", which features frontmanDavid Lee Roth playing anElectro-Harmonix synthesizer. Roth had written "Intruder" because the video the band had filmed for "(Oh) Pretty Woman" was longer than the song's running time.[49]
 | This sectionneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Oh, Pretty Woman" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(August 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
In the music video, filmed atIndian Dunes nearValencia, California, the band members appear dressed as a samurai (bassistMichael Anthony), Tarzan (drummerAlex Van Halen), a cowboy (guitaristEddie Van Halen), andNapoleon (Roth).[50] Per a hunch-backed onlooker's request, they rescue a captive girl. It was one of the first videos banned byMTV, due to its opening sequence featuring the captive girl (played byInternational Chrysis) being tied up and fondled against her will by a pair ofdwarves. At the end of the video, she is revealed to be a man cross-dressing. The ban was eventually lifted, asMTV Classic would later air the video.[51]
"Oh, Pretty Woman" was Van Halen's second Top 20 hit in the United States, peaking at number 12 on theBillboard Hot 100,[52] and peaked at number one on theBillboardMainstream Rock chart.
| Chart (1982) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[53] | 59 |
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[54] | 40 |
| CanadaRPM Top Singles[23] | 15 |
| Italy (Musica e dischi)[55] | 40 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[54] | 28 |
| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[54] | 47 |
| UK Singles (OCC) | 47 |
| USBillboardHot 100[56] | 12 |
| USBillboardMainstream Rock | 1 |
| USCash Box Top 100[57] | 10 |
| Chart (1982) | Rank |
|---|---|
| Canada[58] | 51 |
| USTop Pop Singles (Billboard)[59] | 88 |
| USCash Box[60] | 66 |
| "L'homme en noir" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single bySylvie Vartan | ||||
| Language | French | |||
| English title | The man in black | |||
| B-side | "N’oublie pas qu’il est à moi" | |||
| Released | November 1964 | |||
| Recorded | 1964 | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 2:48 | |||
| Label | RCA Victor | |||
| Songwriters | Roy Orbison,Bill Dees,Georges Aber | |||
| Sylvie Vartan singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
In 1964, the song was adapted intoFrench byGeorges Aber asL'homme en noir ("The man in black") and performed by French pop singerSylvie Vartan and backed by her brotherEddie's orchestra, released as a single in January 1965 as a non-album single. This version presents the "man in black" as a gunfighter who may or may not return to the woman who loves him. The single was backed by Aber's French adaption of "Can't You See That She's Mine" bythe Dave Clark Five, entitledN'oublie pas qu'il est à moi ("Don't forget he's mine").[61] Vartan's version peaked at Number 15 on theUltratop 50 charts inWallonia in March 1965.[62] Vartan had previously covered Orbison's "Dream Baby" in French asCri de ma vie ("Cry of my life") on her 1962 debut albumSylvie, but it was not released as a single.
| Chart (1964–1965) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia) | 15[62] |
During the UK leg of theAmerican Heart World Tour in 2025, supporting actElliot James Reay sang what was reported to be "a brilliant cover" of Pretty Woman, even though he and his band had only two days to rehearse the song before the first show in Belfast.[63] Reay has repeatedly cited Orbison as a massive influence on his own work in interviews.[64][65]
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)three weeks simultaneously.
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