Hair (Hair song)

For other uses, see Hair (disambiguation).
"Hair"
Song from the album Hair
Released 1968 (1968)
Recorded May 6, 1968
Genre Rock, pop rock
Length 02:55
Label RCA
Writer(s) James Rado, Gerome Ragni
Composer(s) Galt MacDermot
Producer(s) Brian Drutman, Denis McNamara, Norrie Paramor, Andy Wiswell
Hair track listing

"I Got Life"
(9)
"Hair"
(10)
"My Conviction"
(11)
"Hair"
The end of a verse and the chorus.

"Hair"
Single by The Cowsills
B-side "What Is Happy?"
Released March 1969
Length 03:29
Label MGM
14026
Certification Gold

"Hair" is the title song to the 1968 musical Hair and the 1979 film adaptation of the musical.

Context in the musical

The musical’s title song begins as character Claude slowly croons his reason for his long hair, as tribe-mate Berger joins in singing they deem they “don’t know.”[1] They lead the tribe, singing “Give me a head with hair,” “as long as God can grow it,”[1] listing what they want in a head of hair and their uses for it. Later the song takes the tune of “The Star-Spangled Banner” with the tribe punning “Oh say can you see/ My eyes if you can/Then my hair’s too short!”[1] Claude and Berger’s religious references continue with many a “Hallelujah” as they consciously compare their hair to Jesus’s, and if Mary loved her son, “why don’t my mother love me?”[1][2] The song shows the Tribe's enthusiasm and pride for their hair as well as comparing Claude to a Jesus figure.[2]

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Chart (1969) Peak
position
Australia KMR 1
Canada RPM 1
New Zealand [3] 1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 [4] 2
U.S. Cash Box Top 100[5] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (1969) Rank
Canada [6] 14
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 [7] 13
U.S. Cash Box [8] 10

Cover versions

The song was a major hit single for The Cowsills in 1969 and their most successful single. Their version spent two weeks at #1 on the Cash Box Top 100[9] and reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100.[10] It also reached #1 on the RPM Canadian Singles Chart.[11]

The song was also covered in Australia in 1969 and released as a single by Doug Parkinson in Focus (B-side with "Without You") and was a top ten hit for him there that year.[12]

A version by Dutch rock band Zen reached the top of the Dutch Top 40 in January 1969.[13]

Appearances in media

References

  • Joel Whitburn, The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits (6th ed. 1996), p. 148.
Preceded by
"Eloise" by Barry Ryan[note 1](Dutch)
Dutch Top 40 number-one single
(Zen version)

January 4, 1969
Succeeded by
"Ain't Got No, I Got Life" by Nina Simone[note 2] (Dutch)
Preceded by
"You've Made Me So Very Happy" by Blood, Sweat & Tears
RPM Canadian Singles Chart number-one single
(The Cowsills version)

May 12, 1969
Succeeded by
"Get Back" by The Beatles
Notes
  1. "Nederlandse Top 40 - week 49, 1968". Retrieved March 13, 2010.
  2. "Nederlandse Top 40 - week 4, 1969". Retrieved March 13, 2010.
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