Only Women Bleed
Encyclopedia
"Only Women Bleed" is a song written by the musicians Alice Cooper
and Dick Wagner
. It is a ballad about a woman in an abusive marriage.
It is one of Cooper's biggest hits, reaching #1 on the Canadian RPM
national singles chart (listed as "Only Women", see below) and #12 on the U.S.
Billboard Hot 100
singles chart in 1975
. It is from his album Welcome to My Nightmare
. It was the first of several ballad
releases by Cooper that got into the top 20.
The single
was released prior to the release of Welcome to My Nightmare in the US as a shortened version of the song, and was alternatively titled "Only Women" by Atlantic Records due to protest by feminist groups. The single version of the song featured more orchestral parts than the album version.
Guns N' Roses
(who featured Cooper on their 1991 song "The Garden
") used to play this song in concert as an intro to "Knockin' on Heaven's Door
".
The song was featured on the soundtrack to Rob Zombie
's remake of Halloween
.
s of the song have been recorded by notable artists including:
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...
and Dick Wagner
Dick Wagner
Dick Wagner Dick Wagner Dick Wagner (born December 14, 1943, in Oelwein, Iowa is an American rock music guitarist and songwriter best known for his work with Alice Cooper, Lou Reed and KISS.-Performing career:...
. It is a ballad about a woman in an abusive marriage.
It is one of Cooper's biggest hits, reaching #1 on the Canadian RPM
RPM (magazine)
RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,...
national singles chart (listed as "Only Women", see below) and #12 on the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
singles chart in 1975
1975 in music
-January–April:*January 2 - New York City U.S. District Court Judge Richard Owen rules that former Beatle John Lennon and his lawyers can have access to Department of Immigration files pertaining to his deportation case....
. It is from his album Welcome to My Nightmare
Welcome to My Nightmare
Welcome to My Nightmare is the eighth album by Alice Cooper, released in 1975. This was Alice Cooper's first solo album . The cover artwork was created by Drew Struzan for Pacific Eye & Ear. Rolling Stone would later rank it as one of the "Top 100 Album Covers Of All Time".Welcome to My Nightmare...
. It was the first of several ballad
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
releases by Cooper that got into the top 20.
The single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
was released prior to the release of Welcome to My Nightmare in the US as a shortened version of the song, and was alternatively titled "Only Women" by Atlantic Records due to protest by feminist groups. The single version of the song featured more orchestral parts than the album version.
Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band, formed in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, in 1985. The band has released six studio albums, three EPs, and one live album...
(who featured Cooper on their 1991 song "The Garden
The Garden (song)
"The Garden" is a song by the rock band Guns N' Roses. It appears on the album Use Your Illusion I as track 11, and the compilation album Use Your Illusion as track 5. The song was written before the band released Appetite for Destruction, but was not included on that album...
") used to play this song in concert as an intro to "Knockin' on Heaven's Door
Knockin' on Heaven's Door
"Knockin' on Heaven's Door" is a song written and performed by Bob Dylan for the soundtrack of the 1973 film Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid. It reached #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.-Story line and song structure:...
".
The song was featured on the soundtrack to Rob Zombie
Rob Zombie
Rob Zombie is an American musician, film director, screenwriter and film producer. He founded the heavy metal band White Zombie and has been nominated three times as a solo artist for the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance.Zombie has also established a career as a film director, creating the...
's remake of Halloween
Halloween (2007 film)
Halloween is a 2007 American slasher film written, directed, and produced by Rob Zombie. The film is a remake/reimagining of the 1978 horror film of the same name, the first in the rebooted Halloween film series and the ninth Halloween film in total. The film stars Tyler Mane as the adult Michael...
.
Other recordings
Cover versionCover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
s of the song have been recorded by notable artists including:
- Carmen McRaeCarmen McRaeCarmen Mercedes McRae was an American jazz singer, composer, pianist, and actress. Considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th century, it was her behind-the-beat phrasing and her ironic interpretations of song lyrics that made her memorable...
on her 1976 album Can't Hide LoveCan't Hide Love"Can't Hide Love" was written by Skip Scarborough and was included on Earth, Wind & Fire's live album Gratitude . "Can't Hide Love" was released as a single by Columbia Records and reached #11 on the US Black and #39 on US Pop Singles charts...
. - Julie CovingtonJulie CovingtonJulie Covington is an English singer and actress, best known for recording the original version of "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina".-Career:...
on her eponymous 1978 album; it reached #12 on the UK charts when it was released as a single. - Etta JamesEtta JamesEtta James is an American blues, soul, rhythm and blues , rock and roll, gospel and jazz singer. In the 1950s and 1960s, she had her biggest success as a blues and R&B singer...
on her 1978 album Deep in the Night - Ruby TurnerRuby TurnerRuby Turner is a British R&B and soul singer, songwriter and actress. In 1967, she relocated with her family to Handsworth, Birmingham, England when she was nine years old...
on her 1986 album Live at Glastonbury - Elkie BrooksElkie BrooksElkie Brooks is an English singer, formerly a vocalist with Vinegar Joe, and later a solo artist. Elkie has been nominated twice for Brit Awards' top female singer. She is known for her powerful husky voice...
on her 1986 album No More the Fool - Lita FordLita FordLita Ford is a British-born, American rock musician and singer who was the lead guitarist for The Runaways and achieved popularity for her solo career between the 1980s and late 2000s.-Early life:...
on her 1990 album StilettoStiletto (Lita Ford album)Stilletto is the fourth studio album by rock-musician Lita Ford. It included the singles "Hungry" and "Lisa".-Track listing:# "Your Wake Up Call" – 1:59... - Favorite Angel on her 1990 album Only Women Bleed (CD single)
- SlashSlash (musician)Saul Hudson , known by his stage name Slash, is a British-American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the former lead guitarist of the American hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late 1980s and early 1990s. During his later years with Guns N'...
(Guns N' RosesGuns N' RosesGuns N' Roses is an American hard rock band, formed in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, in 1985. The band has released six studio albums, three EPs, and one live album...
) on their Use Your Illusion TourUse Your Illusion TourThe Use Your Illusion Tour was a concert tour by the rock band Guns N' Roses which ran from January 20, 1991 to July 17, 1993. It was not only the band's longest tour, but one of the longest concert tours in rock history, consisting of 194 shows in 27 countries... - John FarnhamJohn FarnhamJohn Peter Farnham, AO, formerly billed as Johnny Farnham , is an English-born Australian pop singer. He was a teen pop idol from 1964 to 1979, and has since forged a career as an adult contemporary singer. His career has mostly been as a solo artist although he briefly replaced Glenn Shorrock as...
on his 1993 album Then AgainThen Again (John Farnham album)Then Again... is a studio album by Australian singer John Farnham. The album was released in Australia on 18 October 1993, and reached #1 on the ARIA charts. It is notable along with its predecessor, Chain Reaction, for the fact that Farnham himself co-wrote most of the songs on the album, in this... - Dick WagnerDick WagnerDick Wagner Dick Wagner Dick Wagner (born December 14, 1943, in Oelwein, Iowa is an American rock music guitarist and songwriter best known for his work with Alice Cooper, Lou Reed and KISS.-Performing career:...
on his 1995 solo album Rock HitStory - Glenn Hughes, Paul GilbertPaul GilbertPaul Brandon Gilbert is an American guitarist. He is well known for his technical guitar work with Racer X and Mr...
, Bob KulickBob KulickBob Kulick is an American guitarist and Grammy Award-winning record producer, best known for his studio work with Kiss. He was born in Brooklyn, New York, and is the older brother of former Kiss lead guitarist Bruce Kulick, whom he suggested Kiss hire....
, Mike PorcaroMike PorcaroMike Porcaro is best noted as the bass player in the Grammy Award winning band, Toto.He is the middle brother of Toto members Jeff Porcaro and Steve Porcaro...
, Steve FerroneSteve FerroneSteven "Steve" Ferrone is a British drummer.He was a member of the Average White Band, and has recorded and performed with numerous other high-profile acts, including Slash, Chaka Khan, Eric Clapton, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Scritti Politti...
& Paul Taylor on the 1999 tribute album Humanary Stew: A Tribute to Alice Cooper - Etta JamesEtta JamesEtta James is an American blues, soul, rhythm and blues , rock and roll, gospel and jazz singer. In the 1950s and 1960s, she had her biggest success as a blues and R&B singer...
on her 1999 album The Heart of a WomanThe Heart of a WomanThe Heart of a Woman is an autobiography by African-American writer Maya Angelou, and was chosen as an Oprah's Book Club selection in 1997... - Audrey Turner on her 1999 album I Smell Trouble
- Tori AmosTori AmosTori Amos is an American pianist, singer-songwriter and composer. She was at the forefront of a number of female singer-songwriters in the early 1990s and was noteworthy early in her career as one of the few alternative rock performers to use a piano as her primary instrument...
as a B-side to her 2001 single "Strange Little GirlStrange Little Girl"Strange Little Girl" by The Stranglers was released in the UK in 1982 as their last single while signed to Liberty Records . By the time of release, the band had already decided to leave the label for Epic Records, and this last single was part of the severance deal, along with the compilation...
" - LunaLuna (band)Luna was a dream pop/indie pop band formed in 1991 by Dean Wareham after the breakup of Galaxie 500, with Stanley Demeski and Justin Harwood...
B-side on the Lovedust single 2002 - The Chris Farlowe Band on his 2004 album Rock N Roll Soldier
- Madeleine MartinMadeleine MartinMadeleine Elizabeth Martin plays the character Rebecca "Becca" Moody on Showtime comedy-drama Californication. She is a student at the School of American Ballet.-Career:...
for 2007 CalifornicationCalifornication (TV series)Californication is an American comedy-drama that premiered on Showtime on August 13, 2007. The show was created by Tom Kapinos. The protagonist, Hank Moody , is a troubled novelist whose move to California, coupled with his writer's block, complicates his relationships with his longtime girlfriend... - Wensday on her 2007 album Torch Rock
- Tina ArenaTina ArenaFilippina Lydia "Tina" Arena is an Australian singer, songwriter and musical theatre actress. She has won several awards, most notably 6 ARIA Awards and in both 1996 and 2000 she received the World Music Award for the world's best selling Australian artist...
on her 2008 album Songs of Love & Loss II