Black Velvet (song)

"Black Velvet"
Single by Alannah Myles
from the album Alannah Myles
B-side "If You Want To"
Released July 26, 1989 (Canada)
December 17, 1989 (U.S.)
February 26, 1990 (UK)
Format
Recorded October 18, 1988
Genre Blues rock
Length 4:49
Label Atlantic
Writer(s)
Producer(s) David Tyson
Certification Gold (RIAA)
Alannah Myles singles chronology
"Love Is"
(1989)		 "Black Velvet"
(1989)		 "Still Got This Thing"
(1990)

"Black Velvet" is a song written by Canadian songwriters Christopher Ward and David Tyson, recorded by Canadian singer songwriter Alannah Myles. It was released in December 1989 as one of four singles from Myles' 1989 eponymous CD from Atlantic Records. It became a number-one hit for two weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 charts in 1990 and reached number one on the Album Rock Tracks chart, as well as number ten in her native Canada and number two on the UK Singles Chart. It contains blues verses with a rock chorus.

Myles won the 1991 Grammy for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female for the song and the 1990 Juno Award for Single of the Year. Since its release, the song has received substantial airplay, receiving a "Millionaire Award" from ASCAP in 2005 for more than four million radio plays.[1]

Background and writing

The song is a paean to Elvis Presley. Co-writer Christopher Ward, who was Myles' then-boyfriend, was inspired on a bus full of Elvis fans riding to Memphis attending the 10th anniversary vigil at Graceland, in 1987. Upon his return to Canada, he brought his idea to Alannah and producer David Tyson, who wrote the chords for the bridge. The song was one of three in a demo Myles presented to Atlantic Records which eventually got her signed to the label.

Atlantic Records, much to the disappointment of Myles, for whom the song had been written, gave the song for country artist Robin Lee to record. In the USA, Myles' version was released in December 1989, while Lee's version was released two months later, in February 1990. This led to Myles being promoted by Atlantic on the pop and rock radio stations, and Lee on the country radio stations. Lee even filmed a videoclip to the song very similar to Myles' video.

Myles released a new version of the song on a digitally-released Elvis tribute EP to commemorate the 30 years since his death in August 2007. It was later included on her 2008 Black Velvet CD.

The song is performed in the key of D♯ minor with a swinging tempo of 91 beats per minute in common time. Myles' vocals span from C♯4 to D♯6 in the song.[2]

Music video

The music video, directed by Doug Freel, was partially shot in Myles' family ranch in Buckhorn, Ontario. Myles is seen singing at a cabin porch with her guitarist, intercut with scenes from Myles in concert with her band.

Release and reception

Released as Myles' second single off her debut album, it was first released in Myles' native Canada in July 1989, peaking at #10 in September of that year, becoming her first of four top 10 hits in her homeland. Worldwide, it was released as Myles' debut single. It was released in the USA in December 1989, and worldwide in early 1990, becoming a top 10 hit in most countries where it was released, and peaking at #1 in four countries: The USA, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland, receiving Gold and Platinum discs in several countries.

Track listings

CD maxi
  1. "Black Velvet" – 4:40
  2. "If You Want To" – 4:11
  3. "Who Loves You" – 3:36
7" single
  1. "Black Velvet" – 4:02
  2. "If You Want To" – 4:11
12" maxi
  1. "Black Velvet" – 4:40
  2. "If You Want To" – 4:11
  3. "Who Loves You" – 3:36

Charts and sales

Peak positions

Chart Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[3] 3
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[4] 2
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[5] 2
Canadian Top Singles (RPM)[6] 10
Denmark (Tracklisten)[7] 29
France (SNEP)[8] 24
Germany (Official German Charts)[9] 2
Ireland (Irish Singles Chart)[10] 4
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[11] 3
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[12] 3
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[13] 2
Norway (VG-lista)[14] 1
Poland (Polish Airplay Top 100)[15] 95
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[16] 1
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[17] 1
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[18] 2
US Billboard Hot 100[19] 1
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[20] 7
US Album Rock Tracks (Billboard)[21] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (1990) Position
Australian Singles Chart[22] 13
Austrian Singles Chart[23] 6
Canadian Singles Chart[24] 81
Dutch Top 40[25] 13
Swiss Singles Chart[26] 10
UK Singles Chart (OCC) 18
US Billboard Hot 100[27] 18

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
Austria (IFPI Austria)[28] Gold 25,000*
Germany (BVMI)[29] Gold 250,000^
Sweden (GLF)[30] Platinum 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[31] Silver 200,000^
United States (RIAA)[32] Gold 500,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

Preceded by
"Escapade" by Janet Jackson		 Billboard Hot 100 number-one single
March 24, 1990 – March 31, 1990 		Succeeded by
"Love Will Lead You Back" by Taylor Dayne
Preceded by
"Vogue" by Madonna		 Norwegian VG-Lista number-one single
Weeks 20–27/1990 		Succeeded by
"Om" by Niklas Strömstedt
Swedish number-one single
May 23, 1990 – June 6, 1990 		Succeeded by
"It Must Have Been Love" by Roxette
Preceded by
"The Power" by Snap!		 Swiss number-one single
June 3, 1990 – June 24, 1990 		Succeeded by
"Un'estate italiana" by Edoardo Bennato and Gianna Nannini

Other versions

"Black Velvet"
Single by Robin Lee
from the album Black Velvet
Released 1990
Format CD single
Genre Country
Length 4:43 (album version)
Label Atlantic
Writer(s) David Tyson, Christopher Ward
Producer(s) Nelson Larkin[33]
Robin Lee singles chronology
"Before You Cheat on Me Once"
(1989)		 "Black Velvet"
(1990)		 "How About Goodbye"
(1990)

Country music artist Robin Lee, also signed to Atlantic at the time, covered "Black Velvet" in 1990 on her third studio album, also titled Black Velvet. Lee's version peaked at No. 12 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) chart.

Idols South Africa winner Anke Pietrangeli covered the song on her album Tribute to the Great Female Vocalists in 2009.[34]

"Black Velvet" has also been recorded by Valentina Gautier (as "Hey tu" Italian), Gee Gee & Soluna featuring Soluna Samay, Bert Heerink (as "Rocksterren" Dutch), Vicky Rosti (as "Yön helmaan" Finnish), Jackie Thomas, and Sandi Thom.

"Black Velvet" was also roughed up and recorded by Canadian Rock artist Kami and released on her single "Death Toll Rising" on January 2013. And also by the group The Lost Fingers "Lost in the 80s" 2008.

In 2015, Canadian heavy metal band Kobra and the Lotus recorded the song for their first EP entitled Words of the Prophets.[35]

Chart performance/ Robin Lee version

Chart (1989–1990) Peak
position
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[36] 21
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard) 12

In popular culture

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Alannah Myles – About". Retrieved July 17, 2012.
  2. ↑ Tyson, David. "Alannah Myles "Black Velvet" Guitar Tab in E Minor - Download & Print". Musicnotes.com. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
  3. ↑ "Australian-charts.com – Alannah Myles – Black Velvet". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  4. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Alannah Myles – Black Velvet" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  5. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Alannah Myles – Black Velvet" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  6. ↑ "Top Singles – Volume 50, No. 22, September 25, 1989". RPM. Retrieved July 4, 2011.
  7. ↑ "Danishcharts.com – Alannah Myles – Black Velvet". Tracklisten.
  8. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Alannah Myles – Black Velvet" (in French). Les classement single.
  9. ↑ "Musicline.de – Myles,Alannah Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
  10. ↑ "Irish Singles Chart – Search for song". Irish Recorded Music Association. Archived from the original on January 5, 2010. Retrieved July 3, 2011.
  11. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 20, 1990" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40
  12. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Alannah Myles – Black Velvet" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  13. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Alannah Myles – Black Velvet". Top 40 Singles.
  14. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Alannah Myles – Black Velvet". VG-lista.
  15. ↑ "Listy bestsellerów, wyróżnienia :: Związek Producentów Audio-Video". Polish Airplay Top 100. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  16. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Alannah Myles – Black Velvet". Singles Top 100.
  17. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Alannah Myles – Black Velvet". Swiss Singles Chart.
  18. ↑ "21, 1990/ Archive Chart: April 21, 1990" UK Singles Chart.
  19. ↑ "Alannah Myles – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Alannah Myles.
  20. ↑ "Alannah Myles – Chart history" Billboard Adult Contemporary for Alannah Myles.
  21. ↑ "Mainstream Rock: Feb 17, 1990". Billboard. Retrieved December 16, 2013.
  22. ↑ 1990 Australian Singles Chart aria.com (Retrieved July 29, 2008)
  23. ↑ 1990 Austrian Singles Chart Austriancharts.at (Retrieved July 29, 2008)
  24. ↑ 1989 Canadian Singles Chart (Retrieved February 6, 2016)
  25. ↑ "Single top 100 over 1990" (pdf) (in Dutch). Top40. Retrieved April 12, 2010.
  26. ↑ 1990 Swiss Singles Chart Hitparade.ch Archived February 1, 2014, at the Wayback Machine. (Retrieved July 29, 2008)
  27. ↑ "Billboard Top 100 – 1990". Archived from the original on January 17, 2010. Retrieved 2009-09-15.
  28. ↑ "Austrian single certifications – Alannah Myles – Black Velvet" (in German). IFPI Austria. Enter Alannah Myles in the field Interpret. Enter Black Velvet in the field Titel. Select single in the field Format. Click Suchen
  29. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Alannah Myles; 'Black Velvet')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  30. ↑ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden.
  31. ↑ "British single certifications – Alannah Myles – Black Velvet". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Black Velvet in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Silver in the field By Award. Click Search
  32. ↑ "American single certifications – Alannah Myles – Black Velvet". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH
  33. ↑ Black Velvet (CD liner notes). Robin Lee. Atlantic Records. 1990. 82085-2.
  34. ↑ Anke - Tribute to the Great Female Vocalists Retrieved 10 January 2014
  35. ↑ OBRA AND THE LOTUS Premiere Sexy "Black Velvet" Video
  36. ↑ "Top RPM Country Tracks: Issue 1249." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. June 2, 1990. Retrieved August 23, 2013.
  37. ↑ "Fresh Meat Series 2 Episode 7". Channel 4. Retrieved 4 June 2014.

External links

Preceded by
"Try" by Blue Rodeo		 Juno Award for Single of the Year
1990 		Succeeded by
"Just Came Back" by Colin James
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