She's Not There
Encyclopedia
"She's Not There" is the debut single
by the British
pop
band
The Zombies
. It reached number twelve in the UK Singles Chart
in August 1964, and became a top-ten hit in the United States. In Canada, it reached number two.
Rolling Stone
magazine ranked "She's Not There" #297 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Rod Argent
's second song
was recorded
and released in mid-1964. One of the song's most distinctive features is Argent's electric piano
sound; the instrument used was a Hohner Pianet. The backing vocals are in a folk
-influenced close-harmony style. This minor key, jazz
-tinged single was first aired in the United States
during the first week in August 1964, on New York
rock
radio station
WINS
by Stan Z. Burns, who debuted the song on his daily noontime "Hot Spot" segment, during which new songs were played. The tune began to catch on in early fall
and eventually reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100
.
(Dec 1964) and US album The Zombies
(Jan 1965).
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...
by the British
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
band
Band (music)
In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...
The Zombies
The Zombies
The Zombies are an English rock band, formed in 1961 in St Albans and led by Rod Argent, on piano and keyboards, and vocalist Colin Blunstone. The group scored a UK and US hit in 1964 with "She's Not There"...
. It reached number twelve in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
in August 1964, and became a top-ten hit in the United States. In Canada, it reached number two.
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine ranked "She's Not There" #297 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Song profile
SongwriterSongwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
Rod Argent
Rod Argent
Rod Argent is an English rock musician and a founding member of the 1960s English pop group The Zombies and the 1970s band Argent....
's second song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
was recorded
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
and released in mid-1964. One of the song's most distinctive features is Argent's electric piano
Electric piano
An electric piano is an electric musical instrument.Electric pianos produce sounds mechanically and the sounds are turned into electrical signals by pickups. Unlike a synthesizer, the electric piano is not an electronic instrument, but electro-mechanical. The earliest electric pianos were invented...
sound; the instrument used was a Hohner Pianet. The backing vocals are in a folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
-influenced close-harmony style. This minor key, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
-tinged single was first aired in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
during the first week in August 1964, on New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
WINS
WINS (AM)
WINS , known on-air as "Ten-Ten Wins", is a radio station in New York City, owned by CBS Radio. WINS's studios are in the combined CBS Radio facility at 345 Hudson Street in the TriBeCa section of Manhattan, and transmitting towers in Lyndhurst, New Jersey.WINS is one of the nation's oldest...
by Stan Z. Burns, who debuted the song on his daily noontime "Hot Spot" segment, during which new songs were played. The tune began to catch on in early fall
Autumn
Autumn is one of the four temperate seasons. Autumn marks the transition from summer into winter usually in September or March when the arrival of night becomes noticeably earlier....
and eventually reached #2 on the 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...
.
Album releases
The song was later released both on The Zombies' UK album Begin HereBegin Here
Begin Here is the debut album by the British pop rock band The Zombies, released in March 1965. The American version repeated many of the tracks from it, but, as was common in those days, deleted some cuts and substituted some others.The 1999 CD reissue on Big Beat expands the track lineup...
(Dec 1964) and US album The Zombies
The Zombies (album)
-Personnel:*Rod Argent - keyboards, vocals*Colin Blunstone - guitar, vocals*Paul Atkinson - guitar*Chris White - bass*Hugh Grundy - drums...
(Jan 1965).
Cover versions
- A French version makes a prominent, yet uncredited, appearance in "A Sting to the Tail", an October 1965 episode of BBC's Danger ManDanger ManDanger Man is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again between 1964 and 1968. The series featured Patrick McGoohan as secret agent John Drake. Ralph Smart created the program and wrote many of the scripts...
(known as "Secret Agent Man" in the US), starring Patrick McGoohanPatrick McGoohanPatrick Joseph McGoohan was an American-born actor, raised in Ireland and England, with an extensive stage and film career, most notably in the 1960s television series Danger Man , and The Prisoner, which he co-created...
. - The LitterThe LitterThe Litter was an American psychedelic and garage rock band, formed in 1966 in Minneapolis. They are best remembered for their 1967 debut single "Action Woman." The group recorded an album in 1972 but would re-unite in 1990, 1992, and again in 1998, when they recorded a new studio album consisting...
recorded it on their debut 1967 album, Distortions - The Vanilla FudgeVanilla FudgeVanilla Fudge is an American rock band. The band's original lineup – vocalist/organist Mark Stein, bassist/vocalist Tim Bogert, lead guitarist/vocalist Vince Martell, and drummer/vocalist Carmine Appice – recorded five albums during the years 1966–69, before disbanding in 1970...
included a version on their debut album in 1967. - A group named The Road covered the song in 1969, for the label Kama Sutra RecordsKama Sutra RecordsKama Sutra Records was started in 1964 by Arthur "Artie" Ripp, Hy Mizrahi and Phil Steinberg as Kama Sutra Productions, a production house. The word "Kama Sutra" is a Sanskrit terminology....
- A solo version by Colin BlunstoneColin BlunstoneColin Blunstone is an English pop singer-songwriter, best known as a member of the pop group The Zombies, and for his participation on various albums with The Alan Parsons Project.-Biography:...
under the name "Neil MacArthur" was released on the DeramDeram RecordsDeram Records was a subsidiary record label established in 1966 by Decca Records in the United Kingdom. At this time U.K. Decca was a completely different company than the Decca label in the United States, which was then owned by MCA Inc. Deram recordings were also distributed in the U.S. through...
label in 1969, reaching number 34 in the UK singles chartUK Singles ChartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. - In 1975 an all-girl band, Band of Angels released a gender reversed version: "He's Not There"http://www.yesterdayandtodayrecords.com/catalog.asp?artist=BAND+OF+ANGELS on Mums Records produced by Neil Merryweather, "heavy Girl version Zombies song, Mums 6035 ’75"
- The song was a hit again for SantanaCarlos SantanaCarlos Augusto Alves Santana is a Mexican rock guitarist. Santana became famous in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band, Santana, which pioneered rock, salsa and jazz fusion...
on their 1977 albumAlbumAn album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
MoonflowerMoonflower (album)Moonflower is a 1977 studio and live double album by Santana. The recording features both studio and live tracks, which are interspersed with one another throughout the album. It is perhaps the group's most popular live album, because Lotus did not receive a U.S. domestic release until the early...
. It peaked at #11 in the UK and #21 in Canada. - A version by the UK SubsUK SubsThe U.K. Subs are an English punk rock band, among the earliest in the first wave of British punk. Formed in 1976, the mainstay of the band has been vocalist Charlie Harper, originally a singer in Britain's R&B scene. They were also one of the first street punk bands.-Career:The U.K...
was released in 1979. - Tim CurryTim CurryTimothy James "Tim" Curry is a British actor, singer, composer and voice actor, known for his work in a diverse range of theatre, film and television productions. He currently resides in Los Angeles, California....
covered this song in 1981 on his album Simplicity. - Panic covered the song in 1982 on PRT label 259.
- Crowded HouseCrowded HouseCrowded House are a rock band, formed in Melbourne, Australia and led by New Zealand singer-songwriter Neil Finn. Finn is the primary songwriter and creative director of the band, having led it through several incarnations, drawing members from New Zealand , Australia and the United States...
recorded a version of this song in 1990, which featured in the film "The CrossingThe Crossing (1990 film)The Crossing is a 1990 Australian drama film directed by George Ogilvie and starring Russell Crowe, Robert Mammone and Danielle Spencer, which was filmed in the towns of Junee and Condobolin in New South Wales.-Box office:...
" (1990). - Finnish band Russian LoveRussian LoveRussian Love was a rock group that came from Northern Finland and was one of the first gothic rock bands in Finland to sing in English and the first one have an album released...
covered the song on their third album, Hover Jack, in 1992. - The Cruel SeaThe Cruel Sea (band)The Cruel Sea are an Australian indie rock band from Sydney formed in late 1987. Originally an instrumental-only band, they became more popular when fronted by vocalist Tex Perkins in addition to Jim Elliott on drums, Ken Gormly on bass guitar, Dan Rumour on guitar and James Cruickshank on guitar...
recorded it for the 1996 film BoysBoys (1996 film)Boys is a 1996 American film starring Winona Ryder and Lukas Haas. The film was originally titled The Girl You Want. The film earned $516,350 in the United States box office. It is based on a short story called "Twenty Minutes" by James Salter....
. - Former Top Of The PopsTop of the PopsTop of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
presenter, Mark Franklin covered this song in dance form in 1997. It features on the double CD compilation NRGx2 which was a big seller in the north of England. - The MagnetsThe MagnetsThe Magnets are a six piece British a cappella group, comprising Nicolas Doodson, Michael Welton, James Fortune, Andrew Frost, Stephen Trowell and Fraser Collins ....
covered the song on their 2001 debut album Giving It All That. - Chris SlighChris SlighCharles Christopher Sligh is an American singer; songwriter and producer who was a finalist on the sixth season of American Idol, finishing in tenth place.-Early years:...
covered the song on the 2007 season of American IdolAmerican IdolAmerican Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
. - Frank MarinoFrank MarinoFrank Marino , born November 20, 1954, in Montreal, is the guitarist and leader of Canadian hard rock band Mahogany Rush. Often compared to Jimi Hendrix, he is acknowledged as one of the best and most underrated guitarists of the 1970s.-Biography and career:After playing drums since he was five,...
& Mahogany RushMahogany RushMahogany Rush is a Canadian rock band led by guitarist Frank Marino. The band had its peak of popularity in the 1970s, playing such venues as California Jam II together with bands such as Aerosmith, Ted Nugent and Heart....
covered it instrumentally on the 2004 Real Live album. - Steve CarlsonSteve CarlsonSteven Edward Carlson is a retired American ice hockey forward and a former minor league hockey coach.Carlson was born in Virginia, Minnesota. He appeared in the movie Slap Shot as one of the Hanson Brothers...
covered the song on his 2007 album Groovin' On The Inside. - IsraeliIsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
70's1970s in musicFor music from a year in the 1970s, go to 70 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 75 | 76 | 77 | 78 | 79This article includes an overview of the major events and trends in popular music in the 1970s....
retro band Uzi Navon and Acquaintance released a Hebrew version of the song in 2009. - Jennifer Finney BoylanJennifer Finney BoylanJennifer Finney Boylan is an American author and professor at Colby College. She has openly discussed being a trans woman. Boylan's memoir, She's Not There, was published by Broadway Books in 2003. Until 2001, she published under the name James Boylan...
borrowed the song's title for her memoir "She's Not There: A Life in Two Genders", in which she discusses the song's impact on her. - The song is featured in the musical Return to the Forbidden PlanetReturn to the Forbidden PlanetReturn to the Forbidden Planet is a Jukebox musical by playwright Bob Carlton based on Shakespeare's The Tempest and the 1950s science fiction film Forbidden Planet ....
. - The Road covered the song WKBW 30 Klassics 30 album on Post Records.
- "About Her", Malcolm McLarenMalcolm McLarenMalcolm Robert Andrew McLaren was an English performer, impresario, self-publicist and manager of the Sex Pistols and the New York Dolls...
's mash-up of "She's Not There", and Bessie SmithBessie SmithBessie Smith was an American blues singer.Sometimes referred to as The Empress of the Blues, Smith was the most popular female blues singer of the 1920s and 1930s...
singing W.C. Handy's "St. Louis Blues", is prominently featured in the Quentin TarantinoQuentin TarantinoQuentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. In the early 1990s, he began his career as an independent filmmaker with films employing nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence...
filmFilmA film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, Kill BillKill BillKill Bill Volume 1 is a 2003 action thriller film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It is the first of two volumes that were theatrically released several months apart, the second volume being Kill Bill Volume 2....
. (See also: Kill Bill Volume 2 (soundtrack)Kill Bill Volume 2 (soundtrack)Kill Bill Vol. 2 Original Soundtrack is the soundtrack to the second volume of the two-part Quentin Tarantino film, Kill Bill. First released on April 13, 2004, it reached #58 on the Billboard 200 and #2 on the Billboard soundtracks chart in the US. It also reached the ARIA Top 50 album charts in...
) - TVTelevisionTelevision is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
pop band Bel's BoysBel's BoysBel's Boys refers to a pop/rock band based in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and also to a children's television program which the band feature in.-The band:...
recorded a cover versionCover versionIn 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...
of the song. - Glee (TV series)Glee (TV series)Glee is an American musical comedy-drama television series that airs on Fox in the United States, and on GlobalTV in Canada. It focuses on the high school glee club New Directions competing on the show choir competition circuit, while its members deal with relationships, sexuality and social issues...
covered the song in the February 6, 2011 episode The Sue Sylvester ShuffleThe Sue Sylvester Shuffle"The Sue Sylvester Shuffle" is the eleventh episode of the second season of the American musical television series Glee, and the 33rd episode overall. It was written by Ian Brennan, directed by Brad Falchuk, and was broadcast immediately following Super Bowl XLV on February 6, 2011...
. - Neko CaseNeko CaseNeko Case is an American singer-songwriter, best known for her solo career and her contributions as a member of the Canadian indie rock group The New Pornographers....
and Nick CaveNick CaveNicholas Edward "Nick" Cave is an Australian musician, songwriter, author, screenwriter, and occasional film actor.He is best known for his work as a frontman of the critically acclaimed rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, established in 1984, a group known for its eclectic influences and...
recorded a duet version for the 4th season premiere of the HBO series True BloodTrue BloodTrue Blood is an American television series created and produced by Alan Ball. It is based on The Southern Vampire Mysteries series of novels by Charlaine Harris, detailing the co-existence of vampires and humans in Bon Temps, a fictional, small town in the state of Louisiana...
.