The Uncharacteristic Hit by The Hollies That Indirectly Saved the Band

The Hollies came perilously close to fading out of prominence in the early 70s. Once one of the leading lights of British rock, they watched their longtime lead singer leave the fold right as they moved to a new record label.

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But then came the unexpected release of an older song featuring their former singer, an event that suddenly reversed their fortunes. We’re talking about “Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress”, the song that pulled The Hollies from the brink.

Clarke Out

The strangeness of this tale extends back to the song’s creation. Allan Clarke, who sang lead on most Hollies’ songs, penned it with British songwriter Roger Cook. (Cook had an agreement with his songwriting partner Roger Greenaway that they’d share credit on anything one wrote separate from the other. As a result, Greenaway received a credit on this track even though he had little to do with it.)

Clarke and Cook apparently had a few drinks in them when they came up with the idea for the song. Maybe the drinks are why the two dreamed up a story set in the era of American Prohibition. Even odder, the band recorded the song without any of their trademark harmonies. And Clarke sang almost unrecognizably, mimicking the croak of CCR’s John Fogerty.

The Hollies included “Long Cool Woman (In A Black Dress)” as an album cut on their 1971 LP Distant Light. Meanwhile, Clarke, frustrated with the group’s direction, decided to leave them after the album’s release.

“Woman” Troubles

Not wanting to call it quits, the remaining Hollies hired a Swedish singer Mikael Rickfors to replace Clarke. They signed to a new label and began releasing new music in 1972. But The Hollies’ old label, EMI/Parlophone, decided to get what they could of the situation. Since they owned the rights to it, they released “Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress” as a single in early 1972.

Liking what they heard, Epic Records, which had turned down the opportunity to release Distant Light in the US initially, decided to put the album out in April 1972. “Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress” caught fire in America. It landed at No. 2, the band’s biggest-ever US hit.

That led to a bit of an awkward situation for the then-current version of The Hollies, trying to carry on with a new singer. Clarke solved the problem by deciding to return in 1973 after two albums with Rickfors failed to make much of an impact.

Behind the Lyrics of “Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress”

“Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress” comes from the perspective of an undercover FBI agent preparing to bust some bootleggers in the Prohibition era. But then he sees the titular character singing on stage, “Just a 5’9” beautiful ‘n’ tall.”

Just as he sizes her up, a raid takes place. “Jumping under doors and tables,” Clarke sings. “I heard somebody shooting a gun.” The narrator makes his choice at the end of the song. “I’ve gotta be forgiven if I wanna spend my living/With a long cool woman in a black dress,” he explains.

Not many folks likely guessed it was The Hollies when they first heard “Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress”. As it turned out, that sudden change of style indirectly saved the band from prematurely expiring.

Photo by Ivan Keeman/Redferns