Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves

"Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves" is a song by American singer and actress Cher from her 1971 seventh studio album Chér (eventually reissued under the title Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves). Kapp Records, a division of MCA Records, released it as the album's lead single on September 1, 1971. The song was written by Bob Stone, and produced by Snuff Garrett. Since Sonny Bono's first attempts at reviving Cher's recording career had been unsuccessful, the record company recruited Garrett as her producer and he chose Stone to write a song specifically for Cher, in order to cater to an adult audience.

"Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves"
Artwork for some 7-inch vinyl, including German, Italian and Japanese releases
Single by Cher
from the album Chér
B-side
ReleasedSeptember 1, 1971
Recorded1971
StudioLarrabee Sound Studios
(Los Angeles, California)
Genre
Length2:36
Label
Songwriter(s)Bob Stone[1]
Producer(s)Snuff Garrett
Cher singles chronology
"For What It's Worth"
(1969)		 "Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves"
(1971)		 "The Way of Love"
(1972)

"Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves" is an upbeat pop and folk rock story-song that features instrumentation from a carnival calliope and a piano with strings in the background. Cher sings from the point of view of a 16-year-old Romani girl, who was "born in the wagon of a traveling show" and describes her life. It contains themes of racism, teenage pregnancy and prostitution. The song received positive reviews by music critics, and earned Cher her first Grammy Award nomination in the Best Female Pop Vocal Performance category. Billboard defined it "one of the 20th century's greatest songs".

Commercially, it became Cher's first solo number-one single on the record charts in Canada and United States, the first single by a solo artist to rank number one on the Billboard Hot 100 at the same time as on the Canadian Singles Chart. It also reached the top five in Australia, Ireland, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and the United Kingdom. It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipment of one million copies across the United States. At the time of its release, "Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves" was the biggest-selling single in the history of MCA.

"Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves" has been performed on several episodes of The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour (1971-74) and Cher (1975-76) and also on six of Cher's world tours. The song has been recorded by a number of artists, including Vikki Carr, Vicki Lawrence and Nirvana and has appeared in or been referenced in some TV shows such as The Simpsons, The X-Files and Charmed. Along with the parent album, "Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves" has been considered a turning point in Cher's career, with critics starting to acknowledge her as an artist and credited the song for restoring her popularity, which had diminished at the end of the previous decade.

Song information

"Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves" was the first single from Chér with instrumental backing by L.A session musicians from the Wrecking Crew.[2] The album was subsequently renamed and re-released as Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves after the success of the single. The song was written by songwriter Bob Stone as a story-song called "Gypsys, Tramps and White Trash". Producer Snuff Garrett advised that the title be changed and Stone then changed it to "Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves". The album of the same name got very positive reviews.[3]

Released four years after her last top ten hit "You Better Sit Down Kids", this song was a comeback single for Cher—it was her first single in four years to chart higher than #84—not only returning her to the top 10 of the charts but also giving her two weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in November 1971. It knocked off "Maggie May" by Rod Stewart which had spent the previous month at #1. The single also reached #1 in Canada and #4 in the United Kingdom. It was the first single by a solo artist to rank number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart at the same time as on the Canadian Singles Chart. As of November 2011, Billboard reported the digital sales of "Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves" to be 212,000 in the US.[4]

The song describes the life of a girl, the song's narrator, who was "born in the wagon of a traveling show". Her mother danced to earn money, while her father would do "whatever he could", although townspeople insulted them with the pejoratives in the song's title.

The narrator's family picks up an unnamed young man in Mobile, Alabama, when the narrator is 16 and he is 21. He travels with them to Memphis, and the narrator states her father "would've shot him if he knew what he'd done", implying that she had sexual intercourse with the young man. Three months later, the narrator is a "gal in trouble", and the young man has vanished.

Echoing the beginning of the song, the narrator's own daughter "was born in the wagon of a traveling show", while the narrator herself dances "for the money they throw" and "Grandpa" — the narrator's father — continues to support them.

The title of this song has also been shown with the alternative spelling "Gypsies", this being a correct spelling of this word. The song was described by Rob Tennanbaum in Billboard magazine as one of the greatest songs of the 20th century.[5]

Live performances

Cher performed the song on the following concert tours:

Music video

The video for "Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves" was Cher's first music video. The video was a recorded performance of the song on The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour in 1971. Throughout the video Cher is singing in front of a house wagon and in front of a fire. A second video was made, but it was very similar to the original. In the second video, clips of dancing female gypsies were shown.

Remix version

In 2002, a special remix medley was created by Dan-O-Rama for a video montage that was used in Cher's Living Proof: The Farewell Tour. The medley contains the videos of "All I Really Want to Do", "Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves", "Half-Breed", and "Dark Lady".

Charts and certifications

References
  1. "Gypsys, Tramps and Thieves". Discogs.
  2. Hartman, Kent (2012). The Wrecking Crew. St. Martin’s Griffin. pp. 261–263. ISBN 978-1-250-03046-7.
  3. "Cher's Gypsys, Tramps and Thieves All Music review". All Music. Retrieved 2012-03-06.
  4. "Ask Billboard: Cher Information, Yes?". Billboard. 2011-11-05. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  5. "Cher's 'Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves': Why It's One of the 20th Century's Greatest Songs". Billboard. Retrieved 2020-02-04.
  6. Billboard. 8 January 1972. p. 27. Retrieved 2016-10-03.
  7. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 2013-11-11. Retrieved 2016-10-03.
  8. "The Hits of Cher: The Danish Hits of Cher". Cherhits.blogspot.dk. Retrieved 2016-10-03.
  9. Steffen Hung. "Cher - Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves". Dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 2016-10-03.
  10. "flavour of new zealand - search listener". Flavourofnz.co.nz. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
  11. "Palmarès de la chanson anglophone et allophone au Québec" (in French). BAnQ. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  12. "Cher | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Theofficialcharts.com. Retrieved 2016-10-03.
  13. "Cash Box Top 100 10/30/71". Archived from the original on 2019-10-01. Retrieved 2020-05-23.
  14. Australian-charts.com
  15. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016-10-03.
  16. "UK Singles (Official Charts Company) 1971 - Year End". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
  17. "1971". Longbored Surfer. Retrieved 2016-10-03.
  18. "Billboard Year-End Charts 1971" (PDF).
  19. "American single certifications – CHER – GYPSYS". Recording Industry Association of America.
  20. "Ask Billboard: Cher Information, Yes?". Billboard. 2011-11-05. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
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