Mujer calva

« Bald Headed Woman » es una canción tradicional de blues, ^{[ 1 ]} versionada por la banda de rock inglesa The Kinks en su álbum debut homónimo de 1964. ^{[ 2 ]} Otra banda de rock británica, The Who , la grabó en 1964 como la cara B de su primer sencillo top ten « I Can't Explain ». Aparte de los artistas tradicionales de blues y folk afroamericanos como Lightnin' Hopkins y Odetta , la canción había sido versionada previamente por otros artistas pop de la época, incluido Harry Belafonte en el álbum Swing Dat Hammer de 1960. Se convirtió en un éxito número uno en Kvällstoppen para el grupo de rock sueco Hep Stars en 1965. ^{[ 3 ]}

«Bald Headed Woman» fue una de las dos canciones «escritas» por Shel Talmy para su álbum debut, The Kinks; la otra fue «I've Been Driving on Bald Mountain», de título similar. ^{[ 4 ]} Ambas eran canciones folclóricas estadounidenses, y Talmy convenció a la banda para que las grabaran para su debut. Sin embargo, desconocían que Talmy había reclamado los créditos de composición de ambas canciones (que eran de dominio público) y, como resultado, obtuvo regalías por ellas. ^{[ 5 ]}

Eran mis privilegios, una forma de participar en las regalías editoriales; simplemente eran cosas folclóricas que adapté. Viejas canciones folclóricas de dominio público.

Los Kinks no incluyeron ninguna de las dos canciones en su repertorio y fue olvidada después de ser grabada. ^{[ 5 ]} Ambas canciones están incluidas en la edición estadounidense de Kinks, You Really Got Me.

As with the Talmy-produced Kinks, the Who were persuaded to record this so that Shel Talmy could receive publishing royalties.^[1] The recording was done in the second week of November 1964.^[7] Talmy, producing the session, was assisted by studio engineer Glyn Johns.^[8]Jimmy Page also plays on the Who's version, although to a lesser extent. "It wasn't really lead," he later clarified, "Just a couple of phrases."^[9] Page played on the recording due to him owning the only fuzzbox in the UK.^[8]

The Fuzz guitar droning throughout is played by Jimmy Page; the reason being, he owned the only Fuzzbox in the country at that time. The words express my sentiments exactly – a bald headed woman would make me pretty mean, too. My favourite part of this track is the opening of the harmonica solo, where Roger puts the harmonica into his mouth the wrong way around.

Often considered one of their conventional and finest rhythm and blues recordings,^[8] "Bald Headed Woman" was first issued as the B-side of the Who's second single "I Can't Explain". The single was a hit in the UK, reaching number eight on the UK Singles Chart.^[10][11] It also gained some popularity in the US, reaching a respectable number ninety-three on the Billboard Hot 100.^[11][12] The song never got a proper album release for over twenty years, first being released on the album Who’s Missing in 1987.^[13] It has since been featured on deluxe editions of My Generation along with "I Can't Explain" and other singles of the era.^[14]

Swedish rock group Hep Stars recorded "Bald Headed Woman" as a follow-up to their smash-hit rendition of "Cadillac" on 3 June 1965. The single became the Hep Stars first to be produced by Gert Palmcrantz, who was a skilled record producer and studio engineer.^[18] Their previous recordings had been produced by their manager Åke Gerhard.^[19] "Bald Headed Woman" is also notable for being one of the Hep Stars first recordings in a professional studio, as all their previous recordings had been done in makeshift locations, including a basement of a school.^[20]

The Hep Stars rendition of "Bald Headed Woman" is an entire remake, with the bass guitar providing a significant part of the tune. Due to the composition, it was a perfect follow-up to "Cadillac" as both share similar themes, of the song slowly building up before reaching a frantic and intense climax. The song became one of the first recordings by Hep Stars to feature their tour manager Lennart Fernholm on bass guitar.^[18] He took over from official bass guitarist and Kapellmeister Lelle Hegland and is often considered the unofficial "sixth" Hep Star.^[18] Hegland does not appear on the recording at all.

Released in June 1965 by Olga Records,^[21] "Bald Headed Woman" became a smash hit on the Swedish record parade, Kvällstoppen.^[22] First entering the charts on the sixth of July 1965 at a position of eighteen, it quickly climbed to the top ten the following week, at number eight. "Bald Headed Woman" first reached the top-five on the twenty-seventh of July at number eight, and reached number one on the third of August, a position it held for two consecutive weeks. It then stayed in the top-five for an additional four weeks before dropping into the top-twenty, and it was last spotted on the fifth of October that year. In total, it was in the top-twenty for fourteen weeks, of which it spent nine in the top ten. It was similarly successful on Tio i Topp, reaching number 1 and staying on that chart for eight weeks.^[23]

Bruce Eder de AllMusic afirma que "'Bald Headed Woman' era convincentemente blusera y amenazante". ^{[ 24 ]} La canción apareció tanto en su álbum de estudio We and Our Cadillac como en una versión en vivo en su álbum en vivo Hep Stars on Stage . ^{[ 25 ] [ 26 ]}