"Peaceful" is a song written by Kenny Rankin, and recorded by several artists. It is best known as hit singles for Georgie Fame (1969) and Helen Reddy (1973).
| "Peaceful" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 One of US reissues | ||||
| Single by Helen Reddy | ||||
| from the album I Am Woman | ||||
| B-side | "What Would They Say" | |||
| Released | January 1973[1] | |||
| Recorded | 1972 | |||
| Length | 2:50 | |||
| Label | Capitol Records | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Kenny Rankin | |||
| Producer(s) | Tom Catalano | |||
| Helen Reddy singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Introduced by Rankin on his 1967 debut album Mind Dusters on Mercury Records, "Peaceful" was recorded by Bobbie Gentry for her 1968 album Local Gentry on Capitol Records. A 1969 single recording by Georgie Fame, produced by Mike Smith and arranged/conducted by Keith Mansfield for CBS, reached number 16 in UK that summer.[2] Fame's version of "Peaceful" had a concurrent single release in the US by Epic Records, prompting Mercury to issue Rankin's original track as a single, but neither single charted.[3] "Peaceful" was also recorded in 1969 by The Friends of Distinction for their Grazin' album on RCA.
Rankin re-recorded the song in 1972, in a new arrangement for his album Like a Seed, his Atlantic Records debut and first chart appearance. That same year Helen Reddy recorded "Peaceful" for her 1972 I Am Woman album. Issued as the follow-up to the number 1 hit "I Am Woman" in February 1973, Reddy's version of "Peaceful" peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 that May. "Peaceful" also became Reddy's second consecutive number 2 Easy Listening hit: the follow-up "Delta Dawn" would be Reddy's first Easy Listening #1 (the first of six consecutive and eight overall). In Canada, "Peaceful" spent two weeks at number 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart.[4]
In September 1996 Rhino issued a retrospective Kenny Rankin album with "Peaceful" as the title cut, the full title being Peaceful: The Best of Kenny Rankin.[5]
Chart performance
editGeorgie Fame version
| Chart (1969) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK | 16 |
Helen Reddy version
References
edit- ^ "Discography". Billboard. Vol. 86, no. 31. 3 August 1974. p. 52. ISSN 0006-2510.
- ^ "Peaceful | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Official Charts.
- ^ "The Official Charts Company". Official Charts.
- ^ a b "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2015-09-01.
- ^ "AMG".
- ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2015-09-01.
- ^ Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, April 21, 1973
- ^ Bac-lac.gc.ca
- ^ Musicoutfitters.com
External links
edit- Georgie Fame - Peaceful on YouTube
- Helen Reddy - Peaceful on YouTube
- Song lyrics and chords, The Pittsburgh Press, July 10, 1973, p. 41
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