Gypsy Woman (Crystal Waters song)


"Gypsy Woman " is a song by American singer Crystal Waters from her debut album, Surprise. Written by Neal Conway, Waters and Nathaniel S. Hardy Jr., the song was released on April 3, 1991 as the lead single from Surprise. The song is famous for its "la da dee, la dee da" refrain and its often-sampled keyboard riff. The song is also widely regarded as one of the biggest classics of house music and has been remixed several times.
"Gypsy Woman" was a commercial success upon release, topping the charts in Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland and reaching number one on the Eurochart Hot 100, as well as US and Canadian dance charts. It reached the Top 10 in at least eight countries, including Germany, Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States, and peaked at number 11 in Australia and France.
In 2020, Slant Magazine ranked the song number 10 in their list of The 100 Best Dance Songs of All Time.

Background and release

grew up in a very musical family. Her great aunt, Ethel Waters, was a famous singer and actor in the 1940s. Waters' father was a jazz musician and her uncle was the lead saxophonist with MFSB. At age eleven, she began writing poetry and was inducted into the Poetry Society of America when she was 14, the youngest person ever to receive that honor.
After studying business and computer science at university, she worked for the Washington, D.C. government, in the computer division, issuing arrest warrants. A workmate's cousin owned a recording studio and Waters found out that it was looking for backup singers. She went to the studio, got the job and became a writer and backup singer. At a conference in Washington, D.C., she met the house-music production team Basement Boys. They wanted her to write some house songs for them while keeping her jazz influences. The first two songs she wrote were "Makin' Happy" and "Gypsy Woman".
"Gypsy Woman" was written by Waters with Neal Conway and Nathaniel S. Hardy, Jr. and was originally written for the American singer Ultra Naté, but when Waters recorded a demo herself, the production company drew up a recording contract for her on the spot and never passed the song to its intended vocalist. The song is about a homeless woman who wears make-up and thinks of herself as beautiful despite busking on a street corner. The song includes the chorus of "La da dee, la da da" and a much-sampled organ refrain. It was released as the first single from her 1991 debut album, Surprise.
Waters began working on the song after receiving beats from her producers she was supposed to write lyrics over. It was the song's heavy bass line that inspired her to riff "la da dee la da da" overtop of the rhythm, but she had trouble coming up with lyrics to match those short syllables. "I said to myself there must be someone singing it, and I thought of this woman... she used to stand downtown on the corners, and she was dressed in all black," she told the Glitterbox Radio Show in 2017.
In a 2016 interview, Waters expanded on the story behind the lyrics for the song:
Even though the sound was a huge dance hit, Crystal Waters wanted people to listen to the lyrics about homelessness. She actually was upset that they weren't listening to the lyrics. At her prompting, the record company put a label with the addition of "She's Homeless" on the cover.
A year after its release, a new version turned up on the Red Hot Organization's Red Hot + Dance AIDS fundraiser disc, gaining its remixer, Joey Negro, his first real American exposure.

Critical reception

The song received favorable reviews from most music critics. AllMusic editor Alex Henderson wrote that the song "made it clear that house music could be as socially aware as rap". He described it as a "wildly infectious treasure" and noted further that it has a "poignant and moving reflection on a homeless woman's struggle that makes its point without preaching." David Taylor-Wilson from Bay Area Reporter commented that it "will undoubtedly go down as the quintessential song of the summer." Larry Flick from Billboard noted that "inspired deep house dish has already begun to explode at club level, thanks to Waters' unique vocal and a hypnotic hook and groove crafted by hot production team the Basement Boys. Expect extensive radio action several formats momentarily." Matt Stopera and Brian Galindo from BuzzFeed said, "Problematic title. Great song. A classic." Complex noted that it is "such a mixture of vibes", adding it as "funky". Marisa Fox from Entertainment Weekly commented, "La-da-dee/la-dee-da." You just can't escape this summer's runaway hit song, the jazz-house hybrid "Gypsy Woman" by Crystal Waters. She hums in an airy, scat-like fashion about a woman "who's just like you and me but she's homeless…and she stands there singing for money." Dave Sholin from the Gavin Report commented, "Exciting and totally fresh, this track broke out of the New York club scene and found its way onto HOT 97. APD/MD Kevin McCabe reports out of the fifty 12-inches he researches each week, it debuted at #3! Kevin says response is across-the-board with teens requesting it, as well as women 30+ who call in Middays, asking for the song that goes, "Dah dah dee dah dah dah." It charts at #16, getting eight plays a day. Also debuted at #29 on KMEL and POWER 106 with adds at WTIC/FM, WIOQ/FM, and Z100 New York. Do I love it? YEAH!" Lennox Herald wrote that "Gypsy Woman" is "a detailed account of the day-to-day life of a homeless woman in Washington, DC". Music & Media noted that "this single took exactly three weeks to hit no. 1 in the UK – a hit out of the blue. The "La Da Dee La Da Da" bit of this dance track is especially and undeniably catchy. Mainland Europe is next." Reading Evening Post called it "infectious". Scott Poulson-Bryant from Spin wrote that "with its nursery-rhymish hook and accessible cultural concern, this hypnotically danceable track has insinuated itself into the pop consciousness with an almost dreamy forcefulness". Sunday World described the song as "instantly catchy".

Chart performance

It peaked at number eight on the US Billboard Hot 100 and at number two on the UK Singles Chart, and went to number one on the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. "Gypsy Woman" also earned Waters three American Music Award nominations.
When the song was coming down in the chart rankings, it appeared on the benefit album Red Hot + Dance in a new incarnation mixed by Joey Negro, who took the song into a new musical direction.
Retitled "Gypsy Woman ", the song was the highest-debuting single for a new act in the UK Singles Chart at that time – its debut at number three was later eclipsed by Gabrielle's "Dreams" entering at number two, then by Whigfield's "Saturday Night" debuting at number one.

Music video

The music video for "Gypsy Woman" was directed by Mark Pellington. It features Waters performing in front of a white background. The video starts with a completely white screen, and Waters appears in one corner shortly after. In most of the video, she wears a black suit, but some scenes also show her wearing a white suit. She has several silver earrings with crosses and ankh crosses. Occasionally a "gypsy woman" performs as the story is being told in the song. She wears a theater mask and gold gloves. The woman's eyes can't be seen. At the beginning, she holds a handheld mirror while putting on lipstick. Later she dances under a street light. Three male dancers perform in blue, green and red shirts. Throughout the video, there are shots of rotating playhouses, falling banknotes, mannequin hands hanging in threads, and spinning umbrellas, some with the chorus written on them, making the words spin with them. Towards the end, the "gypsy woman" lies on a park bench. Waters continues singing the chorus and makes the sign of the cross. A short glimpse of a burning dollhouse appears, and as Waters sings the last stanzas, the screen goes completely white again.

Impact and legacy

Slant Magazine ranked the song 10th in its 100 Greatest Dance Songs list in 2006, adding:
In 2011, The Guardian mentioned the song on their 'A history of modern music: Dance'.

Accolades

indicates the list is unordered.

Track listings

CD single
  1. "Gypsy Woman" — 3:42
  2. "Gypsy Woman" — 4:53
Slimcase international CD maxi
  1. "Gypsy Woman" — 3:53
  2. "Gypsy Woman" — 7:31
  3. "Gypsy Woman" — 4:50
CD maxi single
  1. "Gypsy Woman " – 3:42
  2. "Gypsy Woman " – 7:26
  3. "Gypsy Woman " – 7:08
  4. "Gypsy Woman " – 4:53
  5. "Gypsy Woman " – 8:07
  6. "Gypsy Woman " – 2:43
  7. "Gypsy Woman " – 7:00
  8. "Gypsy Woman " – 2:37

    Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications