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The First Cut Is the Deepest
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The First Cut Is the Deepest
"The First Cut Is the Deepest" is a 1967 song written by British singer-songwriter Cat Stevens, originally released by P. P. Arnold for her album The First Lady of Immediate in April 1967. Stevens' own version originally appeared on his album New Masters in December 1967.
The song has been widely recorded and has become a hit single for six different artists: Arnold, Stevens, Keith Hampshire (1973), Rod Stewart (1977), Papa Dee (1995), and Sheryl Crow (2003).
The lyrics of "The First Cut is the Deepest" describe a person wondering if and how it is possible to love again after their first love was lost. "The first cut" of the title refers to one's first love disappointment.
Cat Stevens made a demo recording of "The First Cut Is the Deepest" in 1965, while hoping to become a songwriter. He wrote the song to promote his songs to other artists, but did not record his own performance until early October 1967 with guitarist Big Jim Sullivan, and it did not appear until his second album, New Masters, was released on 15 December 1967. The year he wrote the song, he sold it for £30 (equivalent to £510 in 2025) to P. P. Arnold, who recorded it a year later for her album The First Lady of Immediate, becoming a huge hit for her in early 1967. Over decades, it also became an international hit for Keith Hampshire, Rod Stewart, and Sheryl Crow. The song has won Stevens songwriting awards, including two consecutive ASCAP songwriting awards for Songwriter of the Year in 2005 and 2006. Stevens's version was not released as a single until 1972 when it was released as an Australia-only single in promotion of Stevens' 1970 compilation album The World of Cat Stevens.
American expatriate singer P. P. Arnold had the first hit with the song, reaching No. 18 on the UK Singles Chart with her version in May 1967, well ahead of it appearing on Stevens' album New Masters. The Arnold hit, included on her album The First Lady of Immediate, featured an up-tempo, soulful vocal set against harpsichord, horns, and strings. It also appeared in the 2012 feature film Seven Psychopaths.[citation needed]
Record World said that "this gal shouts it out and then caresses it on a big beat rocker."
Keith Hampshire had the first chart-topping hit of the song when his recording of it from his album The First Cut became a number-one hit in Canada in 1973, reaching the top of the RPM 100 national singles chart on 12 May of that year. It also topped the Canadian Adult Contemporary chart and charted in the United States, albeit outside the top 40.
Stewart recorded the song at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Sheffield, Alabama, United States, and it appeared on his 1976 album A Night on the Town. Originally released as a single in the US and in some European territories, it was released as a double A-side single with "I Don't Want to Talk About It" in the UK in April. It was a huge success, and spent four weeks at No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart in May 1977, No. 11 in April in Canada, and also reached No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. In a departure from the original, Stewart excludes the concluding "But when it comes to being loved, she's first" from the refrain. In 1993, he recorded a live version during a session of MTV Unplugged. This was included on the 1993 live album Unplugged...and Seated.
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The First Cut Is the Deepest
"The First Cut Is the Deepest" is a 1967 song written by British singer-songwriter Cat Stevens, originally released by P. P. Arnold for her album The First Lady of Immediate in April 1967. Stevens' own version originally appeared on his album New Masters in December 1967.
The song has been widely recorded and has become a hit single for six different artists: Arnold, Stevens, Keith Hampshire (1973), Rod Stewart (1977), Papa Dee (1995), and Sheryl Crow (2003).
The lyrics of "The First Cut is the Deepest" describe a person wondering if and how it is possible to love again after their first love was lost. "The first cut" of the title refers to one's first love disappointment.
Cat Stevens made a demo recording of "The First Cut Is the Deepest" in 1965, while hoping to become a songwriter. He wrote the song to promote his songs to other artists, but did not record his own performance until early October 1967 with guitarist Big Jim Sullivan, and it did not appear until his second album, New Masters, was released on 15 December 1967. The year he wrote the song, he sold it for £30 (equivalent to £510 in 2025) to P. P. Arnold, who recorded it a year later for her album The First Lady of Immediate, becoming a huge hit for her in early 1967. Over decades, it also became an international hit for Keith Hampshire, Rod Stewart, and Sheryl Crow. The song has won Stevens songwriting awards, including two consecutive ASCAP songwriting awards for Songwriter of the Year in 2005 and 2006. Stevens's version was not released as a single until 1972 when it was released as an Australia-only single in promotion of Stevens' 1970 compilation album The World of Cat Stevens.
American expatriate singer P. P. Arnold had the first hit with the song, reaching No. 18 on the UK Singles Chart with her version in May 1967, well ahead of it appearing on Stevens' album New Masters. The Arnold hit, included on her album The First Lady of Immediate, featured an up-tempo, soulful vocal set against harpsichord, horns, and strings. It also appeared in the 2012 feature film Seven Psychopaths.[citation needed]
Record World said that "this gal shouts it out and then caresses it on a big beat rocker."
Keith Hampshire had the first chart-topping hit of the song when his recording of it from his album The First Cut became a number-one hit in Canada in 1973, reaching the top of the RPM 100 national singles chart on 12 May of that year. It also topped the Canadian Adult Contemporary chart and charted in the United States, albeit outside the top 40.
Stewart recorded the song at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Sheffield, Alabama, United States, and it appeared on his 1976 album A Night on the Town. Originally released as a single in the US and in some European territories, it was released as a double A-side single with "I Don't Want to Talk About It" in the UK in April. It was a huge success, and spent four weeks at No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart in May 1977, No. 11 in April in Canada, and also reached No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. In a departure from the original, Stewart excludes the concluding "But when it comes to being loved, she's first" from the refrain. In 1993, he recorded a live version during a session of MTV Unplugged. This was included on the 1993 live album Unplugged...and Seated.