Hair (Hair song) explained

"Hair" is the title song to the 1967 musical Hair and the 1979 film adaptation of the musical.

Context in the musical

The musical’s title song begins as character Claude slowly croons his reason for his long hair, as tribe-mate Berger joins in singing they "don't know."^[1] They lead the tribe, singing "Give me a head with hair," "as long as God can grow it," listing what they want in a head of hair and their uses for it. Later the song takes the tune of "The Star-Spangled Banner" with the tribe punning "Oh say can you see/ My eyes if you can/Then my hair’s too short!" Claude and Berger’s religious references continue with many a "Hallelujah" as they consciously compare their hair to Jesus’s, and if Mary loved her son, "why don’t my mother love me?"^[2] The song shows the Tribe's enthusiasm and pride for their hair as well as comparing Claude to a Jesus figure.

The Cowsills version

The song was a major hit for the Cowsills in 1969 and their most successful single. The Cowsills' version cuts out most of the religion-themed lyrics, changing "long as God can grow it" to "long as I can grow it" and removing some verses. Their version spent two weeks at number one on the Cash Box Top 100^[5] and reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100.^[6] "Hair" was kept out of the number-one spot by another song from the Hair cast album: "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" by The 5th Dimension.^[7] It also reached number one on the RPM Canadian Singles Chart.^[8]

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Chart (1969)	Peak position
	1
Canada RPM Adult Contemporary[9]	12
New Zealand [10]	1
South Africa (Springbok Radio)[11]	1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[12]	2
U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary[13]	19
U.S. Cash Box Top 100[14]	1

Year-end charts

Chart (1969)	Rank
Canada [15]	14
South Africa [16]	20
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 [17]	13
U.S. Cash Box [18]	10

Other versions

"Hair" was also covered in Australia in 1969 and released as a single by Doug Parkinson in Focus (B-side with "Without You") and was a top ten hit for him there that year.^[19]

A version by Dutch rock band Zen reached the top of the Dutch Top 40 in January 1969.^[20] A cover was released as a B-side by girl group Gilded Cage in 1969.^[21]

Appearances in media

• The title song as well as another song from the musical, "Good Morning Starshine," were featured in Mystery Science Theater 3000 in the Season 5, 8th episode "Hercules Unchained".^[22]
• On The Simpsons episode, "Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious", the song is played in the background as Marge's hair starts to fall out from stress.^[23]
• On The Simpsons episode, "D'oh-in' in the Wind", the song is played in the hippies' car as Homer wears a jester hat.^[24]
• In My Wife and Kids episode, "The Sweet Hairafter", Michael Kyle (Damon Wayans), sings the song playing his keyboard, while his hair supplement grows in.
• In 2009, the song was used in a mash-up with Beyoncé's "Crazy in Love" in the Glee season 1, episode 11, "Hairography".^[25]
• In the 2015 animated film Minions, Stuart used a "hypno hat" to hypnotize three of the palace guards while breaking into the Tower of London, and made them sing the song (in the Minion Language), dance, strip to their underwear and let their hair down.

References

CitationsSources

• Joel Whitburn, The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits (6th ed. 1996), p. 148.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Hair lyrics by Hair Cast from Hair soundtrack.. Stlyrics.com. 28 July 2017.
2. Web site: Scott Miller on Hair. Dayton. Orlok.com. 28 July 2017.
3. The Lullaby of Broadway Edition. Hit Parade Music History and Music Trivia. Slate. Molanphy. Chris. June 28, 2019. September 7, 2023.
4. Book: Doherty, Bob. Kim . Cooper. David. Smay. 2001. Bubblegum Music is the Naked Truth. The Cowsills. Feral House. Los Angeles. 58.
5. Web site: cashboxmagazine.com. cashboxmagazine.com. 28 July 2017. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120807105255/http://cashboxmagazine.com/archives/60s_files/1969.html. 7 August 2012.
6. Web site: The Cowsills Chart History: Hot 100. Billboard.com. 12 August 2021.
7. The Hot 100. Billboard. 2 January 2013.
8. Web site: Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada. Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 28 July 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170728203425/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?brws_s=1&file_num=nlc008388.6045&type=1&interval=24&PHPSESSID=bb0e7somh8osmahbvuk8ubb1u5. 28 July 2017. dead.
9. Web site: Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada . Collectionscanada.gc.ca . 1969-05-26 . 2018-12-10.
10. Web site: flavour of new zealand - search listener. Flavourofnz.co.nz. 28 July 2017.
11. Web site: SA Charts 1965–March 1989. Rock.co.za. 1 September 2018.
12. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-2002
13. Book: Whitburn, Joel . Joel Whitburn . 1993 . Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993 . Record Research . 59.
14. Web site: Cash Box Top 100 5/17/69. tropicalglen.com. 28 July 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20161002150842/http://tropicalglen.com/Archives/60s_files/19690517.html. 2 October 2016. dead.
15. Web site: Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada. Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 28 July 2017.
16. Web site: Top 20 Hit Singles of 1969. Rock.co.za. 2 September 2018.
17. Web site: Top 100 Hits of 1969/Top 100 Songs of 1969. Musicoutfitters.com. 28 July 2017.
18. Web site: Cash Box YE Pop Singles - 1969. tropicalglen.com. 28 July 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20190125055422/http://tropicalglen.com/Archives/60s_files/1969YESP.html. 25 January 2019. dead.
19. Australian Chart Book 1970-1992
20. Web site: Nederlandse Top 40 - week 1, 1969. Top40.nl . March 13, 2010. nl.
21. Web site: Gilded Cage - My Bonnie / Hair. 4 April 2022. Discogs.com. 1969 .
22. Web site: "Mystery Science Theater 3000" Hercules Unchained (TV Episode 1992). IMDb.com. 28 July 2017.
23. Web site: "The Simpsons" Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious (TV Episode 1997). IMDb.com. 28 July 2017.
24. Web site: "The Simpsons" D'oh-in' in the Wind (TV Episode 1998). IMDb.com. 28 July 2017.
25. Web site: "Glee" Hairography (TV Episode 2009). IMDb.com. 28 July 2017.