“The First Cut Is the Deepest” (5) is a 1967 song written by British singer-songwriter Cat Stevens. Stevens made a demo recording of “The First Cut Is the Deepest” in 1965, while hoping to become a songwriter. He wrote the song earlier to promote his songs to other artists, but did not record it as 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 in December 1967. The lyrics 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 sold the song for £30 to P.P. Arnold, an American expatriate singer who had the first hit with the song, reaching No. 18 on the Uk Singles Chart with her version in May 1967, well ahead of the song appearing on Stevens’ album. The Arnold hit featured an up-tempo, soulful vocal set against harpsichord, horns, and strings. It also appeared in the 2012 feature film Seven Psychopaths.
Jamaican singer Norma Fraser covered the song in 1967 on a Studio One recording released as the A side of the Coxsone label 45 rpm disc CS 7017. Fraser’s version was subsequently released on various Studio One compilation LPs and CDs.
Keith Hampshire had the first chart-topping hit of the song when his recording of it became a number one hit in Canada in 1973, reaching the top of the RPM 100 national singles chart in 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. It was released as a double A-side single with “I Don’t Want to Talk About it”. It was a huge success, and spent four weeks at No. 1 in the UK in May 1977, No. 11 in April in Canada, and also reached No. 21 on the Billboard 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 album Unplugged…and Seated.
Swedish musician Papa Dee recorded a reggae cover of “The First Cut Is the Deepest” in 1995. It remains his most commercially successful track and was a big hit in Europe. The single peaked at No. 5 in Sweden, No. 9 in Denmark and Norway, No. 20 in Austria, and No. 38 in Iceland. Music & Media wrote about the song: “Dee-lightfully our Swedish Papa tackles the old Cat Stevens hit in a pop dance-infused reggae style with a snappy ragga interlude. Radio, club and dub edits are available too.
Sheryl Crow’s version of “The First Cut Is The Deepest” is the first single released from her 2003 compilation album The Very Best of Sheryl Crow. It became one of Crow’s biggest radio hits, peaking at No. 14 on the US Billboard and becoming her first top 40 solo country hit following the success of her duet with Kid Rock “Picture”. The song stayed on the Hot 100 for 36 weeks and became a gold seller, also reaching No. 1 on the Billboard charts. Internationally, the song was a top-twenty success in Hungary, Ireland and New Zealand.
Finally, a version by Miranda Cosgrove. Miranda as a child, you may remember played the band manager, Summer Hathaway, in the movie ‘School of Rock’ with Jack Black. Well, she has grown into a fine singer her own right.
