The Hollies - Long Cool Woman (In a Black Dress) REACTION/REVIEW 

The Hollies recorded this in the studio all by themselves because the record company producer had a tummy ache and didn't come to work that day. The entire tune definitely emulates the vocals and structure of Fogerty and Creedence.

The cool thing about this song, is that riff... It takes 3 separate guitars to pull off that simple riff. I'm a guitar player, and years of trying (before the internet lol), and years of failing to get it exactly right, I finally found out. It's really genius the way they did that. You can see it in the video. Great reaction. Thank you. 😊

Hollies came out of the 60's long before AC/DC. I always loves the Clarity or sharpness of his voice on this song.

The Hollies were an early (1962) Rock/pop band that were part of the great British Invasion in the 60/70's. Lot's of songs worth revisiting, Carousel, Carrie Ann, Bus Stop, The Air that I Breath and my favorite - He Ain't Heavy (He's my brother). Please play more...

The Hollies had a lot of hits, and this one has always been my fave. It just hits different.

I have loved this song forever. Everything about it is killer. And in that last verse, he's describing that long cool woman in a black dress that really grabbed his attention as a slinky black cat moving over to a table and so he goes up to her and then all hell breaks loose and he's got the DA pumping his left hand and she's hanging onto his right hand, and he says to her, don't worry you'll be okay, and then he basically just shrugs to the listener and says, I've got to be forgiven if I want to spend my living with a long cool woman in a black dress. At that point, all he wants to do is become her man. Love both the story and his humorous delivery, and also how he toys with us at the end, sets up a pattern of shouting She had it all! And then on the fourth one he doesn't do it and just when you're noticing that, then he comes back in almost kind of laughing andgoes Aw yeah. And he keeps doing stuff like throughout to the end of the fade-out. I never would have thought of AC DC, but I will say that an awful lot of people hear this and assume that it's Creedence Clearwater Revival, and to me there is quite a bit of similarity. Even a lot of people I know my age still think that's a Creedence song when it's The Hollies, laugh. At one point I went and bought The Hollies greatest hits and I quickly realized that this song is an outlier, but I like it the most. Still, there was an early hit from them that immediately hooked me in that kind of more simple 60s sound, it's called, Bus Stop. It is incredibly catchy and well-written. And then because I love singing so much, if you check out their song, All That I Need Is The Air That I Breathe, you will hear some of the most stunning drawn-out perfect long phrasing with the singing and the harmonies and it is so impressive. In fact, the chord sequence in it is so beautiful and haunting that decades later, the band Radiohead had probably their biggest hit Creep, that straight-out lifted whole segments of that beautiful chord progression and made it into a song, laugh. It was pretty blatant and The Hollies sued them and won.

Closest thing to a CCR song without being a CCR song.

Pretty sure the singer was describing the way the "Long Cool Woman in the Black Dress" was walking to the table. He compared her to the way a cat gracefully walks or slinks through the room of tables.

Another classic from the golden age of Rock sand Roll! It;s songs like this that brought everyone onto the dance floor...How could you resist! It's party time!

Hollies are worth diving into 🔥

This song is from SIX decades ago, older than me by five years and it is still a banger! Love this song and so glad you decided to react to it!!!❤

Yes, more Hollies please,many great songs 😎

Long Cool Woman hit number two on the Billboard Hot 100 in Sept. '72 and stayed there for two weeks. It had a very different sound from the Hollies hits of the 1960's which featured their great harmonies. With this one, they're going after the swamp rock sound of Creedence Clearwater Revival. Lead singer Alan Clarke actually sounds like he's channeling John Fogerty on the song. Play this one alongside CCR's Green River. The two sound really good together.

Air That I Breathe and He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother are 2 songs worth hearing.

One of the best male voices ever!

the hollies was a great band!!!!!, some of their other hits were; carrie-anne, bus stop, he ain't heavy he's my brother, the air that i breathe, and many others, thanks for the reaction, can't wait to hear more!!!!!

A great band, I grew up with their music. 🎶🎶🎶🎸🎸🎸👍👍👍❤️

They came out during the British Invasion. The groups were coming out when the Beatles hit in the United States. Lots of great groups came out during this time period. ❤❤❤

This song is another awesome tune🤘

The Hollies are definitely worthy of further attention. "The Air That I Breathe" from 1974 is a beauty.

Great guitar intro... the Hollies had several good tunes... check it out.

I've always loved that song. Had it on a 45 when I was a kid. Drove my folks crazy playing it over and over. That riff is 💯 badass.

"A pair of 45s made me open my eyes..." Um, I believe that's a double entendre...

I'm a 21 yr old woman and my dad's friend took me and my dad for a ride in his 70's mustang and speeded down the highway in this song when i was 16 haha, my first ever experience to both this kinda music and those cars. I was changed for life x)

This classic rock song is twice as country as anything on country music radio today. 😎🚬

The Hollies were doing their best CCR impersonation here and they did it great. One thing about them is all their famous songs sound different. They don't seem to have one signature sound. I also like The Air That I Breathe and He Ain't Heavy He's My Brother by them. But don't expect them to sound anything like this song.

Oh hell yea! She's not heavy, she's just a long cool woman.

The story conjures up the 1920's prohibition.

The Hollies came out in 1964👍

You were making me laugh during the bit about the tall walking black cat. 🙂 He was comparing the sight of her walking to the table to that of a graceful cat. He was admiring her look as she walked.

Good one JERRY. Fun group, JERRY, and they had some really cool classic hits. This one really rocks, JERRY!

I like that song because of ,like you said,of the early AC DC vibe.Good singing,good playing,good song.And good reaction.

Great reaction! Many great songs. Pretty diverse! Definitely need to try He Ain't Heavy...and I'm Alive and I Can't Let Go. Thanks Bizmatik 😊

Many years ago,I spent a lot of time unsuccessfuly trying to convince my father that this isn’t CCR. He grew up in the 60s and insisted I was wrong .

It's about a man working undercover for the FBI and he falls for a woman and gets distracted

The Hollies Grind!!!!!

A DJ on our only rock station dedicated this song to me when I was about 14. He was a friend of the family and knew this was a favorite of mine. I was never long nor cool.

I've never been in a car or at a party where this song got skipped or wasn't turned up! Cindy Falstrom just named all of my favorites and I would definitely say you should dive just a bit deeper! This song is Fire! So glad you enjoyed it! Peace!

I have the 7" vinyl sleeve of Long cool woman in a black dress signed by Tony Hicks (guitarist) and Bobby Elliott (drums). Classic record. 15 / 03 / 2023 - C

Just saw them live, and wow, they are still going strong :) (The remaining ones)

When I first heard this song I would have sworn it was CCR.........✌️

♥ this song!

The next song to react to should be...He Ain't Heavy (He's my brother) They have many good hits!

Great driving tune 😎

I love the vibe of this song....so classic.....

Great tune there "Jerry" 🤣🤣🤣

This song came out April 17, 1972

Me and my brother would play this song with a couple of our cousins. Just a get together jam session on the weekend's but we never had a vocalist so my brother always just done a very very good job on this song and never could figure out why I never heard it in the clubs I've been in with live bands

SO THIS BAND HAD ( GRAHAM NASH ) BIZ 😊 FROM CROSBY, STILLS, NASH ( CSN ) 😊

Love it! ☮️❤️😎

To my ears, it's got that swamp boogie sound. Tony Joe white comes to mind. His song .... Poke Salad Annie.

"Bus Stop" "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother"

i think this song is about a fed in 1930s chicago getting ready to raid a nightclub when he sees the title of the song...when she headed for the table SHE was the tall walkin big black cat....and he was in luv

When I was in Jr High a neighbor and I played chess most afternoons. We always had to have the Hollies playing every game. My favorite track on this 8-track was The Day That Curly Bill Shot Down Crazy Sam McGee. A lot of people panned it as a knock off of this song but I liked it. For something more relevant check out He Ain't Heavy He's My Brother.

Released April 1, 1972

Blast from the past! 🔥🥰

Thanx for the trip down memory lane. The Hollies music was very versatile, some songs were better than others. I'll pull up my library and give you a few titles later you might find worthy. By the way, missed ya brother, it's nice to be back. PEACE!!!!!

In 1962 I was 14 and this was the sh.t

In these days; FBI was sometimes used as the acronym for “Female Body Inspector”….. 🤗

This reminds me more of credence clearwater revival Biz. Especially that Guitar sound

Brother Biz is diggin' it! PEACE!!!!!!

Yes. Dive into the Hollies, the water is fine.

Oh yeah this song rocks

checkin' in.

The "Cat" was the long cool woman dressed in black--who moved like a cat and the table she was going to was the one where the singer was sitting. The reason there were sirens was because the "singer" who was working for the FBI had called in a raid and the cops showed up with the DA man who appreciated the singer's work.

The Hollies came before ACDC, so ACDC would be reminding you of the Hollies!

The Hollies were on the scene long before AC/DC

This song has more good hooks in it than nearly every other song out there. It actually began with the opening riff that a roadie allways played for his live stage sound check. The band took that riff and wrote a whole song around it. The slinky, sexy, 5'9, tall walkin' big black cat was the woman. Black dress, black cat. The lyric omits the word "like" before saying "a tall walkin' big black cat." But the word 'like' can be implied. After all, songs are abbreviated stories, and there is not enough time to sing a whole novel. Her pair of 45's opened his eyes, he was mezmerized. The guy workin for the FBI is interesting. The writer leaves it up to the listener to decide what the man's real job is. Other details are left out to keep the song brief, and that adds more mystery. And who works for the FBI? Many people. He could be a feeb, or he could be a CI. There are many reasons to be a CI stooge- maybe they got something on him and leaned on him hard to go undercover for them. If he was a feeb, even if he wasn't in his suit, gangsters would make him quick. He had to fit in with that crowd, and may have been kind of a loser. He said "I was just about to call the DA man"- yeah, right. Liar. He might have been about to piss his pants. Perhaps he was a hard luck guy who never even informed before. But he sure had his eye on that femme fatale. And who could blame him? Someone made that phone call, though. And I think whatever successful bust came out of it was a lucky accident. Like the story behind The French Connection.

the big black cat was the woman!!!!!

I would say I prefer this type of music as compared to the music that releases now in my opinion

"A pair of 45's made me open my eyes", wasn't referring to pistols, but a different pair of guns.

Do THE AIR THAT I BREATHE!

The hollies, Oasis, stone roses, new order, joy division, happy mondays, buzzcocks etc, happy to be manc

Slapback echo on that vocal

she walked up to the table like a tall walking big black cat (she was walking with a cat-like strut) charlie is the bartender giving him a fair warning that the woman is trouble. the rest makes sense after that. the cops bust in and all hell breaks loose. the song was released in 72 but takes place during prohibition in the 20s (bootleggin boozers)

Cool song

All I have to say is 🔥🔥🔥🔥

Try He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother. PEACE!!!!!

The Hollies remind me of C.C.R.

Saturday night I was downtown Working for the FBI Sittin' in a nest of bad men Whiskey bottles piling high Bootlegging boozer on the west side Full of people who are doing wrong Just about to call up the DA man When I heard this woman sing a song A pair of 45's made me open my eyes My temperature started to rise She was a long cool woman in a black dress Just-a 5'9, beautiful, tall With just one look I was a bad mess 'Cause that long cool woman had it all [Instrumental Interlude] I saw her heading to the table Like a tall walking big black cat When Charlie said I hope that you're able boy 'Cause I'm telling you she knows where it's at Then suddenly we heard the sirens And everybody started to run A-jumping out of doors and tables When I heard somebody shootin' a gun Well the DA was pumping my left hand And a-she was a-holding my right Well I told her don't get scared 'Cause you're gonna be spared I've gotta be forgivin' if I wanna spend my living With a long cool woman in a black dress Just a 5'9 beautiful tall Yeah, with just one look I was a bad mess 'Cause that long cool woman had it all Had it all Had it all

I"m not sure its a large catalog . Closer to a Leaflet. But I had their Their Greatest hits for this song only. But they have some other cool songs. Ventura Highway. Bus Stop. Are to others I remember enjoying.

Super Song

She's, The Black Cat

She had feline like (cat Like) woman on the prowl. Yes it'll be a great dive into a deep catalogue.

Well the Hollies are from Manchester England and wanted to do an american style song!

☮️💙💙💙🔥🔥😎

5'8" is a bit under American average which is nearer to 5'10". You're thinking of Peru.

These guys were before AC/DC, so maybe AC/DC was using a Hollies rift.

The Hollies were before ACDC so they couldn't have stolen it from ACDC. If anything ACDC could have been inspired by this song.

STILL, have this 45.....

Saw her walk up to yhe table with this big walking big black cat....

She had it all. Lgbtq reference.

They were trying to get a Credence Clearwater vibe with the music. The story is just a made up tale using the prohibition era as the back drop. Hollies were quite good and had a number of hit tunes from late 60s.

Hey Biz, do you have any musical talents i.e. playing an instrument or singing? I'm just curious, as much as you like music I wouldn't be surprised! Love the channel Biz. Peace out! 👍🔥🎸🇺🇸😎

He ain't heavy he's my brother

No nothing about catalog just this song

Actually, this song's sound is very CCR-influenced...

Like most reactors you've gotten things backwards, AC - DC came along after the Hollies .

Oh yea this song kicks for sure. Ull like it. No.

F-emale B-ody I-nspector