Dark Horse (Amanda Marshall song)
"Dark Horse" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Amanda Marshall | ||||
from the album Amanda Marshall | ||||
Released | January 8, 1997 | |||
Recorded | 1995 | |||
Length | 5:37 | |||
Label | Epic | |||
Songwriter(s) | Amanda Marshall, David Tyson, Dean McTaggart | |||
Producer(s) | David Tyson | |||
Amanda Marshall singles chronology | ||||
|
"Dark Horse" is a song by Canadian pop singer Amanda Marshall. Co-written by Dean McTaggart and David Tyson, it was the fifth single released from Marshall's 1995 self-titled debut album and became another hit for her in Canada, reaching number five on the RPM Top Singles chart and peaking atop the RPM Adult Contemporary chart. It also became a minor hit in Australia and Germany. In 1997, American country music singer Mila Mason covered the song for her own debut album, That's Enough of That. Her version reached number 21 on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and number 12 on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks chart.
Critical reception[]
Colin Larkin, in The Encyclopedia of Popular Music, wrote that it was "more personal" than the other story songs on Marshall's album.[1] Jeremy Helligar of Entertainment Weekly said that Marshall "drums up momentum with the gently percussive 'Dark Horse'".[2] While not a music critic, Elton John remarked on The Rosie O'Donnell Show that "Dark Horse" was a "guaranteed hit" after he mentioned that he was listening to Amanda Marshall's album.[3]
Chart performance[]
"Dark Horse" peaked at number five on the Canadian RPM Top Singles chart on the issue of March 17, 1997.[4] The single also peaked at number one on the same publication's Adult Contemporary chart two weeks later.[5] It was the twenty-seventh most successful song of 1997 in Canada and the third-most successful adult contemporary hit of the year in the country.[6][7] The song also charted within the lower reaches on the charts of Australia and Germany, making it to numbers 70 and 93 respectively.[8][9] Despite its low peak on the German chart, it stayed in the top 100 for six nonconsecutive weeks.[9]
Track listings[]
Canadian promo CD[10]
European maxi-CD single[11]
|
UK CD single[12]
|
Charts[]
Weekly charts[]
|
Year-end charts[]
|
Mila Mason version[]
"Dark Horse" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Mila Mason | ||||
from the album That's Enough of That | ||||
B-side | "I Do"[13] | |||
Released | February 1997 | |||
Genre | Country | |||
Length | 4:59 | |||
Label | Atlantic | |||
Songwriter(s) | Amanda Marshall, David Tyson, Dean McTaggart | |||
Producer(s) | Blake Mevis | |||
Mila Mason singles chronology | ||||
|
Mila Mason's version appears on her 1996 debut album That's Enough of That. It was the second single from the album, entering the charts in February 1997.
Critical reception[]
Brian Wahlert of Country Standard Time described Mason's cover as "the least country song on the album" but said that "Mason's smoky voice works perfectly on the opening lyric […] and the pretty ensuing story of young love that lasted."[14]
Chart performance[]
Mason's version of the song spent 20 weeks on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, peaking at number 21. In Canada, it peaked at number 12 on the RPM Country Tracks charts dated for May 12, 1997.[15]
Weekly charts[]
Chart (1997) | Peak position |
---|---|
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[15] | 12 |
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[16] | 21 |
Year-end charts[]
Chart (1997) | Position |
---|---|
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[17] | 86 |
References[]
- ^ Larkin, Colin (1997). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. 5. MacMillan. p. 3477. ISBN 9780333741344.
- ^ Helligar, Jeremy (December 13, 1996). "Amanda Marshall review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 2, 2011.
- ^ "Sir Elton provided shocker". Archived from the original on November 21, 2014.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Top RPM Singles: Issue 3155." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 3162." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "RPM '97 Year End Top 100 Hit Tracks". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "RPM '97 Year End Top 100 Adult Contemporary Tracks". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c "Offiziellecharts.de – Amanda Marshall – Dark Horse" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
- ^ Dark Horse (Canadian promo CD disc notes). Amanda Marshall. Epic Records. 1997. CDNK 1208.CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
- ^ Dark Horse (European maxi-CD single liner notes). Amanda Marshall. Epic Records. 1997. EPC 664641 2.CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
- ^ Dark Horse (UK CD single liner notes). Amanda Marshall. Epic Records. 1997. EPC 664769 2.CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. p. 258. ISBN 978-0-89820-177-2.
- ^ Wahlert, Brian. "That's Enough of That review". Country Standard Time. Retrieved June 2, 2011.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Top RPM Country Tracks: Issue 3207." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. May 12, 1997. Retrieved July 17, 2013.
- ^ "Mila Mason Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
- ^ "RPM '97 Year End Top 100 Country Tracks". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
External links[]
- 1995 singles
- 1995 songs
- 1996 singles
- 1997 singles
- Amanda Marshall songs
- Atlantic Records singles
- Epic Records singles
- Mila Mason songs
- Songs written by David Tyson
- Songs written by Dean McTaggart