Peaceful (song)
1973 single by Helen Reddy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Peaceful" is a song written by Kenny Rankin, and recorded by several artists. It is best known as hit singles for Georgie Fame (1969) and Helen Reddy (1973).
| "Peaceful" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
One of US reissues | ||||
| Single by Helen Reddy | ||||
| from the album I Am Woman | ||||
| B-side | "What Would They Say" | |||
| Released | January 1973[1] | |||
| Recorded | 1972 | |||
| Length | 2:50 | |||
| Label | Capitol Records | |||
| Songwriter | Kenny Rankin | |||
| Producer | Tom Catalano | |||
| Helen Reddy singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Introduced by Rankin on his 1967 debut album Mind Dusters on Mercury Records, "Peaceful" was recorded by Bobbie Gentry for her 1968 album Local Gentry on Capitol Records. A 1969 single recording by Georgie Fame, produced by Mike Smith and arranged/conducted by Keith Mansfield for CBS, reached number 16 in the UK that summer.[2] Fame's version of "Peaceful" had a concurrent single release in the US by Epic Records, prompting Mercury to issue Rankin's original track as a single, but neither single charted.[3] "Peaceful" was also recorded in 1969 by the Friends of Distinction for their Grazin' album on RCA.
Rankin re-recorded the song in 1972, in a new arrangement for his album Like a Seed, his Atlantic Records debut and first chart appearance. That same year, Helen Reddy recorded "Peaceful" for her 1972 I Am Woman album. Issued as the follow-up to the number 1 hit "I Am Woman" in February 1973, Reddy's version of "Peaceful" peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 that May. "Peaceful" also became Reddy's second consecutive number 2 Easy Listening hit: the follow-up "Delta Dawn" would be Reddy's first Easy Listening #1 (the first of six consecutive and eight overall). In Canada, "Peaceful" spent two weeks at number 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart.[4]
In September 1996, Rhino issued a retrospective Kenny Rankin album with "Peaceful" as the title cut, the full title being Peaceful: The Best of Kenny Rankin.[5]
Chart performance
Georgie Fame version
| Chart (1969) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles | 16 |
Helen Reddy version
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
|
