Stand by My Woman

"Stand by My Woman"
Single by Lenny Kravitz
from the album Mama Said
Released	September 2, 1991 (1991-09-02)[1]
Genre	Rock
Length	4:19
Label	Virgin
Songwriter(s)	Henry Hirsch, Stephen Mark Pasch, Anthony Krizan, Lenny Kravitz
Producer(s)	Lenny Kravitz
Lenny Kravitz singles chronology
"Fields of Joy" (1991) "Stand by My Woman" (1991) "What the Fuck Are We Saying?" (1991)
Music video
Lenny Kravitz - Stand By My Woman on YouTube

"Stand by My Woman" is a song recorded by American singer Lenny Kravitz and released on September 2, 1991, as the fourth single from his second studio album Mama Said.^[2][3][4][5] The song was later included as a track on his 2000 album Greatest Hits.

Critical reception

Christopher A. Daniel of Albumism said "Stand By My Woman" is "one of the album’s more remorseful moments, allowing Kravitz to be vulnerable over gospel-inspired pianos and organs."^[6] Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune wrote, "As demonstrated on "All I Ever Wanted" and "Stand by My Woman", Kravitz is particularly fond of John Lennon's Plastic Ono Band phase, in which Phil Spector's echo-laden production inflated the sparest instrumentation-simple snare beats, bell-like piano chords-around gut-wrenching vocals."^[7] Elysa Gardner of Rolling Stone stated, "Prince – a musician whose penchant for producing and playing various instruments Kravitz shares and a singer whose whisper-to-a-scream vocal style he adopts for urgent numbers like "Stand by My Woman".^[8] Caroline Sullivan from Smash Hits deemed it "a slow, serious one." She added, "This is all brooding and emotional and you can just see Len furrowing his brow as he sings. It's not as immediately catchy as the last one, but repeated listenings make you feel like you're doing something educational and mind-improving. Sort of."^[9]

Music video

The accompanying music video was directed by Lisa Bonet, his then wife, and Paul Boyd, and was included in Kravitz's first video album Video Retrospective released in 1991. The video should feature young actress Angelina Jolie^[10] but her footage was reportedly cut out.^[11] Kravitz told Us Weekly magazine, "Angelina Jolie auditioned for the lead in my Stand by My Woman video. The director passed!"^[12][13]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Henry Hirsch, Stephen Mark Pasch, Anthony Krizan, Lenny Kravitz

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Stand by My Woman"	4:19

Charts

Chart (1991)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)[14]	46
France (SNEP)[15]	36
Germany (Official German Charts)[16]	66
UK Singles (OCC)[17]	55
US Billboard Hot 100[18]	76

References

1. "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. August 31, 1991. p. 19.
2. Martinez, Richard J. (14 April 2009). The Paperback Trilogy: Struggles Through Writer's Block. AuthorHouse. p. 23. ISBN 978-1-4678-4339-3. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
3. Burnett, Robyn (2002). Crash Into Me: The World of Roswell. ECW Press. p. 182. ISBN 978-1-55022-539-6. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
4. Barrett, J. D. (12 April 2016). The Secret Recipe for Second Chances: A charming novel of second chances, delicious recipes and love. Hachette Australia. ISBN 978-0-7336-3478-9. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
5. Spiritual Journeys: How Faith Has Influenced Twelve Music Icons. Relevant Media Group. 2003. p. 197. ISBN 978-0-9729276-0-4. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
6. Daniel, Christoper A. (March 30, 2021). "Lenny Kravitz's 'Mama Said' Turns 30 | Anniversary Retrospective". Albumism. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
7. Kot, Greg (April 4, 1991). "Lenny Kravitz: Mama Said (Virgin) (STAR)(STAR)1/2 Rather than..." Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
8. Gardner, Elysa (April 18, 1991). "Lenny Kravitz: Mama Said : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2007-11-04. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
9. Sullivan, Caroline (September 4, 1991). "Reviews: Singles". Smash Hits. p. 43. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
10. "Birthday special: 10 interesting facts about Angelina Jolie". Mid-Day. Mid-Day Infomedia Limited. June 4, 2015. Archived from the original on June 15, 2015. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
11. Reid, Joe (11 May 2021). "Angelina Jolie's Forgotten Music Video Origins". Primetimer. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
12. "Angelina Jolie once auditioned for Lenny Kravitz music video". Hollywood.com. 20 November 2013. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
13. "Lenny Kravitz: 25 Things You Don't Know About Me". Us Weekly. 22 November 2013. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
14. "Lenny Kravitz – Stand by My Woman". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved July 18, 2021.
15. "Lenny Kravitz – Stand by My Woman" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved July 18, 2021.
16. "Lenny Kravitz – Stand by My Woman" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved July 18, 2021.
17. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 18, 2021.
18. "Lenny Kravitz Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved July 18, 2021.

External links

• Lenny Kravitz - Stand By My Woman on YouTube