Joanna (Scott Walker song) explained

Joanna
Cover:Joanna_single_sleeve.jpeg
Type:single
Artist:Scott Walker
B-Side:Always Coming Back to You
Released:[1]
Recorded:1968
Genre:Pop
Length:3:49
Label:Philips Records
Producer:John Franz, Peter Knight
Prev Title:Jackie
Prev Year:1967
Next Title:Lights of Cincinnati
Next Year:1969

"Joanna" is a song written by the English husband and wife song-writing team Tony Hatch and Jackie Trent which was first a song for the American singer-songwriter Scott Walker in 1968. The song was Walker's second solo single in the United Kingdom. The accompaniment was directed by Peter Knight.

While credited to Hatch and Trent journalist Joe Jackson writes in his article "The Fugitive Kind" that Walker wrote a significant proportion of the lyric. Jackson quotes Walker as follows: "that whole verse about 'lived in your eyes completely' is mine and I wrote the last line in the song, 'you may remember me and change your mind.'"[2]

"Joanna" was a major hit and is one of Walker's most popular recordings spending eleven weeks on the UK Singles Chart and peaking at number 7 in June 1968. An instrumental arrangement on the song was used as the theme for Walker's BBC television series, Scott, in 1969.

The single was backed with the 1967 Scott album track "Always Coming Back to You". The accompaniment of the b-side was directed by Reg Guest. Japanese editions are backed with "The Plague", which was previously released as the b-side to "Jackie" in 1967.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 45cat – Scott Walker – Joanna / Always Coming Back To You – Philips – UK – BF 1662. 45cat. September 25, 2014.
  2. Book: Williams , Lewis . 2006. Scott Walker – The Rhymes of Goodbye. 1st. Plexus. London. 0-85965-395-1. 77.