"Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress" (also called "Long Cool Woman" or "Long Cool Woman (in a Black Dress)") is a song written by Allan Clarke, Roger Cook, and Roger Greenaway and performed by the British rock group The Hollies. Originally appearing on the album Distant Light, it was released as a singlein April 1972 (on Parlophone in the United Kingdom), selling 1.5 million copies in the United States and two million worldwide. It reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in September 1972. Billboardranked it as the No. 24 song for 1972.
On the day "Long Cool Woman" was recorded at AIR Studios, the group's producer, Ron Richards, was ill and, as a result, the song was produced by the group. The song is different from most Hollies songs in that there are no three-part vocal harmonies, and the song features lead guitar and lead vocal work by Allan Clarke. Upon his return, Ron Richards mixed the recording.
The song was written in the swamp rock style of Creedence Clearwater Revival, in terms of the vocal, rhythm, and melodic style. It came out in the spring of 1972 (the same year Creedence split up). Clarke imitated John Fogerty's vocal style, which was based on the Creedence song "Green River". According to Clarke, the song was written "in about five minutes". When the song made its mark in America, Clarke had already left the band, but Clarke feels that "it wasn't unfortunate", since he had co-written the song. Clarke rejoined the Hollies in the summer of 1973, partly due to the success of this song.
