"Woman's Gotta Have It" is a song written by Darryl Carter,

Bobby Womack Robert Dwayne Womack (; March 4, 1944 – June 27, 2014) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. Starting in the early 1950s as the lead singer of his family musical group the Valentinos and as Sam Cooke's backing gui ...

and Linda Womack. The song was recorded at American Sound Studio in Memphis, Tennessee.

Song background

The idea for the song came from a marital situation that Darryl Carter knew of where the wife was about to "tip out" on an unresponsive husband. allmusic/ref> Carter and Linda Womack (the daughter of

Sam Cooke Samuel Cook (January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964), known professionally as Sam Cooke, was an American singer and songwriter. Considered to be a pioneer and one of the most influential soul music, soul artists of all time, Cooke is common ...

and one-time stepdaughter of Bobby who later married Bobby's brother, Cecil) originally wrote the song with

Jackie Wilson Jack Leroy Wilson Jr. (June 9, 1934 – January 21, 1984) was an American singer and performer of the 1950s and 60s. He was a prominent figure in the transition of rhythm and blues into soul. Nicknamed "Mr. Excitement", he was considered a mas ...

in mind.

Chart performance

Released as a single from Bobby's 1972 album ''

Understanding Understanding is a psychological process related to an abstract or physical object, such as a person, situation, or message whereby one is able to use concepts to model that object. Understanding is a relation between the knower and an object ...

'', it reached number one on the

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

and peaked at number 60 on the

pop chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include re ...

in the US.

Wendy Matthews' version

Australian recording artist

Wendy Matthews Wendy Joan Matthews (born 13 January 1960) is a Canadian-born Australian singer-songwriter who has been a member of Models and Absent Friends and is a solo artist. She released Top 20 hit singles in the 1990s including " Token Angels", " ...

released a version of the song in January 1991 as the second single from her debut solo

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

, ''

Émigré An ''émigré'' () is a person who has emigrated, often with a connotation of political or social self-exile. The word is the past participle of the French verb ''émigrer'' meaning "to emigrate". French Huguenots Many French Huguenots fled Fran ...

''. The song peaked at number 34 on the ARIA Charts.

Track listing

CD/7" Single # "Woman's Gotta Have It" - 4:21 # "Acid Rain" - 3:27 12" Single # "Woman's Gotta Have It" (Club Mix) # "Acid Rain" # "Woman's Gotta Have It" (Club Dub) # "Token Angels"

Charts

Other versions

*The song was later covered by

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-sell ...

and included on Taylor's 1976 album '' In the Pocket''. ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' critic Kit Rachlis described this version as "listless." *It has also been covered by

Nona Gaye Nona Aisha Gaye (born September 4, 1974) is an American singer, former fashion model, and retired actress. The daughter of singer Marvin Gaye and maternal granddaughter of jazz musician Slim Gaillard, Gaye began her career as a vocalist in the ea ...

for the compilation ''1-800-NEW FUNK'' *

The Neville Brothers The Neville Brothers were an American R&B/soul/funk group, formed in 1976 in New Orleans, Louisiana. History The group notion started in 1976, when the four brothers of the Neville family, Art (1937–2019), Charles (1938–2018), Aaron (b. 1 ...

on their: "Live At Tipitina's, September 24, 1982" LP *

K-Ci Cedric Renard Hailey (born September 2, 1969), known professionally as K-Ci (formerly Little Cedric as a member of Little Cedric and the Hailey Singers), is an American singer, songwriter and member of K-Ci & JoJo and Jodeci. Although Hailey ...

covered it on his 2006 album "My Book" * Taylor Hicks on his 2009 album '' The Distance'', and Calvin Richardson.

References

1972 songs 1972 singles 1991 singles 1977 singles Bobby Womack songs James Taylor songs Wendy Matthews songs Songs written by Bobby Womack Songs written by Linda Womack Song recordings produced by Bobby Womack United Artists Records singles {{1970s-R&B-song-stub