"Stand by My Woman" is a song recorded by American singer

Lenny Kravitz Leonard Albert Kravitz (born May 26, 1964) is an American singer, musician, songwriter, record producer, and actor. His debut album ''Let Love Rule (Lenny Kravitz album), Let Love Rule'' (1989) was characterized by a blend of Rock music, rock ...

and released on September 2, 1991, as the fourth single from his second studio album '' Mama Said''. The song was later included as a track on his 2000 album ''

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

''.

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."

Greg Kot Greg Kot (born March 3, 1957) is an American music journalist and author. From 1990 until 2020, Kot was the rock music critic at the ''Chicago Tribune'', where he covered popular music and reported on music-related social, political and busines ...

of the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'' wrote, "As demonstrated on "All I Ever Wanted" and "Stand by My Woman", Kravitz is particularly fond of

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

Plastic Ono Band The Plastic Ono Band was a rock band and Fluxus-based artist collective''John & Yoko/Plastic Ono Band'' book by Yoko Ono and John Lennon, published by Thames & Hudson Ltd, October 2020, pp. 17-19 formed by John Lennon and Yoko Ono in 1968-9 fo ...

phase, in which

Phil Spector Harvey Phillip Spector (December 26, 1939 – January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter who is best known for pioneering recording practices in the 1960s, followed by his trials and conviction for murder in the 2000s. S ...

's echo-laden production inflated the sparest instrumentation-simple snare beats, bell-like piano chords-around gut-wrenching vocals." Elysa Gardner of ''

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. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' stated, "

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

– 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". Caroline Sullivan from ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand ...

'' 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."

Music video

The accompanying

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

was directed by Paul Boyd, and was included in Kravitz's first video album '' Video Retrospective'' released in 1991. Also in the video is Quincy Jones' daughter Kidida Jones, and includes the second film work of teenage actress

Angelina Jolie Angelina Jolie ( ; born Angelina Jolie Voight, , June 4, 1975) is an American actress, filmmaker, and humanitarian. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Angelina Jolie, numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards ...

but her footage was limited to two shots (if you blink you'll miss it.) Kravitz told ''

Us Weekly ''Us Weekly'' is an American weekly celebrity and entertainment magazine based in New York City. ''Us Weekly'' was founded in 1977 by The New York Times Company, which sold it in 1980. It was acquired by Wenner Media in 1986, and sold to Ameri ...

'' magazine, "Angelina Jolie auditioned for the lead in my Stand by My Woman video. The director passed!"

Track listing

Charts

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1991 singles 1991 songs Lenny Kravitz songs Music videos directed by Paul Boyd Songs written by Lenny Kravitz