The Hollies Remember - Allan Plays Long Cool Woman and Talks about His Departure

Alan Clarke explains what happened to the song supposed to be an album track and how he departed from the Hollies.

[@ralphsmith3529]

Some pretty slick licks from Allan Clarke, along with his amazing vocals!

[@ibdaffy]

If you could only have one hit, this would be the opening riff. The Hollies were so damn talented!

[@TheHumbuckerboy]

One of THE greatest guitar intros IMO

[@danacoleman4007]

Agreed!!!!!

[@bluesteel5841]

Teenagers of today dont know what they missed growing up in the 70s with real music with real instraments no computer generated sounds just pure talent that makes you want to get up and dance..sometimes in the car tunes cracked up a song like this would come on, we would pull over crank it up and start dancing in front of the headlights lol...

[@ShailendraSINGH-jk2ev]

I fuc my girlfriend on bonnet Of car

[@currenolan3339]

@@ShailendraSINGH-jk2ev that’s my man

[@ShailendraSINGH-jk2ev]

I drive my taxi very much 😂 that's awesome Girl 😍 terrified 🐱 cop come home

[@kimberlyroberson5400]

Yes and so sad for them. We were lucky!

[@nikchris69]

oldhead

[@southpawtx]

I remember hearing bus stop, then this song came out and I loved the intro part the most. Then my favorite song by them came out a cpl or so years later, thr Air that I breathe. Not to forget the classic he ain't heavy.

[@danestegman155]

Great 70's song! Classic! Hollies were an underrated group. Had a ton of hits! Always liked there music!

[@Bruce15485]

Agree ! Their albums were very good ! "Butterfly" is a fantastic album along with the "Hollies".

[@alandougan4689]

underrated? show me someone who doesn’t rate them 😊

[@tod3msn]

God, Allan Clarke’s vocal kicks ass! It’s emotional and raw. This is a prime example of a singer making a song.

[@vernhoke7730]

One of the most recognizable opening riffs in rock music. Was in high school when this hit the radio.

[@nadinefroderman157]

When I'm alone in the car when this comes on the radio, I crank it up as loud as it'll go.

[@tw364]

Loved the song, to me it was a FU to the hard rock bands that were dominate showing Hollies back to the basics rock and roll crushed. Kind of a theme song for us 1972-1973 high school years.

[@tessflores785]

The opening riff was definitely a Hollies brand.. patented

[@chealinvestmentsltd309]

Quite simply one of the best voices of our time Love you Alan

[@Foxys1974]

The Air That I Breathe kills me... what A voice! ❤️

[@davidkastin4240]

Lofl. The only places that come to mind where the air that you breathe will kill you is China and Japan. The 2 biggest manufacturers in the world.

[@sergioluna1107]

Uauuuuuu... beautiful girl...kiss from ARGENTINA

[@Foxys1974]

David Kastin haha! Only just seen your reply! Obviously my wine consumption the night I commented seriously affected my brain! Literally cried with laughter at my comment! And your excellent reply! Haha!

[@Foxys1974]

Sergio Luna kiss back from Scotland! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@sergioluna1107]

@@Foxys1974 thanks babe....you are invited to muy country...

[@brendanaschinski-bp9dj]

I'm so blessed to have grown up in the 60 and 70 they had the best music so did the 80s

[@jamesedwards2237]

One of the most unmatched rock songs in history. Still haven't heard anyone else do it justice!

[@liza8423]

Frm SG... thank you Allan Clarke and the rest group members for all the good and fantastic songs

[@dadejavusc]

We have a school dance and this song is the music where we all have to dance with it. It was awesome!

[@dash-qe3ul]

And still one of my top 10s ! 2023

[@dss2856]

This is still my favorite guitar riff. I loved this as a kid and still love it.

[@barryhughes9764]

The Hollies....... greatest, most prolific and underrated group ever....bar none. Allan Clarke vocals were incomparable. Been a fan since 63 when I was a lad of 15......there was no greater live band.....for me they were without peers. Thanks Hollies for all your songs....life would have been so much less without them.

[@Cortfan52]

You said it all, Barry! I totally agree.

[@alistairewen9558]

We toured Scotland with them in 63,we were as jealous as hell!!

[@chipgaasche4933]

Underrated? Perhaps. But "greatest".."most prolific"?? That's a joke.

[@bonkeydollocks1879]

Absolutely

[@mellowrecords7269]

Who are we?

[@fireball70s]

Saw the Hollies live in 1969 or 1970 in Singapore. First time seeing a great live band. Very talented individual n Allan voice is just "SUPER". Imagine, those days u don't have a sound engineer to set up the system for the band n singer to have better a performance. Even without this set up like now days, their performance were just "Awesome". Seen quite a numbers of singers n bands through the years, but The Hollies is one of the greatest band of all. Allan, u have such a gifted voice that we the fans all over the world really enjoyed your songs with the band. Thanks for the sweet memories u all had given me. Wish u all the best, where ever u are.

[@charleskuckel3173]

The Hollies were a terribly underrated band. The harmony vocals of Allen Clarke and Graham Nash were incomparable. The guitar work was excellent TOO. I STILL DON'T think that they're getting their due.

[@Sunshine-nq6wv]

I love The Hollies. Also liked the tracks Another Night and Sandy(4th July Asbury Park) Thought their harmonies really showed thru'.

[@Bruce15485]

And Tony Hicks !!!

[@notbraindead7298]

The Hollies were definitely underrated, mostly because the radio stations focused on the Beatles, the Stones and then the Kinks and Animals. Graham Nash was far better in the Hollies than he was with Crosby and Stills. IMHO CS&N was not as good of a vocal group as the Hollies when Nash was with the Hollies. And the most memorable CS&N songs were written by Graham Nash! The Hollies blew away CS&N when it came to song writing. The record companies and promoters in America needed a product to compete with the Beatles so they promoted the hell out of CS&N. But CS&N couldn't compete with the Hollies let alone the Beatles. CS&N was such a boring stage act that their manager hired Neil Young to give some life to their stage presence even though Young didn't really want to join the group. Then Neil Young wrote "Ohio". I can't say that there's any song that Crosby or Stills wrote that I particularly like. I think Graham Nash should have stayed with the Hollies or re-grouped with them later.

[@moemcgovern7345]

Don't forget Tony Hicks.

[@johnballard6725]

Agree entirely ! I saw the Hollies recently in Derby UK. and they were very very good, especially the lead guitarist Tony Hicks and the new lead singer.

[@Bruce15485]

"Long Cool Women" is a great story song ! I could see it being used in a movie !

[@titoramone4465]

Agreed. I feel Chuck Berry songs tell stories as well. This song is right up there.

[@seppshlllearningcenter419]

Remember the titans was the first thing to expose me this song. I remember asking my dad what song it was and whalla.. "Son that was my favorite song...in 1972!"

[@kdlofty]

It was. It was in Alfie (The remake with Jude Law, Sienna Miller, and Susan Sarandon).

[@greenbeagle13]

Still a cool ass song in 2018... Loved this song, played it a zillion times in the “old days”....

[@futbolt]

What a live performance! This video is a treasure

[@bigcatdaddy76016]

It goes to show, if you write a song that becomes a hit, you better like playing it, because you'll be playing it the rest of your life.

[@colinbaker3916]

bigcatdaddy76016 Nor in the UK. While Hollies loyalists might like Long Cool Woman, it wasn’t a big hit over here (btw, it didn’t reach no 1 in the US). The most popular Hollies hits over here were He Ain’t Heavy He’s My Brother and Air That I Breathe.

[@Rev22-21]

@@colinbaker3916 : "The air that I breathe" was pretty popular here with the chick's, but "Long cool Woman" had its place. The latter was the 'in your face' cruising song that later surrendered to "Smoke on the Water", the entire Physical Graffiti album and "Slow Ride" naming a few. For us, if these weren't playing full volume on a Friday or Saturday night, the party never started.

[@randygerman2176]

This is a favorite- love that intro! Allen Clarke’s voice is perfect for it but I still can’t understand half the words and that’s ok, I don’t need to for it to move me.

[@alangaum9499]

Same thing here ... After listening to this great song for nearly 50 years, I cannot follow half the words.... but that's OK !

[@seppshlllearningcenter419]

A bit of linguistic irony...when I first heard this song I would've bet money this song was done by a southern (US) band and understood every word from the start...as a hillbilly from Appalachia.

[@ianwalker4030]

1972/The Plough pub/Crews Hill….. A couple circa 22 Yrs old playing darts……the woman has long black ‘back-combed’ hair, strong makeup, beautiful red lipstick, face beautiful/bodyshape to kill for, heels & beautiful black dress, absolutely perfect…..she obviously became my ‘Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress’……..50 years later I can visualise her then & there, but now, in 2023. Red & black = killer colours!!

[@queenberengaria9626]

I've seen them twice in maybe the last 10 yrs, fabulous band, brilliant concerts; still touring even now with their singer Peter Howarth. He has a great voice.

[@johnballard6725]

Peter Howarth is a pretty good guitarist and showman and certainly was a worthy replacement for Allan Clarke

[@yesman2755]

Another great Hollies tune that highlights Allan’s brilliant voice is Soldier’s Song. Very underrated single from late 70’s.

[@captained7972]

Cant get enough of that damn bass intro and the when the drums begin with a bang. What a time it was im now 67 the beginning riffs are truly phenomenal. The syllabication is insane.

[@Jade447]

The Hollies ... a song was posted on my facebook. I searched and discovered other songs. Incredible the Band. Loved it. I saved my favorites on my playlist. Congratulations The Hollies for your story. Allan has a wonderful voice.

[@BobSchoepenjr]

Incredible how good those guys still looks at an older age. Great band& music!

[@jackthebassman1]

Stripped down rock & roll - and it just cooks!

[@charlesdjones1]

Easily one of the baddest clean riffs ever laid down on tape, bar none. Clarke's killer vocals take it over the top.

[@jennifursun3303]

so sorry about his voice problems. what I loved about this song is that wonderful Bass line

[@ralphsanchico2452]

Oh yeah! That bass was poppin!

[@oldermusiclover]

@@ralphsanchico2452 AMEN

[@stephenclarke4675]

Yes very simple but effective

[@azguitar]

Thank you for posting this with the incredibly talented Allan Clarke.

[@brigidlennox7319]

Alanclarke

[@ardalla535]

rhyming 'black dress' with 'bad mess'. brilliance

[@nelson3d867]

Love This music. Listen to it since the seventhies. Never saw This clip. Amazing. Three guitars but only one sounding. Allan Clark os a genius. Great vocals!!!!!

[@pattih7]

Alan has it all, with this one! Love it still and him! At 71, you bring me back from depression for a few minute! Love LCW and Dave on this one m! No one could do it like you! Whoooo! 🙏🧡🙏🧡🙏🧡🙏🧡🙏🧡🙏🧡🙏🧡

[@Gbonejohn1974]

allan looks better now than he did in 1975 lol ....weird how he went from young in the late 60s to that perm era he aged 20 years in about 6 what a voice though...utter class

[@jennifursun3303]

he could bring by blood pressure up that is for sure. Mike Smith was another

[@patriciotroncoso4764]

IDOL....MASTER.....😊😊😊😊😊ALAN CLARKE..bleesyou from chile

[@lidialeivaabarca5017]

Que buen tema 🇨🇱🇨🇱🥰🥰

[@drbenmccullough2608]

We would play that song every sat on our way to the race track ....brings back a lot of memories

[@deanbembridge8640]

For a song that wasn't thought through its certainly a great track the band's playing tight and the Vocals are brilliant

[@nelidasilviacastro1722]

Los seguire viendo!!!!! Siempre!!! Me iluminaron !! Alegria!!!! Son luz Yes Yes Yes!!!!!!! No los conocia!!!!!!! Solo la voz Thank por Mix puedo ver todos otros antantes❤ Love !!!!🏀🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆21/3^2024

[@randallpope363]

I first heard this song on Radio Luxembourg when I arrived at my unit in West Germany in February 1972. Great song. Love that Telecaster sound.

[@hidbigo2]

What a band they was grew up loving there songs were so unique and so different each time

[@a95569]

Their first hits I remember on the airwaves in South Africa were I'm Alive and Look Through Any Window, circa 1967. I was blown away by the harmonies of Nash and Clarke.

[@marktahu2932]

I remember lying on the grass right in front of the stage with them singing Amazing Grace. It was an amazing night.

[@johnbarton1339]

Wow when and where?

[@germanico4401]

HOLLIES ....ESO ES TODO.✌️✌️🙋ALAN CLARK.....

[@christianestamm2655]

When I hear this track, I could dance on the table, super music.

[@aparecidodonizete4246]

Uma das melhores bandas de todos os tempos ! Fico com pena dessas gerações que não conhecerão essas bandas, cantores e músicas mararavilhosas. Saudades.

[@autumn1231]

at age 1 my son loved this song. He would shout at the right moment "had it all"!

[@rnstoo1]

Bets band live I ever saw. And I saw them all back in the 60's!

[@dianemorris5816]

lucky you😊

[@alexandermacdonald7547]

I saw them in 1979- awesome!

[@ijeff2005]

Just goes to show sometimes people overthink music. Just write it, play it and sing it and the results just might be magical.

[@777RockNRollin]

They came up with one of rock's epic masterpieces here ,.. ( again ),...

[@juantailor]

i jeff yep. Best songs are written in 5 minutes. Even better if they are already in the studio.

[@allenkracalik7662]

I've been saying for YEARS since the late '60s, early '70s that most of what passes for "rock" is overwritten, overproduced, just plain overcooked, not to mention overrated. But damned near nobody's agreed with me.

[@benjohnson4810]

@@ziblot1235 You named the exact stuff that i abhor in live music.

[@neil6958]

This song defined the transition from 1972 to 1973

[@brianrogers6731]

Interesting story behind the song, glad I stumbled on to this

[@DRAGNET-pn5vf]

THANK YOU BRITS!! 🇺🇸🇬🇧❤️👍🏻

[@jrt9]

one of my all time favorite songs.

[@audiomez]

Air Studios!!! Wow!! One of the best engineered and produced, and sonically..progressive ambiently perfected recoding track for decades!!!

[@michaelhoyle2652]

Absolutely amazing Alan Clarke amazing

[@MiThreeSunz]

The Hollies are yet another sad example of incredible talent and great music that lacked true industry recognition and were sorely underrated.

[@davidhaney1394]

under rated ? what are you talking about ? They were one of the most successful bands of the time ?

[@alecslad]

Happy days. Friday nights in Oldham, first the Ticker (Majestic) then to the Candlelight dancing to the Hollies. Best group Ever.

[@MrGarcon98]

great band lots of knowledge and taste ,,,,,,,,peace

[@jeffa52]

20 years FORWARD . GREAT BAND.

[@ceilstrakna6780]

I would LOVE to hear John Fogerty play this song along with Allan ... Allan doesn't need any accompaniment, but it's the greatest Creedence song that Fogerty never wrote. Both men are rock heroes of mine.

[@johnbarton1339]

God I love love this band!!

[@alaindesmarais7781]

By far, this was Clarke’s best song...and one Hollies best hit.

[@AmpasaurusWrecks]

Allan Clarke was one of the best singers in the business. It's hard to sing as high as the Hollies did.

[@mitchwakeland3501]

Great voice, great band. But lets not forget the great voice of Lonesome Dave of Foghat.

[@davekrivanek]

Yes he is!!!!

[@Elvisrivers1]

@@mitchwakeland3501 ABSOLUTELY! Dave had a great and highly underrated vocal!

[@chriscampbell9191]

......you forgot to add -- and in harmony.

[@John-lr4lf]

Allot of the hollies songs especially early days were mostly sung with their natural voices with some false setto (head voice technique)

[@mikehernandezsr.8136]

I remember when the Hollies were pretty popular back then in the late '60s early '70s. I always thought they were one of the best classic rock bands in their heyday.

[@rep3e4]

Love this song

[@bmwlane8834]

Probably my favorite song of all time.

[@bellacashew]

no frigging better era than the 70,s, i smile every time i listen to the music of my time.. i think my heart swells 3 times its size ..

[@JesusBehindtheWheel]

I probably listened to Long Cool Woman for 3 hours straight the first time I heard it randomly searching for 70s songs. Impossible now to vibe with this beat.

[@johnknow4097]

I've never quite understood why no one raved over the Hollies, they were/are one of the most professional talented bands to have emerged from the 1960's.

[@davidcrowe8588]

I love The Hollies. GREAT.

[@huddinge08]

They were the best, and still is my No1 😊

[@susanhewett8174]

I still love Allan Clarke as much as ever. He is still Gorgeous. Jenny is one very lucky lady to have Allan for a Husband.

[@edfulginiti8798]

Classic rocker...classic voice.

[@andymatthews7617]

A UNIQUE TALENT, WE WERE PRIVILEGED TO HAVE HEARD HIS VOCALS, THANKS ALLAN.

[@jeffreyedwards609]

fantastic band.

[@michaelknapp8961]

Barry Hughes your right. This band was underrated!! I’ve always loved this group!!

[@davem8836]

I wouldn't say they were underrated, they were very popular in their day. I know because I'm old enough to say I was there (sigh).

[@samp7003]

One of the best songs ever made!!!!

[@margaretantcliff6397]

Amazin piece of history about the hoiles i have them all my life and still go to there gigs

[@ryansmith2845]

My favorite version, raw, and badass!

[@badchihuahua]

I am from Manchester. This band were a writing machine! More top 10 hits than the Beatles! They broke the ground for bands like 10CC and Sad cafe. I am now lead singer of Sad Cafe. Eric Stewart, Paul Young, Alan Clarke and Graham Gouldman I wouldn't have a gig now without The Hollies!

[@paulhooson6850]

A great great 70's classic that was inspired by CCR, but the choppy guitar writing style of the boogie portion always reminded of Marc Bolan's guitar signature.

[@mpgabriel819]

Nou mooie muziek in onze kleine Familie mooie stem deze the hollies mooie harmony de band 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

[@lievemassart1817]

Super groep en live fantastisch

[@davidhoward2487]

I can't stop playing this!

[@guillerminalunaramirez8977]

The Hollies forever!!

[@lastofthefinest]

Awesome group no denying!!!

[@urchill1]

Top band!

[@robertbartlett2855]

Never get old Great Job

[@tosinoparinde9563]

I love the Hollies

[@Chu-vg2yu]

One of the best songs coming from the radio in the 70s. Simple. Great. U do not need a great stereo set to enjoy. As a boy with a simple radio, it sounds great.

[@RonWylie-gk5lc]

The Hollies were a brilliant band, their input to the 60s and seventies was huge and they were always great. I have not heard this for so long and I was surprised how 70s it was, a forerunner to what Bolan did later

[@davidgreid007]

My #1 favorite song of all times,,, ccr came close.

[@kennyhuskisson2684]

Allen Clark was actually imitating John Fogerty on this, cool I think,👍✌️

[@seanrobbins6176]

Such a Cool, Cool Song! Great to dance to! My dance instructor had never heard it before. I turned her on to it, now she loves it!

[@Rumata69]

The Hollies was my favorite rock band when I was a kid and nobody understood why it wasn't any of other overated ones. I've just always loved them!

[@clivem24]

As good today as 45 years ago!

[@LetscampingwithTara]

OMG that is a awesome song!! smooth sound with some funk the sound if classic rock I always love

[@gregdavis19]

Great song!

[@357HFC]

Lancashire Lads! Allan Clarkes best song!