The First Cut Is the Deepest

"The First Cut Is the Deepest" is a 1967 song written by British singer-songwriter Cat Stevens, originally released by P. P. Arnold in April 1967.

The song has been widely recorded and has become a hit single for six different artists: Arnold, Stevens, Keith Hampshire (1973), Rod Stewart (1977), Papa Dee (1995), and Sheryl Crow (2003).

The Arnold hit featured an up-tempo, soulful vocal set against harpsichord, horns, and strings.

Stewart recorded the song at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Sheffield, Alabama, United States, and it appeared on his 1976 album A Night on the Town.

Record World called it a "love ballad, this time penned by Cat Stevens back in the sixties.

Swedish musician Papa Dee released a reggae cover of "The First Cut Is the Deepest" in 1995.

Pan-European magazine Music & Media wrote, "Dee-lightfully our Swedish Papa tackles the old Cat Stevens hit in a pop dance-infused reggae style with a snappy ragga interlude.

14 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and becoming her first solo top-40 country hit following the success of her duet with Kid Rock, "Picture".

[40] Filmed in southern Utah, the video features Sheryl in a rocky desert singing with her guitar, riding horses and interacting in a cowboy environment.

[41] Sheryl's single was nominated for a Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the Grammy Awards,[42] losing to "Sunrise" by Norah Jones.