She's Not There



"She's Not There" is the debut single by British rock band The Zombies, written by organist Rod Argent. It reached No. 12 in the UK Singles Chart in September 1964, and reached No. 1 on the Cashbox chart (No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100) in the United States at the beginning of December 1964. In Canada, it reached No. 2.

Rolling Stone magazine ranked "She's Not There" No. 297 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Song profile
Rod Argent built the lyrics of "She's Not There" from a John Lee Hooker song, whose title – "No One Told Me" – became a part of the opening phrase of "She's Not There". Following a 29 April 1964, performance by the Zombies at St Albans Market Hall, Argent played the one verse he had written of the song for Ken Jones who was set to produce the band's first recording session. Jones encouraged Argent to write a second verse, intending for the band to record it. Argent recalls: "I wrote the song for Colin's range"—referring to Zombies' vocalist Colin Blunstone -- "I could hear him singing it in my mind". The song's genres and musical styles are described by authors and music journalists as jazz rock, beat and pop rock.

"She's Not There" was the second of four songs recorded by the Zombies at a 12 June 1964, recording session at Decca's West Hampstead Studio No. 2. The backing tracks needed seven takes. One of the song's most distinctive features is Argent's electric piano sound; the instrument used was a Hohner Pianet. The backing vocals are in a folk-influenced close-harmony style. To make the single sound stronger for single release, Ken Jones organised Hugh Grundy to record a strident drum line overdub which only appears on the original mono single mix. In 2002, Ace/Big Beat releases The Decca Stereo Anthology, a 48-track 2-CD release which mixed all the Decca/Parrot recordings into true stereo for the first time. As the multitrack for She's Not There does not contain the additional, stronger drum line, Grundy specially re-created for this stereo remix project.

According to the lyrics of this song, the narrator has unsatisfactory dealings with an untrustworthy woman. He reproaches unspecified associates for failing to warn him of her unsavoury character: "Well no one told me about her / The way she lied." The real inspiration behind the song, however, was Argent's first love, Patricia, who called off their wedding weeks before and broke his heart.

This minor key, jazz-tinged single was first aired in the United States during the first week in August 1964, on New York rock radio station WINS by Stan Z. Burns, who debuted it on his daily noontime "Hot Spot" segment, during which new songs were played. The tune began to catch on in early autumn and eventually reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in December 1964. It was kept from the No.1 spot by Mr. Lonely by Bobby Vinton.

Album releases
The song was later released both on The Zombies' UK album Begin Here (December 1964) and US album The Zombies (January 1965). It was also included on the soundtrack to the 1979 feature film More American Graffiti.

Uses in popular culture
In 1996, in the soundtrack for The Long Kiss Goodnight.

In 2004, heavily sampled in "About Her" by Malcolm McLaren for the soundtrack of Kill Bill Volume 2.

The Zombies' version appears in a 2017 commercial for Kohler.

Santana cover
"She's Not There" was a hit for Santana when it appeared on their 1977 album Moonflower. Their version peaked at No. 11 in the UK. It was also a hit in the US, reaching No. 27 (Billboard) and No. 20 (Cash Box). Their take on it features Greg Walker as the lead vocalist.

Other cover versions

 * Noël Deschamps recorded the French rendering "Te Voilà" which was a minor hit in France peaking at No. 50 in early 1965.
 * The Quebec group Les Bel Canto covered this song in french "Les Filles D'Eve" in 1966.
 * A version by the Vanilla Fudge was released in 1967.
 * A solo rendering by Colin Blunstone under the name "Neil MacArthur" was released on the Deram label in 1969, reaching No. 34 in the UK singles chart.
 * The UK Subs released their turn at it in 1979, and reached No. 36 in the UK Singles Chart.
 * A version by the Purple Helmets a Stranglers offshoot band on their album Rise Again in 1988.
 * Japanese group Mi-Ke included the song on their final studio album Eien no Liverpool Sound: Please Please Me Love in 1993.