Legend of a Cowgirl

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"Legend of a Cowgirl" is a song by American singer-songwriter and rapper Imani Coppola. Upon its release, the song was successful, garnering favorable critical reception and peaking within the top 40 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand. The song also entered singles charts in Australia, Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands. The song remains Coppola's only solo top 40 hit in each of the countries, making her a one-hit-wonder (though she later re-appeared on the UK Singles Chart as part of the R&B/pop duo Little Jackie).

The song's success is largely credited to its music video, which depicted Coppola as a waitress at a diner, daydreaming about life as a cowgirl, alien, and rock star. The video became a hit on MTV, and received a nomination at Billboard's 1998 Music Video Awards, in the category of "Pop: Best New Artist Clip." The song and video continue to be highly regarded by critics, appearing on retrospective lists by VH1, Spin, and Billboard.

Video Legend of a Cowgirl

Background and composition

Coppola wrote the song while she was in college. The lyrics were inspired by "love-life chatter" she overheard in her dorm room. The song includes cowboy and Western-related metaphors for sex, and is considered to embody female sexual independence. The song samples Donovan's "Sunshine Superman" extensively. Coppola disliked the song, calling it the worst song on Chupacabra.

Maps Legend of a Cowgirl

Critical reception

Larry Flick, writing for Billboard, gave the song a positive review upon its release, describing it as "quirky and rife with novelty value" and also praising the chorus's memorability. Allmusic's Bradley Torreano considered the song a highlight of its parent album, commenting that on the song, "her personality shines through." Entertainment Weekly's review Chupacabra, although critical of the album overall, praised "Legend of a Cowgirl," remarking that it "works the best equestrian metaphors for sex since Ginuwine's 'Pony,'" going on to deem the song "as good as it gets on her debut album." Ann Powers, writing for The New York Times, deemed the song "a sunny declaration of sexual independence that the Spice Girls would admire."

Music video

The song had an accompanying music video, directed by McG, who also directed videos for the Barenaked Ladies' "One Week" and Fastball's "The Way." The video depicts Coppola as a waitress at a diner, daydreaming about life as a biker chick and '60s singer and dancing on a counter. According to Coppola, the video started as an idea she had for a movie about women who "love 'em and leave 'em and ride off into the sunset." Of the filming, Coppola stated that "it was very uncomfortable 'cause we had no room and their penises and their bums are just flopping around," says Coppola. "It was like, 'Whoops, sorry. Didn't mean to touch you!' But they were all gay, so it didn't really matter. They were cute though. It was a shame."

Upon its release, the music video for "Legend of a Cowgirl" became a hit on MTV. It spent two weeks at number 19 on the Billboard's MTV Video Monitor, and also received play on The Box.

Commercial performance

In the United States, the song peaked at number 36 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent a total of 20 weeks on the chart. It remained Coppola's sole appearance on the Hot 100 until 2001, when she re-appeared alongside fellow one-hit wonders the Baha Men with "You All Dat," which achieved a peak of number 94 on the chart. The song also peaked within the top 40 on the Billboard Mainstream Top 40, where it reached number 21 and spent 14 weeks on the chart, and the Adult Top 40, where it peaked at number 24 and spent 20 weeks on the chart. The single peaked at number 41 both on the US Hot Singles Sales chart and the Radio Songs chart, spending 16 and 13 weeks on the charts, respectively.

The song also charted throughout Europe. In the United Kingdom, the song debuted on the UK Singles Chart dated 28 February 1998, at its peak of number 32. It fell to number 47 the following week, and spent a total of three consecutive weeks on the chart; it remains her only UK chart entry. In the Netherlands, the song debuted at number 80 on the singles chart dated 31 January 1998, and eventually peaked at number 65, spending one week at its peak and a total of eight weeks in the top 100. On the German Singles Chart, the song debuted at number 99 on the chart dated 16 March 1998 and eventually achieved a peak of 94, spending a total of five weeks on the chart. On Belgium's Ultratop (Flanders) singles chart, the song debuted at number 50 on the chart dated 28 February 1998, and fell off the following week. The song also charted in New Zealand, where it peaked at number 20 and spent nine weeks on the chart.

In Oceania, the song likewise appeared on the charts. The song was successful in New Zealand, debuting at number 43 on the New Zealand Singles chart dated 1 February 1998 and peaking at number 20, spending a total of 9 weeks in the top 50. On the Australia Singles Chart, the song peaked at number 55.

"Legend of a Cowgirl" remains Coppola's only charting solo song in every country except Australia (where follow-up "I'm a Tree" peaked at number 201), effectively rendering Coppola a one-hit wonder. However, Coppola achieved some success in 2008 with programmer Adam Pallin, as the pop/R&B duo Little Jackie, whose single "The World Should Revolve Around Me" was a top 40 hit in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Accolades

In 1998, the music video earned a nomination at the Billboard's Music Video Awards, in the category of "Pop: Best New Artist Clip." The video ultimately lost to Natalie Imbruglia's "Torn."

The song and video have also received retrospective accolades. VH1 ranked the song at number 21 on their list of "40 Greatest One-Hit Wonders of the '90s." In 2014, Spin included the song on their list of "45 Hay-Ya! Moments in Rap and Country's Uncomfortable History," reflecting that "the Lilith-era '90s fostered a slew of quirky yet radio-ready woman-power anthems, and Imani Coppola's whiskey-swilling midnight marauder was one of the best." In October 2017, the song ranked at number 55 on Billboard's list of the 100 Best Pop Songs of 1997.

Legend of a Cowgirl

Sunday, February 11, 2018