Bettye Crutcher was a pioneering artist. In 1967 she joined Stax Records as the lone female songwriter on staff. There, she contributed many compositions, serving as co-writer on "Who's Making Love" for Johnnie Taylor, which received a Grammy nomination for the Grammy Award for Best R&B Song. She went on to release her own album, 1974’s Long as You Love Me. Her work was performed by the Staple Singers, Sam & Dave, Albert King, Buddy Guy and many others.
Nicki Bluhm is paying tribute to Crutcher via a version of her tune “How Strong Is A Woman,” which Ann Peebles originally released in 1972. Bluhm worked with producer Matt Ross-Spang on the track, which they recorded at Sam Phillips Recording Services in Memphis.
Bluhm notes, “Reexploring this song was both an honor and an undertaking. A lot has changed in those 50+ years, and as we've evolved, the meaning in this title has too. I think Bettye understood that better than anyone, which is why she was open to modernizing the lyrics with Matt Ross-Spang and me. Matt is a very dear friend, exceptional producer and deep appreciator of musical history. We have made a lot of music together, and this collaboration between him, Bettye and myself was really special. As we communed in Bettye's home – her elegantly smoking Parliaments – the biggest lyrical departure we agreed upon was changing the original line, ‘A woman is strong as the need of the man she loves’ to ‘A woman is strongest when she has her own self-love.’ The takeaway, of course, being that a woman's strength is not dependent on a man, but rather on how she honors and values herself. Music carries mantras, and I hope this is one that young women of today can hear and live by.”
Ross-Spang on the collaboration: “Some of my most fulfilling creative memories have come from collaborating with Nicki Bluhm. Her voice is a rare gift – one that seamlessly transcends space and time. Together, we dreamed up a vision to update the lyrics of ‘How Strong Is A Woman’ and transform it into a modern anthem. We knew we had our work cut out for us; the original version carries an incredible energy, anchored by a legendary performance from Ann Peebles. We met Bettye at her home in Nashville, and just sitting with her, we instantly felt we were sitting with royalty. She welcomed us like family, serving up bowls of homemade gumbo and ice cream. She regaled us with stories of Stax and her beloved husband, and in the pauses we reworked the lyrics. I hope this version inspires just as Bettye did for Nicki and me.”
Bluhm’s version of “How Strong Is A Woman” will officially come out tomorrow, on what would have been Crutcher’s 87th birthday (Crutcher passed away in 2022). However, Relix has the good fortune to premiere the tune a day early.
Bluhm’s latest studio album, Rancho Deluxe, came out last fall, and as we wrote at the time, it “brightens the Nashville-based singer-songwriter’s warm and infectious country-rock palette with touches of ‘70s soft rock and symphonic pop.”
