"Dark Horse"
Single by Amanda Marshall
from the album Amanda Marshall
Released1997
GenrePop rock[1]
Length5:37
LabelEpic
Songwriter(s)Amanda Marshall, David Tyson, Dean McTaggart
Producer(s)David Tyson
Amanda Marshall singles chronology
"Beautiful Goodbye"
(1996)		 "Dark Horse"
(1997)		 "Sitting On Top of the World"
(1997)

"Dark Horse" is a song by Canadian pop singer Amanda Marshall. Co-written by Dean McTaggart and David Tyson, it was the fifth single released from Marshall's 1995 self-titled debut album and became another hit for her in Canada, reaching number five on the RPM 100 Hit Tracks chart and peaking atop the RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks chart. It also became a minor hit in Australia and Germany. In 1997, American country music singer Mila Mason covered the song for her own debut album, That's Enough of That. Her version reached number 21 on the US Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart and number 12 on the Canadian RPM 100 Country Tracks chart.

Critical reception

Colin Larkin, in The Encyclopedia of Popular Music, wrote that it was "more personal" than the other story songs on Marshall's album.[2] Jeremy Helligar of Entertainment Weekly said that Marshall "drums up momentum with the gently percussive 'Dark Horse'".[3] Elton John remarked on The Rosie O'Donnell Show that "Dark Horse" was a "guaranteed hit" after he mentioned that he was listening to Amanda Marshall's album.[4]

Chart performance

On Canada's RPM 100 Hit Tracks chart, "Dark Horse" debuted at number 74 on January 13, 1997, and peaked at number five nine weeks later, on the issue of March 17, 1997.[5][6] The single also peaked at number one on the same publication's Adult Contemporary Tracks chart two weeks later.[7] It was the 27th-most successful song of 1997 in Canada and the third-most successful adult contemporary hit of the year in the country.[8][9] The song also charted within the lower reaches on the charts of Australia and Germany, making it to numbers 70 and 93 respectively.[10][11] Despite its low peak on the German chart, it stayed in the top 100 for six nonconsecutive weeks.[11]

Track listings

UK CD single[12]

  1. "Dark Horse" (edit)
  2. "Let It Rain" (live)
  3. "Birmingham" (live)
  4. "This Could Take All Night"

European maxi-CD single[13]

  1. "Dark Horse" (edit) – 4:29
  2. "Let It Rain" (live) – 6:12
  3. "Birmingham" (live) – 7:46

Charts

Mila Mason version

"Dark Horse"
Single by Mila Mason
from the album That's Enough of That
B-side"I Do"[14]
ReleasedFebruary 1997
GenreCountry
Length4:59
LabelAtlantic
Songwriter(s)Amanda Marshall, David Tyson, Dean McTaggart
Producer(s)Blake Mevis
Mila Mason singles chronology
"That's Enough of That"
(1996)		 "Dark Horse"
(1997)		 "That's the Kinda Love (That I'm Talkin' About)"
(1997)

Mila Mason's version appears on her 1996 debut album, That's Enough of That. It was the second single from the album, entering the charts in February 1997.

Critical reception

Brian Wahlert of Country Standard Time described Mason's cover as "the least country song on the album" but said that "Mason's smoky voice works perfectly on the opening lyric […] and the pretty ensuing story of young love that lasted."[15]

Chart performance

Mason's version of the song spent 20 weeks on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart, peaking at number 21. In Canada, it reached number 12 on the RPM 100 Country Tracks chart on May 12, 1997.[16]

Weekly charts

Chart (1997) Peak
position
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[16] 12
US Hot Country Singles & Tracks (Billboard)[17] 21

Year-end charts

Chart (1997) Position
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[18] 86

References

  1. ↑ "Amanda Marshall concert showcases best of everything". The Ottawa Citizen. March 3, 2002. pp. A12. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  2. ↑ Larkin, Colin (1997). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 5. MacMillan. p. 3477. ISBN 9780333741344.
  3. ↑ Helligar, Jeremy (December 13, 1996). "Amanda Marshall review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 2, 2011.
  4. ↑ "Sir Elton provided shocker". Archived from the original on November 21, 2014.
  5. ↑ "RPM 100 Hit Tracks". RPM. January 13, 1997. Retrieved March 15, 2023 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  6. 1 2 "Top RPM Singles: Issue 3155." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
  7. 1 2 "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 3162." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
  8. 1 2 "RPM '97 Year End Top 100 Hit Tracks". RPM. Retrieved July 11, 2019 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  9. 1 2 "RPM '97 Year End Top 100 Adult Contemporary Tracks". RPM. Retrieved July 11, 2019 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  10. 1 2 Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 177.
  11. 1 2 3 "Amanda Marshall – Dark Horse" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
  12. ↑ Dark Horse (UK CD single liner notes). Amanda Marshall. Epic Records. 1997. EPC 664769 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  13. ↑ Dark Horse (European maxi-CD single liner notes). Amanda Marshall. Epic Records. 1997. EPC 664641 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  14. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. p. 258. ISBN 978-0-89820-177-2.
  15. ↑ Wahlert, Brian. "That's Enough of That review". Country Standard Time. Retrieved June 2, 2011.
  16. 1 2 "Top RPM Country Tracks: Issue 3207." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. May 12, 1997. Retrieved July 17, 2013.
  17. ↑ "Hot Country Songs". Billboard. May 3, 1997. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
  18. ↑ "RPM '97 Year End Top 100 Country Tracks". RPM. Retrieved July 11, 2019 – via Library and Archives Canada.
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