Professional Widow

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Template:Infobox song "Professional Widow" is a song by the American singer-songwriter and pianist Tori Amos, released on her third album, Boys for Pele (1996). It is a harpsichord-driven rock song with lyrics rumored to have been inspired by the American songwriter Courtney Love.

"Professional Widow" was released as the album's third single on July 2, 1996, by Atlantic and EastWest, with remixes by the house producers Armand van Helden and MK. It reached number one on the US Billboard Dance Club Play chart. In Italy, the original version peaked at number two in October 1996. An edited version of the Armand's Star Trunk Funkin' Mix of "Professional Widow" was released as a double A-side single with "Hey Jupiter" in Europe and Australia.

On December 30, 1996, van Helden's remix was released as a single in the UK as "Professional Widow (It's Got to Be Big)". It topped the UK singles chart in January 1997 and reached the top 20 in Finland, Iceland, Ireland and Norway. In 2022, Rolling Stone named the remix the 109th-greatest dance song.

Lyrics

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"Professional Widow" was rumored to be a diss track about the American songwriter Courtney Love, the widow of the Nirvana songwriter Kurt Cobain.[1][2] Love said she had never determined if she was the "professional widow" of the title.[1] In 1996, Amos said she had never met Love and that the song was about her own experience and "the part of myself that's Lady Macbeth". In a 2003 television interview, when the host said the song was inspired by Love, Amos interrupted with "allegedly" and smiled.[1]

In 2026, Amos said "Professional Widow" was about her complicated relationship with her father, a Methodist priest, who was also her first manager. Amos referenced Love in her song "Shush" from the 2026 album In Times of Dragons.[3]

Remix

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"Professional Widow" was remixed by the American DJ Armand van Helden. In Europe, the remix became more widely known than the original song.[4]

Van Helden said that Amos was contractually entitled to approve all remixes, and called to thank him when his became popular in Europe.[5] In a 1998 interview with Music & Media, Amos said: "It did kick my ass a bit [...] I know what van Helden took and what he did and I think he did some very clever things [...] I loved the fact that he didn't try and retain that at all, he went completely to the other pole."[6]

Critical reception

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Aberdeen Press and Journal said "Professional Widow" as "excellent".[7] Justin Chadwick from Albumism wrote in his retrospective review of Boys for Pele, "Though much of the world is more familiar with the propulsive, dancefloor-filling Armand Van Helden remix of 'Professional Widow', its original incarnation featured here is noteworthy for its much-debated allusions to none other than Courtney Love."[8] Neil Z. Yeung from AllMusic described it as a "powerful dose of industrial-piano ferocity that holds nothing back in its demands for peace, love, and a little something extra."[9] Paul Verna from Billboard named it a "highlight" of the album, viewing it as "searing" and "groove-heavy".[10] The Daily Vault's Sean McCarthy felt it's one of the most "straightforward" songs of the album.[11] Kevin Courtney from Irish Times declared it as "a mad maelstrom of beats and harpsichord arpeggia, a sort of Portishead for the beaten generation".[12] In a separate review of the remix, Courtney wrote, "Older fans of Tori's introspective balladeering will be bemused that their heroine now sounds like Stretch & Vern. Calling this a Tori Amos single is like describing "Money for Nothing" as a Sting song, and the lady's sampled voice is just incidental to the handbag-heaving beat and bassline."[13]

Alan Jones from Music Week deemed the remix a "brilliant reworking"[14] that was "as different from the rest of the album as chalk is from cheese".[15] Tim Jeffery from Record Mirror's Dance Update gave it five out of five, writing: "Needless to say, any lyrical subtlety has gone out of the window on this remixed package but that's not the point really. MK and Armand Van Helden pick and choose which of Tori's lines to chop up into bits and loop over their own music — Helden's is by far the most inventive with loads of strange synth sounds over a Bucketheads-style groove and a terrific atmospheric drop in the middle. A big club hit for sure but it'll be radio that decides this record's success or otherwise."[16] Cynthia Joyce from Salon noted that Amos' "penchant for abrupt endings and ad nauseam repetition; still surfaces on more experimental songs" like "Professional Widow".[17] Kevin Newman from Smash Hits named it the best track of the album with "Caught a Lite Sneeze", describing it as "more-Björk-than-Björk".[18] In 2014, Stereogum ranked the song number 10 on their list of the 10 greatest Tori Amos songs,[19] Mixmag featured it in their list of the best basslines in dance music in 2020,[20] and in 2023, The Guardian ranked the song number five on their list of the 20 greatest Tori Amos songs.[21] In 2022, Rolling Stone named the "Professional Widow" remix the 109th-greatest dance song.

Music video

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A music video was made for the "Star Trunk Funkin' Mix", comprising clips from other Amos videos edited together. It is the only video from between 1991 and 1998 that does not appear on Tori Amos: Complete Videos 1991–1998.[citation needed]

Track listings

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Credits and personnel

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Credits are lifted from the Boys for Pele album booklet. The album version includes the cry of a bull, which is credited as "bull" in the booklet.[32]

Recording and production

  • Recorded at a church (Delgany, Ireland) and "a wonderfully damp Georgian house" (County Cork, Ireland)
  • Additionally recorded at The Egyptian Room and Dinosaur Studios (New Orleans, Louisiana)
  • Mixed at Jacobs Studios (Surrey, England), Mix This!, and Record One (Los Angeles)
  • Mastered at Gateway Mastering (Portland, Maine)

Personnel

Charts

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Certifications

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Release history

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Region Version Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United States "Professional Widow" July 2, 1996 CD Atlantic [61]
United Kingdom "Hey Jupiter" / "Professional Widow" July 22, 1996
  • 12-inch vinyl
  • CD
  • cassette
 EastWest [62]
"Professional Widow (It's Got to Be Big)" December 30, 1996 [63]

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "11 diss tracks that are probably about Courtney Love". The A.V. Club. March 21, 2016. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
  2. ↑ Breihan, Tom (April 30, 2025). "The Alternative Number Ones: Tori Amos' 'God'". Stereogum. Retrieved May 8, 2026. Boys For Pele also had 'Professional Widow,' a song that's widely rumored to be a Courtney Love diss track.
  3. ↑ Mitchell, Matt (April 27, 2026). "Tori Amos vs. the Lizard Demons". Paste. Retrieved May 5, 2026.
  4. ↑ Petridis, Alexis (August 17, 2023). "Tori Amos's 20 greatest songs – ranked!". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
  5. ↑ "The Remix Hits of 1996" (PDF). Music Week. December 14, 1996. p. 36. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved October 7, 2021.
  6. ↑ Stratton, Sally (March 28, 1998). "Amos Adds Rhythm to Her Blues". Music & Media. Vol. 15 no. 13. p. 12.
  7. ↑ Aberdeen Press and Journal. December 26, 1996. p. 8.
  8. ↑ Chadwick, Justin (January 18, 2021). "Tori Amos' 'Boys for Pele' Turns 25 — Anniversary Retrospective". Albumism. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  9. ↑ Yeung, Neil Z. "Tori Amos – Boys for Pele". AllMusic. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  10. ↑ Verna, Paul (January 27, 1996). "Reviews & Previews: Albums" (PDF). Billboard. p. 105. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  11. ↑ McCarthy, Sean (February 18, 2005). "Boys For Pele – Tori Amos". The Daily Vault. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  12. ↑ Courtney, Kevin (January 26, 1996). "Rock". Irish Times.
  13. ↑ Courtney, Kevin (January 10, 1997). "U2 go disco-tech". Irish Times.
  14. ↑ Jones, Alan (December 28, 1996). "Talking Music" (PDF). Music Week. p. 17. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved October 7, 2021.
  15. ↑ Jones, Alan (February 8, 1997). "Talking Music" (PDF). Music Week. p. 8. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved May 8, 2022.
  16. ↑ Jeffery, Tim (June 15, 1996). "Hot Vinyl" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). p. 9. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
  17. ↑ Joyce, Cynthia. "AMOS 'N' RANDY". Salon. Archived from the original on September 3, 2000. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  18. ↑ Newman, Kevin (January 31, 1996). "Albums: Best New Album". Smash Hits. p. 53. Retrieved November 29, 2024.
  19. ↑ Dick, Jonathan (June 18, 2014). "The 10 Best Tori Amos Songs". Stereogum. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  20. ↑ "The Best Basslines In Dance Music, According To You". Mixmag. May 7, 2020. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
  21. ↑ Petridis, Alexis (August 17, 2023). "Tori Amos's 20 greatest songs – ranked!". The Guardian. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  22. ↑ Template:Cite AV media notes
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  27. ↑ Template:Cite AV media notes
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  30. ↑ Template:Cite AV media notes
  31. ↑ Template:Cite AV media notes
  32. ↑ Template:Cite AV media notes
  33. ↑ "Tori Amos – Hey Jupiter / Professional Widow". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  34. ↑ "Tori Amos – Professional Widow (It's Got to Be Big)" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  35. ↑ "Tori Amos – Hey Jupiter / Professional Widow" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  36. ↑ "Tori Amos – Hey Jupiter / Professional Widow" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  37. ↑ "Top RPM Dance/Urban: Issue 9726." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  38. ↑ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 14 no. 4. January 25, 1997. p. 23. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  39. ↑ "Tori Amos: Professional Widow (It's Got to Be Big)" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  40. ↑ "Tori Amos – Professional Widow (It's Got to Be Big)" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  41. ↑ "Tori Amos – Professional Widow (It's Got to Be Big)" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  42. ↑ "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (NR. 209 Vikuna 20.2. '97 – 26.2. '97)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). February 21, 1997. p. 16. Retrieved July 11, 2018.
  43. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Professional Widow". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  44. ↑ "Top National Sellers" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 13 no. 40. October 5, 1996. p. 20. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  45. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 45, 1996" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
  46. ↑ "Tori Amos – Professional Widow (It's Got to Be Big)" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  47. ↑ "Tori Amos – Professional Widow (It's Got to Be Big)". VG-lista. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  48. ↑ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
  49. ↑ "Tori Amos – Professional Widow (It's Got to Be Big)". Singles Top 100. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  50. ↑ "Tori Amos – Professional Widow (It's Got to Be Big)". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  51. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  52. ↑ "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  53. ↑ "Tori Amos Chart History (Bubbling Under Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
  54. ↑ "Tori Amos Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
  55. ↑ "Tori Amos Chart History (Dance Singles Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  56. ↑ "The RM Club Chart of the Year 96" (PDF). Record Mirror. January 11, 1997. p. 8. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved May 4, 2022 – via Music Week.
  57. ↑ "The Year in Music: Hot Dance Music Club Play Singles". Billboard. Vol. 108 no. 52. December 28, 1996. p. YE-44.
  58. ↑ "ARIA Top 100 Singles for 1997". ARIA. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
  59. ↑ "1997 Year-End Sales Charts: Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 14 no. 52. December 27, 1997. p. 7. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
  60. ↑ "Top 100 Singles 1997". Music Week. January 17, 1998. p. 27.
  61. ↑ "Professional Widow". Amazon. 1996. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  62. ↑ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. July 20, 1996. p. 46. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  63. ↑ "BPI > Certified Awards > Tori Amos". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
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