Gypsy Woman (She’s Homeless) — Crystal Waters
A woman outside a Washington hotel, a song first meant for Ultra Naté and a wordless hook: how Crystal Waters made a 1991 house hit about homelessness.
- Written by Crystal Waters and Neal Conway, produced by the Basement Boys.
- Released by Mercury on 3 April 1991, lead single from the album Surprise.
- No. 8 in the US, No. 2 in the UK, No. 1 in five European countries.
“Gypsy Woman (She’s Homeless)” is a dance hit about someone people walk past. Crystal Waters wrote it after seeing a woman outside a Washington hotel, put it on a Basement Boys groove, and in 1991 took it into the top ten on both sides of the Atlantic.
A woman outside the Mayflower
Waters was born in 1961 in Deptford Township, New Jersey, into a musical family: her father was jazz musician Junior Waters and her great-aunt was Ethel Waters. She studied business and computer science at Howard University, graduated in 1989 and worked as a probation officer for the Washington, D.C. parole board.
The song came from a woman who stood in front of the Mayflower Hotel in Washington. Waters later said the moment “changed my idea of homelessness”.
Written for someone else
Waters met the Basement Boys at a conference in Washington, and the first two songs she wrote for them were “Makin’ Happy” and “Gypsy Woman”. The song was originally meant for Ultra Naté. Waters recorded the demo herself, and the production company signed her instead.
Written with Neal Conway and produced by the Basement Boys, it came out on Mercury on 3 April 1991 as the lead single from her debut album, Surprise, which followed on 25 June. The B-side was “Tell Me”. Its hook is a line of sung syllables rather than words.
Top ten on both sides of the Atlantic
In the US it reached No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Dance Club Songs chart. In the UK it entered at No. 3 on 12 May 1991, climbed to No. 2 and topped the dance chart. It went to No. 1 in Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland, and on the Eurochart Hot 100, and reached No. 11 in France and Australia. It is certified platinum in the UK and gold in the US.
Mark Pellington directed the video. In 1992 a Joey Negro remix appeared on Red Hot + Dance, an AIDS fundraiser.
After “Gypsy Woman”
Waters did not stop there. “100% Pure Love”, from Storyteller (1994), reached No. 11 on the Hot 100 and No. 1 on the dance chart, and she has collected twelve Billboard dance No. 1s, including “I Am House” in 2018. She also sang on Alex Gaudino’s “Destination Calabria”, built on “Calabria”, the 2003 hit by Rune Reilly Kölsch.
In the mix
The groove is steady and the hook arrives early, which makes it an easy record to bring in and a hard one to take out. For more early-1990s US vocal house, keep digging with “Show Me Love” by Robin S and “Free” by Ultra Naté.
FAQ
What is Gypsy Woman about?
A homeless woman Crystal Waters saw in front of the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C. Waters said the moment changed her idea of homelessness.
Who produced Gypsy Woman?
The Basement Boys. Crystal Waters wrote the song with Neal Conway, and Mercury released it on 3 April 1991.
How high did Gypsy Woman chart?
No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 on the US dance club chart; No. 2 in the UK; No. 1 in Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland.
