national singles chart on 12 May of that year. It also topped the Canadian Adult Contemporary chart and charted in the United States, albeit outside the top 40. Charts Weekly charts Year-end charts Rod Stewart version Stewart recorded the song at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Sheffield, Alabama, United States, and it appeared on his 1976 album A Night on the Town. It was released as a double A-side single with "I Don't Want to Talk About It". It was a huge success, and spent four weeks at No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart in May 1977, No. 11 in April in Canada, and also reached No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. In a departure from the original, Stewart excludes the concluding "But when it comes to being loved, she's first" from the refrain. In 1993, he recorded a live version during a session of MTV Unplugged. This was included on the album Unplugged...and Seated. Record World called it a "love ballad, this time penned by Cat Stevens back in the sixties. Watch for another rapid chart ascent." Charts Weekly charts Year-end charts Papa Dee version Swedish musician Papa Dee released a reggae cover of "The First Cut Is the Deepest" in 1995. It was released as the first single from his fourth album, The Journey (1996), and remains his most commercially successful track. Scoring chart success in Europe, it peaked at No. 5 in Sweden, No. 9 in Denmark and Norway, No. 20 in Austria, and No. 38 in Iceland. Critical reception Pan-European magazine Music & Media wrote, "Dee-lightfully our Swedish Papa tackles the old Cat Stevens hit in a pop dance-infused reggae style with a snappy ragga interlude. Radio, club and dub edits are available too." Track listings Charts Weekly charts Year-end charts Sheryl Crow version Sheryl Crow's version of "The First Cut Is the Deepest" is the first single released from her 2003 compilation album The Very Best of Sheryl Crow. It became one of Crow's biggest radio hits, peaking at No. 14 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and becoming her first solo top-40 country hit following the success of her duet with Kid Rock, "Picture". The song stayed on the Hot 100 for 36 weeks and became a gold seller, also reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary and Adult Top 40 charts. Internationally, the song was a top-twenty