Strange Kind of Woman - History

History

The song was originally called "Prostitute". Vocalist Ian Gillan introduced the song on Deep Purple in Concert: "It was about a friend of ours who got mixed up with a very evil woman and it was a sad story. They got married in the end. And a few days after they got married, the lady died." In Wordography's section Gillan gives slightly different version of the song's history:

I loved her in a strange post-adolescent-pre-adult way, but then so did quite a lot of other people. She loved them too and gave them good return for their money. I failed miserably when I tried to break her from the habit…she said it wasn't a habit, it was her life and what did I know anyway? I did get promoted from Wednesday morning trysts to Saturday evening dates (sort of). The fact is, this song is not about one woman…but a compilation of thrills and disappointments, and such a package can only be called Nancy. I grew up fast…the innocence died and, in the category…My Woman… all claims were relinquished.

When Deep Purple performed the song live, Gillan and guitarist Ritchie Blackmore would play a guitar-vocal duel in the middle. This would always end with an extremely long, high-pitched scream from Gillan before the band returned to playing the original song. An example can be heard on the live album Made In Japan recorded in 1972.

During the song "You Don't Remember, I'll Never Forget," on Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force's album Trial by Fire, Yngwie Malmsteen and Joe Lynn Turner, who replaced Gillan in Deep Purple around the same time the album was released, pay tribute to Gillan and Blackmore by incorporating this guitar-vocal battle into the song after the guitar solo.