Little Miss Can't Be Wrong

"Little Miss Can't Be Wrong"
Single by Spin Doctors
from the album Pocket Full of Kryptonite
B-side
  • "What Time Is It?" (live)
  • "Freeway of Plains" (live)[1]
ReleasedOctober 1992
GenreAlternative rock[2]
Length3:50
LabelEpic
Songwriter(s)Spin Doctors
Producer(s)
Spin Doctors singles chronology
"Little Miss Can't Be Wrong"
(1992) 		"Two Princes"
(1993)
Music video
"Little Miss Can't Be Wrong" on YouTube

"Little Miss Can't Be Wrong" is a song by American rock group Spin Doctors, released in October 1992 by Epic Records as the lead single from their debut album, Pocket Full of Kryptonite (1991). The song reached number 17 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number two on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart. It also reached number five in New Zealand and ended 1993 as the country's 41st-best-selling single. Live versions of "What Time Is It?" and "Freeway of the Plains" (mistakenly titled "Freeway of Plains" on the single) were included as its B-side.[1]

Background and writing

The lyrics describe the narrator's happiness about no longer associating with a demanding woman who never admits any faults. The opening lines are: "Been a whole lot easier since the bitch left town / Been a whole lot happier without that face around."

Lead singer Chris Barron has stated that the song was inspired by his relationship with his stepmother, despite popular belief that it was written about an ex-girlfriend. He described his stepmother as a "malignant narcissist".[3] Barron had a viral tweet in August 2019 about the song's creation, writing: "My stepmom told me I'd be a janitor [nothing wrong with that] and live in the basement of a school and play guitar for the rats. I wrote a song about her. It's called Little Miss Can't Be Wrong. It's been played on the radio three million times."[3][4]

Critical reception

An editor from AllMusic retrospectively described the song as "incessantly catchy".[5] Alan Jones from Music Week rated it three out of five, writing, "This driving, economical song — vaguely reminiscent in execution to some of Steve Miller's material — should win support of rock radio. It may not be a Top 20 hit, but should nibble at the lower end of the chart, and tee up their album A Pocket Full of Kryptonite."[6] Sylvia Patterson from Smash Hits gave the song four out of five, viewing it as "feisty stuff."[7]

Music video

The accompanying music video for "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong" premiered in August 1992.[citation needed]

Track listing

"Little Miss Can't Be Wrong"
No.TitleLength
1."Little Miss Can't Be Wrong"3:56
2."What Time Is It?" (live)7:53
3."Freeway of the Plains" (live)6:12

Charts

References

  1. ^ a b "Spin Doctors Single Releases". Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  2. ^ Marotta, Michael (July 7, 2014). "So... the fucking Spin Doctors are playing a free show at City Hall Plaza this week". Vanyaland. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
  3. ^ a b Uitti, Jacob (November 25, 2020). "Behind the Song: "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong," by The Spin Doctors". American Songwriter.
  4. ^ Benson, Dave (August 10, 2019). "'Little Miss' Spin Doctors' Tweet Strikes A Chord". WKFR.
  5. ^ "Spin Doctors - Pocket Full of Kryptonite". AllMusic. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  6. ^ Jones, Alan (February 27, 1993). "Market Preview: Mainstream - Singles" (PDF). Music Week. p. 6. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
  7. ^ Patterson, Sylvia (June 23, 1993). "New Singles". Smash Hits. p. 51. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  8. ^ "Spin Doctors – Little Miss Can't Be Wrong". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  9. ^ "Spin Doctors – Little Miss Can't Be Wrong" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  10. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 1836." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  11. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 35. August 28, 1993. p. 23. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
  12. ^ "EHR Top 40" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 37. September 11, 1993. p. 22. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
  13. ^ "Spin Doctors – Little Miss Can't Be Wrong" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  14. ^ "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (26. mars–1. apríl)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). March 25, 1993. p. 29. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
  15. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Little Miss Can't Be Wrong". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  16. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 40, 1993" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
  17. ^ "Spin Doctors – Little Miss Can't Be Wrong" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  18. ^ "Spin Doctors – Little Miss Can't Be Wrong". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  19. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  20. ^ "The Airplay Chart" (PDF). Music Week. August 28, 1993. p. 32. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  21. ^ "Spin Doctors Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  22. ^ "Spin Doctors Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  23. ^ "Spin Doctors Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  24. ^ "Árslistinn 1993". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). January 4, 1994. p. 17. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
  25. ^ "End of Year Charts 1993". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved June 1, 2020.