Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)

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This article is about a Holland–Dozier–Holland song. For similarly titled songs, see Take Me in Your Arms (disambiguation).
"Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)"
Gordy[4]
Songwriter(s)Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Eddie Holland[3]
Producer(s)Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier[4]
Kim Weston[1] singles chronology
"What Good Am I Without You"
(1964) 		"Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)"
(1965) 		"Helpless"
(1966)
"Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me)"
Warner Bros.
Songwriter(s)Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Eddie Holland
Producer(s)Ted Templeman
The Doobie Brothers singles chronology
"Black Water"
(1974) 		"Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me)"
(1975) 		"Sweet Maxine"
(1975)
Official audio
"Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)" on
YouTube

"Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)" is a song written by the premier

Doobie Brothers
.

Early versions

Eddie Holland of Holland-Dozier-Holland made the original recording of "Take Me in Your Arms" in 1964. This version was not released commercially until 2005 on the compilation album A Cellarful of Motown! Volume 2. Holland-Dozier-Holland had Kim Weston record the song in 1965 and her version was released that September. Mike Terry is the baritone sax player.[6] It peaked at number 4 on the R&B chart in Billboard and at number 50 on the Hot 100.[7] In 1967, the Isley Brothers recorded the song. Their version released in March 1968 and reached number 121 in the U.S.[8]
and 22 on the R&B chart.

The American

BST4
in June 1971.

Jermaine Jackson released "Take Me in Your Arms" for his first solo album, Jermaine, released in 1972. The track, produced by Hal Davis, was the B-side for Jackson's record "Daddy's Home".

The Doobie Brothers

The Doobie Brothers recorded "Take Me in Your Arms" for their 1975 Stampede album. Tom Johnston, who was then the Doobies' frontman, later recalled, "I had been a fan of that song since it came out somewhere in the '60s. I just loved that song. So somewhere around '72 I started lobbying to get the band to do a cover of that. And I didn't get anywhere until '75. Then finally in 1975 we actually did it."[9]

Doobies member Jeff Baxter said of their recording, "That song was like a dream come true for us. Every musician I've ever known has at some point wanted to achieve Motown's technically slick soul sound - it's so dynamic. We sat down to try to duplicate it, and to see if our version could emerge as a successful single." According to Doobies member Patrick Simmons, "At first the band sounded like the Grateful Dead doing the Four Tops, but gradually it came together quite accurately."[10] Motown veteran Paul Riser was enlisted to arrange the track.[11]

Released as the lead single of Stampede on April 23, 1975, "Take Me in Your Arms" peaked at number 11 on the United States Billboard Hot 100 two months later on the weeks of June 21 and 28.[12][13] "Take Me in Your Arms" gave the Doobie Brothers their only chart hit in France, where it reached number 37. The track also charted in the UK at number 29,[14] matching the chart peak of the Doobie Brothers' only other original release Top 30 hit "Listen to the Music" (The Doobie Brothers reached number 7 in the UK in 1993 with a remixed version of their 1973 single "Long Train Runnin'") and in Australia at number 34.[15]

Other notable versions

"Take Me in Your Arms" was also released in 1975 by the Canadian singer Charity Brown whose version, produced by Harry Hinde, was arranged by the Motown veteran Tom Baird. The Charity Brown rendering reached number 5 in Canada in May 1975. The song was also recorded by Blood Sweat & Tears on BS&T 4.[16] Brown's single was given a May 1975 release in the UK where it failed to chart. The track appeared on Brown's 1975 album Charity Brown.

Australian pop group

The Chantoozies released their version as a single in 2019, which was the last song to feature founding member Tottie Goldsmith
.

Chart performance

Doobie Brothers

References

  1. ISBN 9781135868864
    .
  2. ISBN 9780810888678
    .
  3. ^
    Allmusic
    .
  4. ^
    ISBN 9781135462963
    .
  5. ISBN 031214704X
    .
  6. TheGuardian.com
    . December 2008.
  7. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 618.
  8. ^ a b Joel Whitburn's Bubbling Under the Billboard Hot 100 1959-2004
  9. ^ "Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)". Songfacts.com. Retrieved December 26, 2009.
  10. ^ "Doobie Brother Add Jazz Flavor" The Robesonian December 11, 1975 p.6
  11. ^ Toledo Blade, May 25, 1975 p.24
  12. ^ Billboard Hot 100, Week of June 21, 1975 – Billboard.com. Retrieved May 25, 2023.
  13. ^ Billboard Hot 100, Week of June 28, 1975 – Billboard.com. Retrieved May 25, 2023.
  14. ^ a b "Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. 1975-06-07. Retrieved 2020-09-26.
  15. ISBN 0-646-11917-6
    .
  16. ^ a b "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1975-05-31. Retrieved 2020-09-27.
  17. ^ "Britain's Top R&B Singles" (PDF). Record Mirror. November 20, 1965. p. 11. Retrieved January 2, 2022 – via worldradiohistory.com.
  18. ^ "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles". Cashbox. November 13, 1965. Archived from the original on January 4, 2021. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  19. ^ "Kim Weston Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  20. ^ "Kim Weston Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  21. ^ Cash Box Top 100 Singles, April 20, 1973
  22. ^ a b "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1975-07-05.
  23. ISBN 0-646-11917-6
    .
  24. ^ NZ Top 40 Singles, August 25, 1975
  25. ^ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–2002
  26. ^ Cash Box Top 100 Singles, June 21, 1975
  27. ISBN 0-89820-142-X
    .

External links
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