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

"Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me)"
Single by The Doobie Brothers
from the album Stampede
B-side "Slat Key Soquel Rag"
Released April 23, 1975
Format 7" single
Recorded 1974
Genre Pop, rock, funk
Length 3:42
Label Warner Brothers
Writer(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)

"Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)" is a song written by the premier Motown songwriting/production team of the 1960s Holland–Dozier–Holland. The song was most popular in 1975 when it was recorded by the Doobie Brothers.

Motown 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. Holland-Dozier-Holland had Kim Weston record the song in 1965 and her version was released that September. It peaked at #4 on the R&B chart in Billboard and at #50 on the Hot 100.[1] In 1967, Holland-Dozier-Holland had the Isley Brothers remake the song. Their version released in March 1968 and reached #22 on the R&B chart.

Jermaine Jackson covered "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".

1975

The Doobie Brothers remade "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."[2]

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."[3] Motown veteran Paul Riser was enlisted to arrange the track.[4]

Released as the lead single of Stampede on April 23, 1975, "Take Me in Your Arms" reached a United States Billboard Hot 100 peak of #11 that June and #10 on Cash Box.[5] "Take Me in Your Arms" gave the Doobie Brothers their only chart hit in France at #37. The track also charted in the UK at #29, matching the chart peak of the Doobie Brothers' only other original release Top 30 hit "Listen to the Music" (The Doobie Brothers reached #7 in the UK in 1993 with a remixed version of their 1973 single "Long Train Runnin'") and in Australia at #34.

"Take Me in Your Arms" was also remade 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 version reached #5 in Canada in May 1975. As this version descended the Canadian charts the Doobie Brothers' version moved up to a #30 peak, the success of Brown's version evidently undercutting that of the Doobies', although the two versions were quite dissimilar. 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.

Also in 1975, a remake of "Take Me in Your Arms" was recorded by the Motown veteran R. Dean Taylor on his self-produced Polydor album,LA Sunset.

Chart performance (Doobie Brothers version)

Weekly charts

Chart (1975) Peak
position
Australia KMR 34
Canada RPM 11
France 37
UK 29
United States Billboard Hot 100 [6] 11
United States Cash Box Top 100 [5] 10

Year-end charts

Chart (1975) Rank
Australia[7] 163
Canada 65
United States (Joel Whitburn's Pop Annual)[8] 111

Other versions

The song has also been recorded by Blood, Sweat & Tears (on Blood, Sweat & Tears 4, 1971), Claudja Barry (her first solo single, included on the album The Girl Most Likely, 1977), Suzi Quatro (on Oh, Suzi Q., 1990), Marcia Hines (on Hinesight, 2004) and Phil Collins (on Going Back, 2010).

References

  1. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 618.
  2. ↑ "Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)". Songfacts.com. Retrieved December 26, 2009.
  3. ↑ "Doobie Brother Add Jazz Flavor" The Robesonian December 11, 1975 p.6
  4. ↑ Toledo Blade, May 25, 1975 p.24
  5. 1 2
  6. ↑ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-2002
  7. ↑ "Australian Chart Book". Austchartbook.com.au. Retrieved 2016-09-29.
  8. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (1999). Pop Annual. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. ISBN 0-89820-142-X.
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