Wherever I Lay My Hat (That's My Home)

"Wherever I Lay My Hat (That's My Home)"
Song by Marvin Gaye from the album That Stubborn Kinda Fellow
Released	December 1962
Genre	Soul
Writer(s)	Marvin Gaye, Barrett Strong and Norman Whitfield

"Wherever I Lay My Hat (That's My Home)" is a song written by Marvin Gaye, Barrett Strong and Norman Whitfield, and first recorded by Gaye in 1962. It was the B-side to his 1969 hit "Too Busy Thinking 'Bout My Baby". Nearly two decades later, Paul Young's version of the song was a UK No. 1 single for three weeks in July 1983.^[1]

Paul Young version

"Wherever I Lay My Hat (That's My Home)"
Single by Paul Young
from the album No Parlez
Released	February 16, 1983
Format	7" vinyl, 12" vinyl, 7" shaped picture disc[2]
Genre	Pop, blue-eyed soul
Length	4:52 (7" Version)[3] 5:18 (Album version)[4] 5:59 (Extended Club Mix)[5]
Label	CBS[3]
Writer(s)	Marvin Gaye, Barrett Strong and Norman Whitfield
Producer(s)	Laurie Latham[3]

The Paul Young version, from the album No Parlez, is stylistically notable for its use of fretless bass, played by Pino Palladino. Though a major UK hit that broke Young as a star, the song fared less well on the Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at No. 70, but was later used in the 1986 film Ruthless People and its accompanying soundtrack album.

In a retrospective review, Allmusic journalist Dave Thompson wrote that Young's version of the song "left mouths hanging open in awe" and described it as "a beautifully impassioned take on what was, in all fairness, never one of Marvin Gaye's greatest performances."^[6]

In the opening bass line, Palladino quotes the bassoon melody at the opening of Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring.^[7]

References

1. "The Official Charts Company - Wherever I Lay My Hat (That's My Home) by Paul Young Search". The Official Charts Company. 6 May 2013.
2. "Paul Young - Wherever I Lay My Hat". Discogs. Retrieved December 24, 2012.
3. "Paul Young - Wherever I Lay My Hat (Vinyl)". Discogs. Retrieved December 24, 2012.
4. "Paul Young - No Parlez (Vinyl, LP, Album)". Discogs. Retrieved December 24, 2012.
5. "Paul Young - Wherever I Lay My Hat / Sex (Extended Club Mix Versions) (Vinyl)". Discogs. Retrieved December 24, 2012.
6. Thompson, Dave (2011-07-16). "No Parlez - Paul Young : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved January 1, 2013.
7. http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TRjiMN2qJHI