Back in My Arms Again

For the Kenny Chesney song, see Me and You (Kenny Chesney album).
"Back in My Arms Again"
US picture sleeve
Single by the Supremes
from the album More Hits by The Supremes
B-side"Whisper You Love Me Boy"
ReleasedApril 15, 1965
RecordedFebruary 24, 1965
StudioHitsville U.S.A., Detroit
GenrePop, rhythm and blues
Length2:52
LabelMotown
Songwriter(s)Holland–Dozier–Holland
Producer(s)
The Supremes singles chronology
"Stop! In the Name of Love"
(1965) 		"Back in My Arms Again"
(1965) 		"Nothing but Heartaches"
(1965)

"Back in My Arms Again" is a 1965 song recorded by the Supremes for the Motown label.

Written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland, "Back in My Arms Again" was the fifth consecutive and overall number-one song for the group on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart in the United States from June 6, 1965, through June 12, 1965,[1] also topping the soul chart for a week.

History

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Eddie Holland of the Holland–Dozier–Holland wrote the basis sketch for "Back in My Arms Again."[2]

"Back in My Arms Again" was the last of five Supremes songs in a row to go number one (the others are "Where Did Our Love Go", "Baby Love", "Come See About Me", and "Stop! In the Name of Love"). The song's middle eight is almost identical to a later Holland-Dozier-Holland hit, The Isley Brothers "This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You)".

On the album in which this single appeared, More Hits by the Supremes, and on the official single, each member is pictured separately on the front cover, with her signature above it.

The Supremes performed the song on The Mike Douglas Show, a syndicated daytime program, on May 5, 1965, and again on November 3.[3] They performed the song nationally on the NBC variety program Hullabaloo![4] on Tuesday, May 11, 1965, peaking on the music charts in the following weeks.

Billboard said that "Back in My Arms Again" has "a strong teen lyric and a powerful vocal performance pitted against a hard rock backing in full support."[5] Cash Box described it as "a rollicking, pop-r&b romancer about a lucky lass who gets back with her boyfriend after quite a hiatus."[6] Record World chose it as one of their "Single Picks of the Week," stating that the Supremes are "unbeatable."[7] Allmusic critic Ed Hogan called the rhythm section provided by the Funk Brothers "tight," the saxophone played by Mike Terry "rollicking" and the vibraphone played by James Gitten "dreamy."[2]

Personnel

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Charts

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States — 1,000,000[22][23]

Later versions

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"Back in My Arms Again" returned to the Billboard Hot 100 in 1978 with a remake by Genya Ravan on a single (taken from the singer's album Urban Desire) which was Ravan's only Hot 100 entry, peaking at #92.[24][25]

The song almost made the Hot 100 in 1983 via a remake on Motown's Gordy label by female vocal group High Inergy, whose 1977 debut album Turnin' On had yielded a Top 20 hit in ("You Can't Turn Me Off") and elicited numerous comparisons with the Supremes.[26][27][28][29][30] High Inergy remained a one hit wonder despite the release of seven more albums and 27 more singles. In 1983, the group released what would be their last album, Groove Patrol, from which a near note-for-note remake of "Back in My Arms Again" was released as a single[31] (the group's last) and reached #105 on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart (without ranking on the magazine's R&B chart).[32]

"Back in My Arms Again" has also been remade by the Michael Stanley Band (on Greatest Hints, 1979),[33]Nicolette Larson (as "Back in My Arms" on In the Nick of Time in 1980), by Michael Bolton (on his eponymous 1983 album), by The Forester Sisters (on Perfume, Ribbons & Pearls in 1986), and by Colin James (on the American Boyfriends soundtrack album in 1989).[34]

The song was recorded by the all-female American rock group Fanny in early 1973 but their version, produced by Todd Rundgren, remained unreleased until 2002, when it appeared on Rhino Handmade's limited-edition Fanny anthology First Time In A Long Time: The Reprise Recordings.[35] The outtake was later included on the 2016 reissue of 1973's Mothers Pride. The song was also covered by The Jam live at the 100 Club on 11 September 1977, a version released on the six-CD set Fire and Skill – The Jam Live in 2015.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. Vol. 77, no. 24. Nielsen Company. 1965. p. 24. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  2. ^ a b Hogan, Ed. "Back in My Arms Again". Allmusic. Retrieved 2022-02-08.
  3. ^ Guest co-host: Zsa Zsa Gabor (3 November 1965). "November 3, 1965". The Mike Douglas Show. Season 4. Episode 43. Cleveland. CBS. KYW-TV.
  4. ^ Host: Frankie Avalon (11 May 1965). "Show #18". Hullabaloo. Season 1. Episode 18. Burbank, California. NBC. KNBC.
  5. ^ "Singles Reviews". Billboard. April 24, 1964. Retrieved 2022-02-08.
  6. ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. May 1, 1965. p. 8. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
  7. ^ "Single Picks of the Week" (PDF). Record World. May 1, 1965. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-07-21.
  8. ^ Adam White; Fred Bronson (1993). The Billboard Book of Number One Rhythm & Blues Hits. Billboard Books. ISBN 9780823082858.
  9. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 5667." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
  10. ^ "The Supremes – Stop! In the Name of Love" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
  11. ^ "Billboard HITS OF THE WORLD". Billboard. 21 August 1965. p. 12.
  12. ^ "Supremes: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
  13. ^ "The Supremes Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  14. ^ "The Supremes Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
  15. ^ "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles". Cashbox. June 5, 1965. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  16. ^ "The CASH BOX Top 50 In R&B Locations". Cashbox. June 5, 1965. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  17. ^ "FOREIGN HITS IN JAPAN 1960-1969". Billboard. December 19, 1970. p. J-32. Retrieved 2016-09-27.
  18. ^ "Top 100 Hits of 1965/Top 100 Songs of 1965". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2016-09-29.
  19. ^ "TOP R&B SINGLES OF 1965 (Ratings are based on chart action from Jan. 30 to Oct. 30.)" (PDF). Billboard. p. 40. Retrieved January 14, 2022 – via worldradiohistory.com.
  20. ^ "Top 100 Year End Charts: 1965". Cashbox Magazine. Archived from the original on 2012-10-05. Retrieved 2016-02-02.
  21. ^ "The CASH BOX Year-End Charts: 1965". Cashbox. Archived from the original on 16 April 2021. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  22. ^ Jay Warner (2006). American Singing Groups: A History from 1940s to Today. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 458. ISBN 0634099787. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  23. ^ Joseph Murrells (1984). Million Selling Records from the 1900s to the 1980s: An Illustrated Directory. B.T. Batsford. p. 215. ISBN 9780713438437. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  24. ^ Cashbox Vol 40 #12 (5 August 1978) "Singles Reviews" p.18
  25. ^ "Genya Ravan". Billboard.
  26. ^ Atlanta Voice 10 September 1977 "History Repeats Itself This Time with High Inergy" p.7
  27. ^ Los Angeles Times 11 December 1977 "Pop News" by Dennis Hunt pp.107-108
  28. ^ Philadelphia Daily News 28 February 1978 "In the Middle of Turning You On" by Mikal Gilmore p.34
  29. ^ Detroit Free Press 21 January 1978 "Critic's Choice? Don't Aske Me" by Shirley Eder p.13-A
  30. ^ Orlando Sentinel 19 May 1978 "Supreme Future for High Inergy?" by Dean Johnson p.1-B
  31. ^ Cashbox vol 65 #9 (30 July 1983) "Singles Reviews" p.8
  32. ^ "Back in My Arms Again (Song by High Inergy) ••• Music VF, US & UK hits charts".
  33. ^ "THE 70S". Archived from the original on 2009-02-28.
  34. ^ William Ruhlmann. "Michael Bolton [1983] - Michael Bolton | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-09-28.
  35. ^ "Fanny - First Time In A Long Time: The Reprise Recordings". Discogs. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
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