"Please Come to Boston" is a song that was recorded and written by American singer-songwriter Dave Loggins. It was released in April 1974 as the first single from his album Apprentice (In a Musical Workshop) and was produced by Jerry Crutchfield. It spent two weeks at number five on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in August 1974[3] and one week atop the Billboard Easy Listening chart.[4] It was nominated for a Grammy Award in the category Best Male Pop Vocal performance.[4]
| "Please Come to Boston" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Dave Loggins | ||||
| from the album Apprentice (In a Musical Workshop) | ||||
| B-side | "Let Me Go Now" | |||
| Released | May 6, 1974 | |||
| Genre | Soft rock[1][2] | |||
| Length | 4:07 | |||
| Label | Epic | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Dave Loggins | |||
| Producer(s) | Jerry Crutchfield | |||
| Dave Loggins singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Analysis and history
editThe three verses of the song are each a plea from the narrator to a woman whom he hopes will join him in, respectively, Boston, Denver, and Los Angeles, with each verse concluding: "She said, 'No – boy would you come home to me'"; the woman's sentiment is elaborated on in the chorus which concludes with the line: "I'm the number one fan of the man from Tennessee".
Dave Loggins, born and raised in Tennessee, was inspired to write "Please Come to Boston" by a 1972 tour with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band which included stops in Boston, Denver and Los Angeles,[5] cities which were new to Loggins. He stated:
The story is almost true, except there wasn't anyone waiting {here} so I made her up. In effect, making the longing for someone stronger. It was a recap to my first trip to each of those cities and out of innocence. That was how I saw each one. The fact of having no one to come home to made the chorus easy to write. Some 40 years later, I still vividly remember that night, and it was as if someone else was writing the song.[6]
Chart performance
edit| Chart (1974) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[7] | 47 |
| Canadian RPM Top Singles[8] | 4 |
| Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks[9] | 2 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 5 |
| U.S. Billboard Easy Listening | 1 |
Covers
editThe song has been covered numerous times, most notably by country music singer David Allan Coe and folk singer Joan Baez, who actually began her career in the Boston-Cambridge area and included "Please Come to Boston" on her 1976 live album, From Every Stage. As other female singers performing "Please Come to Boston" have done, Baez sings from the perspective of the woman refusing the invitations. Other notable artists covering the track include Reba McEntire, B. W. Stevenson, Tammy Wynette, Garth Brooks, Willie Nelson, Glen Campbell, Babyface, Brandy, Tori Amos, Andrew WK, Kenny Chesney, Wade Bowen, Jackopierce, Jimmy Buffett, Lee Hazlewood, Chase Bryant, Confederate Railroad and Rita Wilson.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ James Christopher Monger. "Apprentice (In a Musical Workshop) – Dave Loggins | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
- ^ Kuge, Mara (February 7, 2019). "14 Secretly Cruel Soft Rock Love Songs". Ultimate Classic Rock.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 8th Edition (Billboard Publications)
- ^ a b Hyatt, Wesley (1999). The Billboard Book of No. 1 Adult Contemporary Hits (Billboard Publications)
- ^ "How the Birthplace of Country Music Lost Out to Nashville". January 2009.
- ^ "Please Come to Boston – Stories Behind the Songs". DaveLogginsMusic.com. Retrieved August 26, 2014.
- ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 180. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ "RPM Top 100 Singles - August 24, 1974" (PDF).
- ^ "RPM Top 50 AC - July 13, 1974" (PDF).