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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)" is a song written by the premier Motown songwriting/production team of the 1960s Holland–Dozier–Holland. The first hit recording was sung by Kim Weston in 1965. It was most popular in 1975 when it was recorded by the Doobie Brothers.

"Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)"
side-A label
Side A of the Canadian single
Single by Kim Weston[1]
B-side"Don't Compare Me with Her"
Released1965[2]
GenreR&B[3]
Length2:55[3]
LabelGordy[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)

Early versions

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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.[5] It peaked at number 4 on the R&B chart in Billboard and at number 50 on the Hot 100.[6] In 1967, the Isley Brothers recorded the song. Their version released in March 1968 and reached number 121 in the U.S.[7] and 22 on the R&B chart.

The American jazz-rock band Blood, Sweat & Tears released a version of the song on the album 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

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"Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me)"
 
Side A of the US single
Single by The Doobie Brothers
from the album Stampede
B-side"Slack Key Soquel Rag"
ReleasedApril 23, 1975
Recorded1974
StudioWarner Bros. Studios, North Hollywood
GenreBoogie rock[8]
Length3:42
LabelWarner 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)
Music video
"Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)" by the Doobie Brothers on YouTube
Official audio
"Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)" by the Doobie Brothers on YouTube

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

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"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

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Kim Weston

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Weekly chart performance for "Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)" by Kim Weston
Chart (1965) Peak
position
UK R&B (Record Mirror)[17] 6
US Cashbox Top 100[18] 48
US Billboard Hot 100[19] 50
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[20] 4

Isley Brothers

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Weekly chart performance for "Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)" by the Isley Brothers
Chart (1968) Peak
position
US Billboard Bubbling Under the Hot 100[7] 121
US Billboard R&B 22
US Cash Box Top 100[21] 97

Charity Brown

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Weekly chart performance for "Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)" by Charity Brown
Chart (1975) Peak
position
Canada RPM Top Singles[22] 5
Year-end chart performance for "Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)" by Charity Brown
Chart (1975) Rank
Canada[16] 65

Doobie Brothers

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Weekly chart performance for "Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me)" by the Doobie Brothers
Chart (1975) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[23] 34
Canada RPM Top Singles[22] 35
New Zealand (RIANZ)[24] 31
UK Singles Chart[14] 29
US Billboard Hot 100[25] 11
US Cash Box Top 100[26] 10
Year-end chart performance for "Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me)" by the Doobie Brothers
Chart (1975) Rank
United States (Joel Whitburn's Pop Annual)[27] 111

References

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  1. ^ Hoffmann, Frank (23 May 2016). Chronology of American Popular Music, 1900-2000. Taylor & Francis. p. 261. ISBN 9781135868864.
  2. ^ Leszczak, Bob (10 October 2013). "TALK TO ME, TALK TO ME". Who Did It First?: Great Rhythm and Blues Cover Songs and Their Original Artists. Scarecrow Press. p. 215. ISBN 9780810888678.
  3. ^ a b c Hamilton, Andrew. "Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While) - Kim Weston". Allmusic.
  4. ^ a b Pollock, Bruce (18 March 2014). "TAKE A MESSAGE TO MARY · TAKE ON ME". Rock Song Index: The 7500 Most Important Songs for the Rock and Roll Era. Taylor & Francis. p. 355. ISBN 9781135462963.
  5. ^ "Obituary: Mike Terry". TheGuardian.com. December 2008.
  6. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 618.
  7. ^ a b Joel Whitburn's Bubbling Under the Billboard Hot 100 1959-2004
  8. ^ Breithaupt, Don; Breithaupt, Jeff (October 15, 1996). "Where Were You in '62?: Early Sixties Revisited". Precious and Few - Pop Music in the Early '70s. St. Martin's Griffin. p. 18. ISBN 031214704X.
  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. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970-1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. 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. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 92. 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. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1999). Pop Annual. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. ISBN 0-89820-142-X.
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