"Baby I'm Yours" is a song written by

Van McCoy Van Allen Clinton McCoy (January 6, 1940 – July 6, 1979) was an American record producer, arranger, songwriter and singer. He is known for his 1975 internationally successful hit " The Hustle". He has approximately 700 song copyrights to his c ...

which was a hit in 1965 for Barbara Lewis, the original recording artist and featured on her album of the same name.

Composition and original recording

Barbara Lewis first recorded "Baby I'm Yours" in a January 8, 1965 session at Atlantic Recording Studios in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

directed by Bert Berns with the producer credit assigned to Lewis's manager Ollie McLaughlin. The session for the track featured Teacho Wiltshire conducting his orchestra, whose personnel included

Clark Terry Clark Virgil Terry Jr. (December 14, 1920 – February 21, 2015) was an American Swing music, swing and bebop trumpeter, a pioneer of the flugelhorn in jazz, and a composer and educator. He played with Charlie Barnet (1947), Count Basie (1948� ...

and Dud Bascomb (trumpets), Jimmy Cleveland and Tony Studd (trombones), Frank Haywood Henry (baritone sax), Charlie Brown (tenor sax), Paul Griffin (piano), Bill Suyker (guitar), Jimmy Lewis (bass), Gary Chester (drums), and

Artie Butler Arthur Butler (born December 2, 1942) is an American arranger, composer, songwriter, and session musician. In a long career, he has been involved in numerous hit records and other recordings, and has been awarded over 60 gold and platinum album ...

(percussion/ handclaps); the harmony background vocals on the track were provided by the song's composer,

, singing with Kendra Spotswood

Barbara Lewis has stated that Van McCoy wrote "Baby I'm Yours" specifically for her. When she first heard the demo for "Baby I'm Yours" Lewis disliked the song—she has suggested that she actually was daunted by the high quality of the vocal, by McCoy himself, on the demo—and at the original session "I didn't really put 100% into my vocal performance" hoping that

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

would shelve the track as sub-par. "Ollie cLaughlintold me 'Barbara, we're gonna have to go back to

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

and dub you in. We gotta do your vocals over. You're just not giving like you should on the song.' We did several takes n Detroitand he was wondering 'How am I going to get this girl to give? She's so hard-headed.' He said 'You know, Barbara, Karen can sing that song better than you.' That was his little daughter. And it pissed me off. I did one more take, and that was the take that they selected." It has also been reported that Lewis dubbed her vocal in a

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

studio.

Commercial performance

Released in April 1965, Lewis' "Baby I'm Yours" enjoyed staggered regional success exemplified by the single reaching #1 in Detroit as early as June 1965 and peaking at #4 in Chicago that August: the national peak of the single was #11 achieved on the

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

in ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' dated August 21, 1965. "Baby I'm Yours" afforded Lewis a #5

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

hit.

Charts

The Paramounts/ Peter and Gordon versions

A version by

Peter and Gordon Peter and Gordon were a British pop duo, composed of Peter Asher (b. 1944) and Gordon Waller (1945–2009), who achieved international fame in 1964 with their first single, the million-selling "A World Without Love". The duo had several subseq ...

was released by Columbia UK in 1965. The track was also included on the duo's 1966 album, ''Lady Godiva''.

Development

The first UK recording of "Baby I'm Yours" was by the Paramounts, at

Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a music recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, London, Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of ...

in the summer of 1965, but the track went unreleased until their 1998 compilation album, ''The Paramounts at Abbey Road 1963 to 1970''. A higher-profile act also on the Columbia Kroster, Peter and Gordon, had the UK hit version of the song, released 15 October 1965, which reached #19 on the UK singles chart. The Peter and Gordon version was recorded in an Abbey Road session produced by Norman Newell and featured

Big Jim Sullivan James George Tomkins (14 February 1941 – 2 October 2012), known professionally as Big Jim Sullivan, was an English guitarist. Best known as a session guitarist, he was one of the most in-demand studio musicians in the UK in the 1960s ...

on guitar. Peter Asher, who partnered Gordon Waller as Peter and Gordon, recalled: "We did 'Baby I'm Yours' because I loved the original Barbara Lewis record."

Commercial performance

"Baby I'm Yours" is unique among Peter and Gordon singles, being their sole collaboration with arranger Tony Osborne, who took over from the duo's original regular collaborator Geoff Love. Subsequent to "Baby I'm Yours" Peter and Gordon regularly collaborated with arranger/conductor Bob Leaper. In deference to the US success of the Barbara Lewis version,

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

, Peter and Gordon's US label, did not issue the duo's "Baby I'm Yours" single in America. The US single release, concurrent with "Baby I'm Yours" in the UK, was "Don't Pity Me", a composition by the duo which peaked at #83. "Baby I'm Yours" was the first Peter and Gordon UK single not be released concurrently in the US.

Charts

Jody Miller version

Jody Miller recorded "Baby I'm Yours" with producer Billy Sherrill in a June 16, 1971 session at the Columbia studio in

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

for inclusion on the album '' He's So Fine'', entitled for Miller's then current top five

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

remake of the Chiffons' 1963 #1 hit.

Development

Miller's recording of "Baby I'm Yours" featured

the Jordanaires The Jordanaires were an American vocal quartet that formed as a gospel group in 1948. Over the years, they recorded both sacred and secular music for recording companies such as Capitol Records, RCA Victor, Columbia Records, Decca Records, Vo ...

chorale. Impressed by the 1968

Tammy Wynette Tammy Wynette (born Virginia Wynette Pugh; May 5, 1942 – April 6, 1998) was an American country music singer and songwriter, considered among the genre's most influential and successful artists. Along with Loretta Lynn, Wynette helped bring a ...

hit " Stand by Your Man", Miller had contacted that track's producer Billy Sherrill in the hopes of reviving her own flagging recording career. After '' Look at Mine''—Miller's first album in Sherrill's charge—generated two top twenty hits on the country chart in 1970 with " Look at Mine" and " If You Think I Love You Now (I've Just Started)", Sherrill opted for a new musical direction for Miller, who recalls: "He said I didn't phrase my words like a country singer, so we took some old, sexy pop songs and put in a little boppy steel guitar." Issued September 1, 1971 as the second single off ''He's So Fine'', "Baby I'm Yours" reached #5 C&W and #21

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

and afforded Miller her fifth and final Hot 100 showing with a Hot 100 peak of #91.

Charts

Cass Elliot version

Cass Elliot Ellen Naomi Cohen (September 19, 1941 – July 29, 1974), known professionally as Cass Elliot, was an American singer. She was also known as "Mama Cass", a name she reportedly disliked. Elliot was a member of the singing group the Mamas & the P ...

's remake of "Baby I'm Yours" was released in February 1972 at the same time as its parent album ''

''.

Development

Elliot's version was produced by Lewis Merenstein and arranged/conducted by

Benny Golson Benny Golson (January 25, 1929 – September 21, 2024) was an American bebop and hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and arranger. He came to prominence with the big bands of Lionel Hampton and Dizzy Gillespie, more as a writer than a p ...

. The album was Elliot's debut for

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic ...

who insisted on "Baby I'm Yours" release as the lead single over Elliott and Merenstein's choice: "That Song", a new song by Bill Dean, which would be given single release in April 1972. Neither "Baby I'm Yours" or "That Song" afforded Elliot an appearance on a ''Billboard'' chart. Elliot's "Baby I'm Yours" charted on the Canadian

hitlist, peaking at #18.

Track list

;CD single #"Baby I'm Yours" #"Cherries Jubilee"

Charts

Linda Lewis version

In May 1976, a

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

remake of "Baby I'm Yours" was released by Linda Lewis, who in 1967 had chosen Lewis as her professional surname in honor of Barbara Lewis, the original singer of "Baby I'm Yours".

Development

Recorded subsequent to Lewis' 1975 album '' Not a Little Girl Anymore'', and not included on her next album release '' Woman Overboard'' (1977), "Baby I'm Yours" was included as a bonus track on the 2001 CD release of ''Not a Little Girl Anymore''. The song reached #33 in United Kingdom charts.

Track list

;CD single #"Baby I'm Yours" #"The Other Side"

Charts

Debby Boone version

Debby Boone Deborah Anne Boone (born September 22, 1956) is an American singer, author, and actress. She is best known for her 1977 hit, " You Light Up My Life", which spent ten weeks at No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and led to her winning the G ...

recorded "Baby I'm Yours" in the summer of 1977 with the track included on Boone's album '' You Light Up My Life.''

Development

The song was issued as a single in March 1978 with "God Knows", a track from Boone's ''

Midstream The oil and gas industry is usually divided into three major components: upstream, midstream and downstream. The midstream sector involves the transportation (by pipeline, rail, barge, oil tanker or truck), storage, and wholesale marketing of cr ...

'' album, as its flip side. Peter Noone, the co-writer of "God Knows", has alleged " God Knows'was originally intended to be the A-side. But the record company chickened out and went with hecover of 'Baby I'm Yours' instead." Boone's "Baby I'm Yours" peaked at #22 C&W while on the Hot 100 the track peaked at #74 and on the Easy Listening chart it reached #14, both in a tandem ranking with "God Knows".

Track list

;CD single #"Baby I'm Yours" #"God Knows"

Charts

Tanya Tucker version

Tanya Tucker recorded "Baby I'm Yours" for her sole Arista album release ''

Changes Changes may refer to: Books * '' Changes: A Love Story'', 1991 novel by Ama Ata Aidoo * ''Changes'' (The Dresden Files) (2010), the 12th novel in Jim Butcher's ''The Dresden Files'' Series * ''Changes'', a 1983 novel by Danielle Steel * ''Chan ...

'', from which the song was issued as the third single in July 1983, peaking at C&W #22.

Track list

;CD single 1 #"Baby I'm Yours" #"I Don't Want You to Go" ;CD single 2 #"Baby I'm Yours" #"Baby I'm Yours" (Radio edit) #"Baby I'm Yours" (Remix) #"I Don't Want You to Go"

Charts

Cher version

Background

Cher Cher ( ; born Cheryl Sarkisian, May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Goddess of Pop", she is known for her Androgyny, androgynous contralto voice, Music an ...

remade "Baby I'm Yours" for the

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

of her 1990 film vehicle '' Mermaids''. Cher's version was arranged to replicate Barbara Lewis' hit, and was produced by Peter Asher, who as a member of Peter and Gordon had had the UK hit of "Baby I'm Yours". The song was not featured in the film but was selected as the lead single from the soundtrack for release in the UK and Europe after the US single release " The Shoop Shoop Song"—which as remade by Cher had played under the film's closing credits—fell short of the ''Billboard'' top thirty. "Baby I'm Yours" failed as a single; its only apparent charting was in the UK at #89 and its estimated global sales tally is 100,000 units. "The Shoop Shoop Song" was released in the spring of 1991 with "Baby I'm Yours" as the B-side, and spent five weeks at #1 in the UK and achieved Top Ten status in several European countries as well as Australia and New Zealand. (Coincidentally the precedent charting single to the Linda Lewis 1976 UK hit remake of "Baby I'm Yours" had been the first major UK hit version of "The Shoop Shoop Song", entitled "It's in His Kiss".)

Track listing

*European 7" and cassette single #"Baby I'm Yours" – 3:16 #" Hard Enough Getting Over You" – 3:46 *European 12" and CD single #"Baby I'm Yours" – 3:16 #"Hard Enough Getting Over You" – 3:46 #" Just Like Jesse James" – 4:06

Charts

Other versions

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

Arctic Monkeys Arctic Monkeys are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Sheffield in 2002. They comprise lead singer Alex Turner, drummer Matt Helders, guitarist Jamie Cook and bassist Nick O'Malley. The co-founder and original bassist Andy Nicholson ...

' 2006 UK hit "

Leave Before the Lights Come On "Leave Before the Lights Come On" is a song by English indie rock band Arctic Monkeys. The song was released on 14 August 2006 as the band's third single (music), single in the United Kingdom. The song was not included on the band's debut album ...

" (#4); that version featured the 747s with shared vocals by Arctic Monkeys' lead singer Alex Turner and the 747s' lead singer Oisin Leech. * The song's composer

produced a recording of the song by Chris Bartley, which was a non-charting 1968 single release. *

Cilla Black Priscilla Maria Veronica White (27 May 1943 – 1 August 2015), better known as Cilla Black, was an English singer and television presenter. Championed by her friends the Beatles, Black began her career as a singer in 1963. Her singles "A ...

on the album '' Cilla Sings a Rainbow'' (1966) *

Petula Clark Sally "Petula" Clark (born 15 November 1932) is a British singer, actress, and songwriter. She started her professional career as a child actor, child performer and has had the longest career of any British entertainer, spanning more than 85 y ...

on the album ''Now'' (1972) *

Donny Gerrard Donald Bradford Gerrard (March 19, 1946 – February 3, 2022) was a Canadian singer. He was a member of the band Skylark in the early 1970s, and in later years performed and recorded as a baritone backup singer for artists such as Mavis Staples ...

on the album ''The Romantic'' (1999) * Susan Jacks on the album ''Forever'' (1982) * Jack Jones on the album ''For the "In" Crowd'' (1966) * The Jones Girls on the album ''On Target'' (1983) * June Lodge on the album ''Someone Loves You Honey'' (1980) * KC and the Sunshine Band on the album '' The Painter'' (1981) * Diane Marino featuring

Houston Person Houston Person (born November 10, 1934) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist and record producer. Although he has performed in the hard bop and swing music, swing genres, he is most experienced in and best known for his work in soul jazz. He re ...

on the album ''Just Groovin (2008) *

Maureen McGovern Maureen Therese McGovern (born July 27, 1949) is an American singer and Broadway actress, well known for her renditions of the songs " The Morning After" from the 1972 film '' The Poseidon Adventure''; " We May Never Love Like This Again" from ' ...

on the album '' Baby I'm Yours'' (1992) * Nilsson in a medley with " Just One Look", a duet with Lynda Laurence, on the album '' ...That's the Way It Is'' (1976) *

Phoebe Snow Phoebe Snow (born Phoebe Ann Laub; July 17, 1950 – April 26, 2011) was an American roots music singer-songwriter and guitarist, known for her hit 1974 and 1975 songs "Poetry Man" and "Harpo's Blues", and her credited guest vocals on Paul Simo ...

and Avenue Blue featuring Jeff Golub on the album ''Naked City'' (1996) * Dianne Steinberg on the album ''Universal Child'' (1977) * Bobby Vee in a medley with " Make It Easy on Yourself", on the album ''30 Big Hits of the '60's, Vol. 2'' (1966) *

Bobby Vinton Stanley Robert Vinton (born April 16, 1935) is an American singer and actor, who hosted his own self-titled TV show in the late 1970s. As a teen idol, he became known as "The Polish Prince", as his music paid tribute to his Polish heritage. One ...

on the album '' My Elusive Dreams'' (1970) * Kim Weston on the album ''It Should Have Been Me'' (1998) * Rita Wilson on the album '' Every Mother Counts 2012'' (2012) * A French-language rendering of "Baby I'm Yours" entitled "Je T'appartiens" was a 1965 single release by Pierre Lalonde and was included on Lalonde's 1966 album release ''Louise''. (This is an exceptional use of the title "Je T'appartiens" which is generally understood to refer to the French-language original of " Let It Be Me".) * In the 1999 film '' The Other Sister'', "Baby I'm Yours" is performed at an engagement party by

a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

group Double Dare featuring Mary Lou Metzger. * In the 2003 episode of the NBC, NBC-TV series ''American Dreams'' entitled "And Promises to Keep", Barbara Lewis portrayed by Vanessa Soul is seen rehearsing "Baby I'm Yours" for an ''American Bandstand'' performance. * In the 2009 film ''Last Chance Harvey'', "Baby I'm Yours" is apparently performed live at a wedding reception, although the track was in fact recorded by a session group credited as Loser's Lounge, none of whose members appear in the film; the track was produced and arranged by Joe McGinty, heard on piano, while the vocalist is Connie Petruk. * In "Grad Night", the 13th episode of the Schitt's Creek (season 3), 3rd season of the CBC Television, CBC original series ''Schitt's Creek'' in 2017, Moira Rose (Catherine O'Hara) sings this song with her choir to her daughter Alexis Rose (Annie Murphy) on Alexis' graduation day.

Popular culture

*The song was featured in the 1995 film ''The Bridges of Madison County (film), The Bridges of Madison County'' and was included on the soundtrack album. *It was also featured in the TV movies ''The Midnight Hour'' (1985) and ''An American Crime'' (2007), as well as being briefly featured in the film ''Baby Driver'' (2017) and included on its Baby Driver – Music from the Motion Picture, soundtrack.

References

External links

Official Cher site
* {{authority control Single chart usages for UK Single chart making named ref 1965 singles 1971 singles 1976 singles 1978 singles 1983 singles 1990 singles Arctic Monkeys songs Debby Boone songs Cher songs Petula Clark songs Cass Elliot songs Barbara Lewis songs Jody Miller songs Peter and Gordon songs Tanya Tucker songs Bobby Vee songs Songs written by Van McCoy Atlantic Records singles Columbia Records singles Arista Records singles MCA Records singles 1965 songs Song recordings produced by Bert Berns Song recordings produced by Michael Lloyd Song recordings produced by Mike Curb Song recordings produced by Lewis Merenstein Song recordings produced by Norman Newell