"Back in My Arms Again" is a 1965 song recorded by

the Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959 as the Primettes. A premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful Amer ...

for the

Motown Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

label. Written and produced by Motown's main production team

Holland–Dozier–Holland Holland–Dozier–Holland, often abbreviated as H-D-H, was a songwriting and production team consisting of Lamont Dozier and brothers Brian and Eddie Holland. The trio wrote, arranged and produced many songs that helped define the ...

, "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, also topping the soul chart for a week.

History

Eddie Holland of the Holland–Dozier–Holland wrote the basis sketch for "Back in My Arms Again." "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 "Baby Love" is a song by the American music group the Supremes from their second studio album, '' Where Did Our Love Go''. It was written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland and was released on September 17, ...

", "

Come See About Me "Come See About Me" is a 1964 song recorded by the Supremes for the Motown label. The track opens with a fade-in, marking one of the first times the technique had been used on a studio recording. The song became third of five consecutively rel ...

", and "

Stop! In the Name of Love "Stop! In the Name of Love" is a 1965 song recorded by the Supremes for the Motown label. Written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland, "Stop! In the Name of Love" held the number 1 position on the Billboard ...

"). The song's

middle eight The 32-bar form, also known as the AABA song form, American popular song form and the ballad form, is a song structure commonly found in Tin Pan Alley songs and other American popular music, especially in the first half of the 20th century. Th ...

is almost identical to a later Holland-Dozier-Holland hit,

The Isley Brothers The Isley Brothers ( ) are an American soul group originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, that began as a vocal trio consisting of the brothers O'Kelly Isley Jr., Rudolph Isley and Ronald Isley in the 1950s. With a career spanning over seven decades, ...

" 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 ''The Mike Douglas Show'' is an American daytime television talk show that was hosted by Mike Douglas. It began as a local program in Cleveland in 1961 before being carried on other stations owned by Westinghouse Broadcasting. The show went i ...

'', a syndicated daytime program, on May 5, 1965, and again on November 3. They performed the song nationally on the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

variety program '' Hullabaloo!'' on Tuesday, May 11, 1965, peaking on the music charts in the following weeks. ''

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 ...

'' 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." ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' described it as "a rollicking, pop-r&b romancer about a lucky lass who gets back with her boyfriend after quite a hiatus." ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

'' chose it as one of their "Single Picks of the Week," stating that the Supremes are "unbeatable."

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

critic Ed Hogan called the rhythm section provided by the

Funk Brothers The Funk Brothers were a group of Detroit-based session musicians who performed the backing to most Motown recordings from 1959 until the company moved to Los Angeles in 1972. Its members are considered among the most successful groups of stud ...

"tight," the

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to p ...

played by Mike Terry "rollicking" and the

vibraphone The vibraphone (also called the vibraharp) is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using Percussion mallet, mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone ...

played by James Gitten "dreamy."

Personnel

* Lead vocals by

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born Diane Ernestine Earle Ross March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. Known as the "Queen of Motown Records", she was the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown#Major divisions, Motown's most suc ...

* Background vocals by

Florence Ballard Florence Glenda Chapman (''née'' Ballard; June 30, 1943 – February 22, 1976) was an American singer and a founding member of the Motown vocal female group the Supremes. She sang on 16 top 40 singles with the group, including ten number- ...

and Mary Wilson * All instruments by

the Funk Brothers The Funk Brothers were a group of Detroit-based session musicians who performed the backing to most Motown recordings from 1959 until the company moved to Los Angeles in 1972. Its members are considered among the most successful groups of stud ...

** Earl Van Dyke – piano ** Joe Messina – guitar **

James Jamerson James Lee Jamerson (January 29, 1936 – August 2, 1983) was an American bassist. He was the uncredited bassist on most of the Motown Records hits in the 1960s and early 1970s (Motown did not list session musician credits on their releases un ...

– bass **

Benny Benjamin William "Benny" Benjamin (July 25, 1925 – April 20, 1969), nicknamed Papa Zita, was an American musician, most notable as the primary drummer for the Motown Records studio band The Funk Brothers. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall o ...

– drums **James Gittens –

** Mike Terry – baritone saxophone

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Later versions

"Back in My Arms Again" returned to the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1978 with a remake by

Genya Ravan Genya Ravan (born Genyusha Zelkowitz; April 19, 1940), also known as Goldie, is an American rock music, rock singer and music producer. She was lead singer of the Escorts, Goldie and the Gingerbreads, and Ten Wheel Drive. Early life Genyusha Zel ...

on a single (taken from the singer's album ''Urban Desire'') which was Ravan's only Hot 100 entry, peaking at #92. 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. 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 (the group's last) and reached #105 on the ''Billboard''

Bubbling Under Hot 100 Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

chart (without ranking on the magazine's

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 ...

). "Back in My Arms Again" has also been remade by the Michael Stanley Band (on ''Greatest Hints'', 1979),

Nicolette Larson Nicolette Larson (July 17, 1952 – December 16, 1997) was an American singer. She is best known for her work in the late 1970s with Neil Young and her 1978 hit single of Young's " Lotta Love", which hit No. 1 on the Hot Adult Contemporary ...

(as "Back in My Arms" on '' In the Nick of Time'' in 1980), by

Michael Bolton Michael Bolotin (born February 26, 1953), known professionally as Michael Bolton, is an American singer and songwriter. Bolton performed in the hard rock and heavy metal music genres from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s, both on his early solo a ...

(on his eponymous 1983 album), by The Forester Sisters (on '' Perfume, Ribbons & Pearls'' in 1986), and by

Colin James Colin James (born Colin James Munn; August 17, 1964) is a Canadian blues rock singer and songwriter. James has been very successful in Canada, having attained seven Gold-certified albums in Canada during his career, including four Platinum alb ...

(on the '' American Boyfriends'' soundtrack album in 1989). The song was recorded by the all-female American rock group Fanny in early 1973 but their version, produced by

Todd Rundgren Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the bands Nazz and Utopia. He is known for his sophistica ...

, remained unreleased until 2002, when it appeared on Rhino Handmade's limited-edition Fanny anthology ''First Time In A Long Time: The Reprise Recordings''. The outtake was later included on the 2016 reissue of 1973's '' Mothers Pride''. The song was also covered by

The Jam The Jam were an English rock band formed in 1972 in Woking, Surrey, consisting of Paul Weller, Bruce Foxton and Rick Buckler. They released 18 consecutive top 40 singles in the United Kingdom, from their debut in 1977 to their break-up in ...

live at the

100 Club The 100 Club is a music venue located at 100 Oxford Street, London, England, where it has been hosting live music since 24 October 1942. It was originally called the Feldman Swing Club, but changed its name when the father of the current owner ...

on 11 September 1977, a version released on the six-CD set '' Fire and Skill – The Jam Live'' in 2015.

References

External links

* {{authority control 1965 songs 1965 singles The Supremes songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles RPM Top Singles number-one singles Songs written by Holland–Dozier–Holland Song recordings produced by Brian Holland Song recordings produced by Lamont Dozier Motown singles