Reach Out I'll Be There
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "Reach Out I'll Be There" | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| Single by Four Tops | ||
| from the album Reach Out | ||
| B-side(s) | "Until You Love Someone" | |
| Released | August 18, 1966 | |
| Format | 7" single | |
| Recorded | Hitsville USA (Studio A); 1966 | |
| Genre | Soul/pop | |
| Length | 3:01 | |
| Label | Motown M 1098 |
|
| Writer(s) | Holland-Dozier-Holland | |
| Producer(s) | Brian Holland Lamont Dozier |
|
| Chart positions | ||
|
||
| Four Tops singles chronology | ||
| "Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever" 1966 |
"Reach Out I'll Be There" 1966 |
"Standing in the Shadows of Love" 1966 |
"Reach Out I'll Be There" (also formatted as "Reach Out (I'll Be There)") is a 1966 hit song recorded by The Four Tops for the Motown label. Written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland-Dozier-Holland, the song is one of the most well-known Motown tunes of the 1960s and is today considered The Tops' signature song. It was the number one song on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks, from September 24, 1966 to October 15. It replaced "Cherish" by The Association, and was itself replaced by "96 Tears" by ? & the Mysterians. Rolling Stone later ranked this version #206 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Lead singer Levi Stubbs delivers many of the lines in the song in a tone that straddles the line between singing and shouting, like he did in 1965's I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch). Also, Stubbs' ad-libbed "just look over your shoulder" found its way into another song named "I'll Be There" four years later: The Jackson 5's fourth number-one hit.
This song differs markedly from the Four Tops' earlier efforts, due to the highly- contrasting shifts between minor and major, and also major and augmented chords. These contrasting tonal shades form the hook for which the song is so well known. The Four Tops would rely on this formula for several subsequent releases.
Diana Ross scored a Top 40 remake of the Four Tops' classic taking it to number twenty-nine on the Hot 100 in 1971. It was the second release from Ross' third solo album, Surrender, in just a year. Ross' version was produced by Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson, and was built around the same thematic basis that made Ross' 1970 remake of Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell's "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" a success.
The song inspired the 2003 film I'll Be There featuring Charlotte Church.
[edit] Credits
- Lead vocals by Levi Stubbs
- Background vocals by Abdul "Duke" Fakir, Renaldo "Obie" Benson, Lawrence Payton, and The Andantes: Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow, and Louvain Demps
- Instrumentation by The Funk Brothers
- Written by Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Edward Holland, Jr.
- Produced by Brian Holland and Lamont Dozier
| Preceded by "Cherish" by The Association |
Billboard Hot 100 number one single (The Four Tops version) October 15, 1966 |
Succeeded by "96 Tears" by ? & the Mysterians |
| Preceded by "Distant Drums" by Jim Reeves |
UK number one single 27 October 1966 for three weeks |
Succeeded by "Good Vibrations" by Beach Boys |
