Take Me Down
"Take Me Down" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Alabama | ||||
from the album Mountain Music | ||||
B-side | "Lovin' You Is Killin' Me" | |||
Released | May 6, 1982 (U.S.) | |||
Recorded | 1981 | |||
Genre | Country | |||
Length | 3:43 (single edit) 4:53 (album version) | |||
Label | RCA 13210 | |||
Songwriter(s) | Mark Gray, J.P. Pennington | |||
Producer(s) | Harold Shedd and Alabama | |||
Alabama singles chronology | ||||
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"Take Me Down" is a song recorded by American country music band Alabama. It was released in May 1982 as the second single from Alabama's album Mountain Music.
Written by Exile band members Mark Gray and J.P. Pennington, the song was originally recorded by Exile in 1980. The Exile version was released as a single, but failed to become a hit, although it reached number 2 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100.[1]
However, it was not until Alabama released the song that it was the group's seventh number one on the country chart.[2] In addition to its success on the country charts, the song fared modestly well on pop radio, reaching No. 18 on the Billboard Hot 100.[3]
Single and album edits
The single edit to "Take Me Down," released for retail sale and radio airplay, is about 1:10 shorter than the full-length album version. Excised from the single version:
- The second refrain; the song immediately proceeds from the second verse into the bridge.
- An earlier fade during the ending harmony part (about 30 seconds earlier than the album version).
"B" side
The B-side to "Take Me Down" is a song titled "Lovin' You Is Killin' Me," a re-recording of one of Alabama's earliest songs. "Lovin' You Is Killin' Me" originally appeared as the B-side to the band's first charted single, 1977's "I Wanna Be With You Tonight."
Charts
Chart (1982) | Peak position |
---|---|
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[4] | 1 |
US Billboard Hot 100[5] | 18 |
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[6] | 5 |
Canadian RPM Country Tracks | 1 |
Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks | 1 |
Cover version
The song was covered in by soul singer Johnny Bristol the same year and released as the first single off his Free to Be Me album.[1]
References
- ^ Roland, Tom, "The Billboard Book of Number One Country Hits" (Billboard Books, Watson-Guptill Publications, New York, 1991 (ISBN 0-82-307553-2)
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 18.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits: Eighth Edition. Record Research. p. 22.
- ^ "Alabama Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
- ^ "Alabama Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
- ^ "Alabama Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
Works cited
- Morris, Edward, "Alabama," Contemporary Books Inc., Chicago, 1985 (ISBN 0809253062)
External links
- 1982 singles
- 1980 songs
- Alabama (American band) songs
- Exile (American band) songs
- Billboard Hot Country Songs number-one singles
- RPM Country Tracks number-one singles
- RPM Adult Contemporary number-one singles
- Songs written by Mark Gray (singer)
- Songs written by J.P. Pennington
- Song recordings produced by Harold Shedd
- RCA Records singles
- 1982 songs
- 1980 country song stubs