Bring It On Home to Me

"Bring It On Home to Me"
Single by Sam Cooke
B-side	"Having a Party"
Released	May 8, 1962
Recorded	April 26, 1962, RCA Hollywood, Studio 1
Label	RCA 8036
Writer(s)	Sam Cooke
Producer	Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore
Sam Cooke singles chronology
"Twistin' the Night Away" (1/1962) "Bring It On Home to Me" (1962) "Nothing Can Change This Love" b/w "Somebody Have Mercy" (1962)

"Bring It On Home to Me" is a 1962 soul song, written and recorded by R&B singer-songwriter Sam Cooke. The song, about infidelity, was a hit for Cooke and has become a pop standard covered by numerous artists of different genres. It is one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. Cooke's recorded version has Lou Rawls singing responses as an uncredited background singer.

This song is considered by many historians of soul music to be the founding, or at least definitive soul song, as it provides the formula that is still popular today. Cooke's live version of this song that he performed in Miami, from the album Live at the Harlem Square Club, 1963, can be seen as his personal vision of what soul music should be, owing to the texture and emotion conveyed through his vocals that night, and that were probably standard in Cooke's near-nightly shows in primarily black clubs.

Cooke had been a fan of Charles Brown and recorded a number Brown tunes on his live 1963 Night Beat album.

Smokey Robinson and Bryan Adams dueted on "Bring It On Home To Me", live at the Apollo Theatre Hall of Fame, Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, in 1993.

Single release

"Bring It On Home to Me" backed with "Having a Party" was released in the U.S. on RCA Victor (cat.#8036) in May 1962. The latter track charted first, peaking at #17 early in the summer of 1962 before the lead track climbed the chart, reaching #13 later that summer. Lou Rawls featured as a backing vocalist on both tracks.

Cover versions

"Bring It On Home to Me"
Single by The Animals
from the album Animal Tracks (U.S. album)
B-side	For Miss Caulker
Released	March 1965
Format	7" single
Recorded	March 1965
Genre	blues, pop, soul
Length	2:43
Label	Columbia
Writer(s)	Sam Cooke
Producer	Mickie Most
The Animals singles chronology
"Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" (1965) "Bring It On Home To Me" (1965) "We Gotta Get out of This Place" (1965)

The most significant cover versions of the song include the hit versions by

• The Animals, Eddie Floyd, and Ben Mills.
• Lou Rawls, who sang background vocals on the original song, recorded his own charting version in 1970.
• Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee released a version of the song in their 1973 album Sonny & Brownie.
• In 1976, Mickey Gilley hit number one on the country chart with his cover.
• Tab Benoit sangs a blues rendition of this song on his album Brother To The Blues.
• In the United Kingdom, The Faces released this song as part of a medley with "You Send Me" and charted it on the UK Singles Chart at #7 as a double A-side with "Farewell". Rod Stewart later covered this song as a medley with Cooke's "You Send Me" on his solo album, Smiler.
• Wilson Pickett covered this song on 1968's I'm In Love.
• Otis Redding covered this song with Carla Thomas.
• Paul McCartney recorded this song twice: first in 1988 for his album Снова в СССР, and again in 2006 with George Benson and Al Jarreau for the album Givin It Up (For Love).
• John Lennon covered the song on his album Rock 'n' Roll in 1975.
• Van Morrison's 1974 live album, It's Too Late to Stop Now contained his version.
• The Dixie Chicks performed it bluegrass style on their debut album, Thank Heavens for Dale Evans, and later recorded "You Send Me" for their second album, Little Ol' Cowgirl.
• Sonny & Cher recorded it as a B-side to "Little Man".
• Another cover was included as a hidden song on The Von Bondies album Lack of Communication, with Marcie Bolen on lead vocals.
• Bon Jovi performed a live cover of this song with Steve Perry
• Britt Daniel, recorded a cover of this song for the compilation Bridging the Distance.
• Eddie Floyd and Duffy performed it on Jools Holland's Hootenanny.
• Dave Mason covered the tune on his 1974 solo album Dave Mason.
• Sister Hazel included a version on their debut self titled album Sister Hazel in 1994 (remastered and re-released in 2005)
• M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel of the group She & Him regularly perform a cover of this song live at their concerts, including an in-studio session at KEXP-FM on June 29, 2007.
• The New Standards included a version on their 2008 album Rock and Roll.
• Jimmy Barnes included a version of it on his album Soul Deep as a duet with Johnny Diesel.
• Aretha Franklin included a cover of the song on her 1969 album Soul '69.
• Michael Bolton covered the song on his 1992 album Timeless: The Classics.
• Delta Spirit cover the song live, as an intro to their song "Trashcan", from their album, Ode to Sunshine.
• Robson & Jerome covered the song on their 1996 album, Take Two.
• Status Quo recorded the song for their 1991 album, Rock 'til You Drop.
• R. Kelly covered this song on Later...with Jools Holland.
• Grayson Hugh recorded his live version of this song, which he would often close his shows with, during his "Blind To Reason" North American Tour, 1988 - '89.

Chart performance

Sam Cooke version

Year	Chart	Position
1962	Black Singles Chart	#2
1962	Pop Singles Chart	#13

The Animals version

Year	Chart	Position
1965	Pop Singles Chart	#32
1965	UK Singles Chart	#7
1965	Canada	#7
1965	Netherlands	#3
1965	Sweden	#1

Eddie Floyd version

Year	Chart	Position
1968	Black Singles Chart	#4
1968	Pop Singles Chart	#17
1968	Canada	#24

Lou Rawls version

Year	Chart	Position
1970	Black Singles Chart	#45
1970	Pop Singles Chart	#96

Mickey Gilley version

Chart (1976)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles	1
U.S. Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100	1
Canadian RPM Country Tracks	1

Preceded by "Say It Again" by Don Williams	Billboard Hot Country Singles number-one single August 21, 1976	Succeeded by "(I'm A) Stand by My Woman Man" by Ronnie Milsap
Preceded by "Rocky Mountain Music" by Eddie Rabbitt	RPM Country Tracks number-one single September 11, 1976

References

• Heylin, Clinton (2003). Can You Feel the Silence? Van Morrison: A New Biography, Chicago Review Press ISBN 1-55652-542-7