If I Said You Had a Beautiful Body Would You Hold It Against Me
| "If I Said You Had a Beautiful Body Would You Hold It Against Me" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by Bellamy Brothers | ||||
| from the album Two and Only | ||||
| B-side | "Make Me Over" | |||
| Released | March 1979 | |||
| Format | 7" | |||
| Recorded | 1978 | |||
| Genre | Country, Country pop | |||
| Length | 3:14 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. 8790 |
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| Writer(s) | David Bellamy | |||
| Producer | Michael Lloyd | |||
| Bellamy Brothers singles chronology | ||||
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"If I Said You Had a Beautiful Body Would You Hold It Against Me" is a song made famous by the country music duo The Bellamy Brothers. Written by David Bellamy, the song was released in 1979 and became their first No. 1 hit on the Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles chart that spring.
Overall, "If I Said You Had a Beautiful Body ..." was the Bellamys' second No. 1 song; their 1976 song, "Let Your Love Flow," topped the Billboard Hot 100.
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[edit] Story
"If I Said You Had a Beautiful Body ..." (in some sources called "If I Said You Have a Beautiful Body ...")[1] derived its double entendre title from an old Groucho Marx quote. Songwriter David Bellamy told country music journalist Tom Roland that he regularly watched Marx's program, You Bet Your Life, where Marx sometimes used the quote while interviewing an attractive female contestant, then shake his cigar and raise his eyebrows to elicit a reaction.[2] The comment stuck in Bellamy's head as a possible hook line for a song.
"If I Said You Had a Beautiful Body ..." earned its first success in Northern Ireland[3] before becoming a hit in the United States. The song was also a minor hit on Top 40 stations, peaking at No. 39 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Following the success of "If I Said You Had a Beautiful Body ... ," the Bellamy Brothers would record several more songs that used double-entendre in their titles, most notably their 1981 No. 1 hit "Do You Love as Good as You Look."
In a 2003 issue, Country Weekly magazine named it the #1 country pick-up line of all time.
[edit] Re-recording
On their 2005 album Angels & Outlaws, Vol. 1, The Bellamy Brothers re-recorded this song with Dolly Parton. This rendition peaked at #60 on the country charts, giving the Bellamy Brothers their first chart entry since "Not" in 1994.
[edit] Chart performance
| Chart (1979) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canadian RPM Country Tracks | 24 |
| UK Singles Chart | 3 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 39 |
| Dutch Top 40 | 11 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 17 |
| Preceded by "Don't Take It Away" by Conway Twitty |
Billboard Hot Country Singles number-one single May 19–June 2, 1979 |
Succeeded by "She Believes in Me" by Kenny Rogers |
[edit] References
- ^ "The Billboard Book of Number One Country Hits" (Billboard Books, Watson-Guptill Publications, New York, 1991 (ISBN 0-82-307553-2)), p. 233-234.
- ^ Roland.
- ^ Bellamy brothers are coming ... so don't hold that song against them
- Whitburn, Joel, "Top Country Songs: 1944-2005," 2006.
- Allmusic — If I Said You Had a Beautiful Body (Would You Hold It Against Me) by the Bellamy Brothers.
