"Baby Let Me Take You Home", a song credited to

Bert Russell Bertrand Russell Berns (November 8, 1929 – December 30, 1967), also known as Bert Russell and (occasionally) Russell Byrd, was an American songwriter and record producer of the 1960s. His songwriting credits include " Twist and Shout", "Piece ...

(a.k.a. Bert Berns) and

Wes Farrell Wes Farrell (December 21, 1939 – February 29, 1996) was an American musician, songwriter and record producer, who was most active in the 1960s and 1970s. Career Farrell was born in New York, United States. Farrell's catalogue includes clos ...

, was

The Animals The Animals (also billed as Eric Burdon and the Animals) are an English rock band, formed in Newcastle upon Tyne in the early 1960s. The band moved to London upon finding fame in 1964. The Animals were known for their gritty, bluesy sound and ...

' debut single, released in 1964. In the UK, it reached #21 on the

pop singles chart The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming in ...

. In the U.S. its B-side, "Gonna Send You Back to Walker" (retitled "to Georgia"), was released but was not a significant hit, placing only at #57 on the

. American soul singer Hoagy Lands previously recorded the song in 1964 as "Baby Let Me Hold Your Hand", released on Atlantic 2217. The song is an arrangement of

Eric Von Schmidt Eric Von Schmidt (May 28, 1931 – February 2, 2007) was an American singer and guitarist, songwriter, painter and illustrator, and Grammy Award recipient. He was associated with the folk boom of the late 1950s and early 1960s and a key part o ...

's rendering of " Baby, Let Me Follow You Down" as covered by

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

, on his first, self-titled, album. The Animals' version opens with striking unaccompanied guitar arpeggios, inserts a middle section with spoken words over an organ riff and closes with a frantic double-time coda. The result was a key influence on Dylan's change to electric music and to the folk-rock genre. In 2006,

Eric Burdon Eric Victor Burdon (born 11 May 1941) is an English singer. He was previously the lead vocalist of R&B and rock band the Animals and funk band War. He is regarded as one of the British Invasion's most distinctive singers with his deep, pow ...

, of The Animals, began to perform the song in a heavier version, on his concerts again, adding a short story how they came to it.

References

1964 debut singles The Animals songs Song recordings produced by Mickie Most Songs written by Bert Berns Songs written by Wes Farrell 1964 songs Columbia Graphophone Company singles MGM Records singles {{1960s-single-stub