"Come to Me" is the debut single by

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

singer

Marv Johnson Marvin Earl Johnson (October 15, 1938 – May 16, 1993) was an American R&B singer, songwriter and pianist. He was influential in the development of the Motown style of music, primarily for the song " Come to Me," which was the first record iss ...

. It is notable as the first single to be released by what would eventually become known as

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

, on the newly formed Tamla Records label. It also became Johnson's first hit single after the song was nationally distributed by

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studi ...

. It was recorded at

United Sound Systems United Sound Systems is a recording studio and locally designated historic district in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Many popular music artists over the last seventy years have recorded at the facility, including blues musicians like John Lee ...

Background

In 1958, Marv Johnson was singing with a local group the Serenaders in Detroit. It was while performing at a carnival in Michigan that Johnson was noted by rising record label impresario

Berry Gordy Berry Gordy III (born November 28, 1929), known professionally as Berry Gordy Jr., is a retired American record executive, record producer, songwriter, film producer and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record la ...

, who was looking to sign acts into his fledgling company. Originally the label was to be called Tammy Records, which he named after the

Debbie Reynolds Mary Frances "Debbie" Reynolds (April 1, 1932 – December 28, 2016) was an American actress, singer, and businesswoman. Her career spanned almost 70 years. She was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer for her portra ...

hit, " Tammy", that is until a record label of the same name took notice, forcing Gordy to alter the name to

Tamla Records Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmant ...

. After discovering Johnson, he convinced him to sign with Tamla and in February 1959, the 20-year-old Johnson co-wrote and recorded the song, "Come to Me". Gordy assembled several musicians, including bassist

James Jamerson James Lee Jamerson (January 29, 1936 – August 2, 1983) was an American bass player. He was the uncredited bassist on most of the Motown Records hits in the 1960s and early 1970s (Motown did not list session musician credits on their releases u ...

and drummer

Benny Benjamin William "Benny" Benjamin (July 25, 1925 – April 20, 1969), nicknamed Papa Zita, was an American musician, most notable as the primary drummer for the Motown Records studio band The Funk Brothers. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall o ...

, and background vocalists the Rayber Voices, to contribute to the song with Johnson.

Charts

"Come to Me" was first distributed by Tamla in May 1959 and was a local hit in the Midwest. Since Tamla was still a local company and was unable to get national distribution to the record, Gordy sold rights of the song to

who agreed to distribute the song nationally. The plan worked as the song began to be a national hit at the end of 1959. By early 1960, the song had reached number 30 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number 6 on the national R&B chart. Johnson would record in Motown's studios while recording for United Artists. Johnson returned to Motown in the late 1960s after his success peaked in the mid-1960s. In 1990, Johnson re-recorded the song for an album he recorded for

Motorcity Records Motorcity Records is a British record label formed by producer Ian Levine in 1989. The label aimed to record new material with former Motown artists. History Levine, a Motown fan since his childhood in the 1960s, was offered a chance to recor ...

Credits

*Lead vocals by Marv Johnson *Background vocals by The Rayber Voices (

Raynoma Liles Gordy Raynoma Mayberry Liles Gordy Singleton (March 8, 1937 – November 11, 2016) was an American R&B producer, songwriter, and vocalist perhaps best known for her association with ex-husband, Berry Gordy during the early days of Motown when she was ...

Brian Holland Brian Holland (born February 15, 1941) is an American songwriter and record producer, best known as a member of Holland–Dozier–Holland, the songwriting and production team that was responsible for much of the Motown sound, and numerous hit ...

Sonny Sanders William Nelson "Sonny" Sanders (August 6, 1939 – October 12, 2016) was an American soul music singer, songwriter, arrangement, arranger, and record producer. Born in Chicago, Sanders made his first recording in 1955, on "Tears of Love" / "Ro ...

, and Robert Bateman) *Written by Berry Gordy and Marv Johnson *Produced and arranged by Berry Gordy

References

{{authority control 1959 singles Marv Johnson songs Songs written by Berry Gordy Song recordings produced by Berry Gordy 1959 songs Tamla Records singles