"Hang On in There Baby" is a song written by American musician

Johnny Bristol John William Bristol (February 3, 1939 – March 21, 2004) was an American musician, most famous as a songwriter and record producer for the Motown label in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was a native of Morganton, North Carolina, about which ...

and arranged by

H. B. Barnum Hidle Brown Barnum (born July 15, 1936) is an American pianist, arranger, record producer, songwriter, and former child actor. Biography After winning a nationwide talent contest at the age of four and starring in the film ''Valley of the Su ...

as the title track from his first album. It was released as a single in 1974, reaching No. 8 on the U.S. Hot 100 and No. 2 on the U.S. R&B chart. In the UK it reached No. 3.

Chart history

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Curiosity version

English band

Curiosity Killed the Cat Curiosity Killed the Cat was a British pop band that achieved success in the UK in the late 1980s, with hit singles such as " Down to Earth", " Misfit" and " Ordinary Day", from their No. 1 debut album, '' Keep Your Distance''. This was follo ...

, shortened to Curiosity, released a cover in 1992 under

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

as the debut single from their third album, ''Back to Front'' (1992). It is the band's joint biggest hit alongside " Down to Earth", peaking at No. 3 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

Track listings

7-inch and cassette # "Hang On in There Baby" – 3:08 # "Meaning of Dreaming" – 4:20 12-inch # "Hang On in There Baby" (Extended Club Mix) – 4:52 # Hang On in There Baby (After Hours Mix) – 3:52 # Hang On in There Baby (Dub Mix) – 3:52 # "Meaning of Dreaming" – 4:20 CD single # Hang On in There Baby (7" Version) – 3:08 # "Hang On in There Baby" (Extended Club Mix) – 4:52 # "Meaning of Dreaming" – 4:20

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Gary Barlow version

Barlow recorded the song in 1996, during recording sessions for his first solo work, '' Open Road''. Although it was included on the British version of the album, it was never released as a single in the UK. In America, it was the third single off the record and was also released as a single in Germany, and to radio in the Netherlands due its popularity. The single version features vocals from American singer

Rosie Gaines Rosie Gaines (born Rosemary Gaines; June 26, 1960) is an American singer, songwriter and record producer from Pittsburg, California. Gaines is a former band member of Prince's group, The New Power Generation. She duetted with singer Prince on th ...

. When Barlow started touring in promotion of ''Open Road'', he hired

as a support act. While on tour, he decided to record a new version of "Hang On in There Baby" featuring Gaines, which he intended to use for performance only. However, following a record deal with Arista and a plan to release ''Open Road'' in America, he and Gaines recorded a studio version for the album. On April 3, 1998, he released the duet version as the third American single from ''Open Road'', and also issued it in the Netherlands. When Barlow's video album, ''Open Book'', was released in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

in June 1998, an accompanying single given away with the video featured the duet version of "Hang On in There Baby" as its lead track; the duet version had previously been unavailable in the UK.

Music video

The music video features footage of Barlow and Gaines performing the song on the ''Open Road'' tour, as well as backstage footage featuring Barlow's home life and rehearsals. A snippet of the video was included on ''Open Book''; however, the full video has never been commercially released.

Track listing

* America # "Hang On in There Baby" (Featuring

) - 3:44 # "

A Million Love Songs "A Million Love Songs" is a song by English boy band Take That that featured in their debut studio album, '' Take That & Party'' (1992). It was written by lead vocalist Gary Barlow. It was released in the United Kingdom on 28 September 1992 a ...

" (Live) - 4:55 * Netherlands # "Hang On in There Baby" (Featuring Rosie Gaines) - 3:44 # "Hang On in There Baby" - 3:37 # "My Commitment" (Soulshock Mix) - 4:30 # "Hard to Handle" (Live) - 3:03 # "A Million Love Songs" (Live) - 4:55 * Open Book single # "Hang On in There Baby" (Featuring Rosie Gaines) - 3:44 # "My Commitment" (Soulshock Mix) - 4:30 # "Hard to Handle" (Live) - 3:03 # "A Million Love Songs" (Live) - 4:55

Charts

Other versions

* In 1979, American singer

Bette Midler Bette Midler (;''Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American singer, actress, comedian and author. Throughout her career, which spans over five decades, Midler has received List of awards and nominations received by Be ...

, for her fifth album ''

Thighs and Whispers ''Thighs and Whispers'' is the fifth studio album by American singer Bette Midler. Released in 1979, the album reached #65 on the ''Billboard'' Pop Albums chart. Production and release The album was largely disco-influenced. It saw Midler reunite ...

''. * In 1980, American disco girl group

Alton McClain and Destiny Alton McClain and Destiny was an American disco girl group from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1978, the trio was composed of McClain, Delores Marie "D'Marie" Warren, and Robyrda Stiger. They signed to Polydor Records in the year of their fo ...

, for their second album ''More of You''. This features the vocals of Johnny Bristol. * In 1993, American hip hop musician K7, for his debut album '' Swing Batta Swing''. * In 2000, British boy band Worlds Apart, in their CD single ''I Will Part 2''. * In 2005,

X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...

winner

Steve Brookstein Stephen Desmond "Steve" Brookstein''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at ancestry.com (born 10 November 1968) is an English singer, who is best known for winning the first series of ''The X Factor'' in 2004.< ...

, for his debut album '' Heart and Soul''. * In 2015, English boy band

Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when obs ...

, for their fifth album ''

Colours Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associ ...

''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hang On In There Baby 1974 songs Bette Midler songs Curiosity Killed the Cat songs Gary Barlow songs Rosie Gaines songs 1974 singles 1992 singles 1998 singles Songs written by Johnny Bristol Sony BMG singles Arista Records singles Pop ballads