"Help Me!" is a song by

Marcy Levy Marcella Levy (born June 21, 1952), known professionally as Marcy Levy and (later in her career) Marcella Detroit, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. She co-wrote the 1977 Eric Clapton hit "Lay Down Sally" and released her debut a ...

(better known now as

Marcella Detroit Marcella Levy (born June 21, 1952), known professionally as Marcy Levy and (later in her career) Marcella Detroit, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. She co-wrote the 1977 Eric Clapton hit " Lay Down Sally" and released her debut a ...

) and Robin Gibb. The song was recorded for the official

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack ...

of ''

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...

'', and released as the album's lead single, going on to peak at #50 on the Billboard Top 100. It was also considered as Levy's first single and her only song that was charted in the United States.

Background

After working on

Jimmy Ruffin Jimmy Lee RuffinRibowsky, Mark (2010), ''Ain't Too Proud to Beg: The Troubled Lives and Enduring Soul of the Temptations'', Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, p. 89. . (May 7, 1936 – November 17, 2014) was an American soul singer, and ...

's ''

Sunrise Sunrise (or sunup) is the moment when the upper rim of the Sun appears on the horizon in the morning. The term can also refer to the entire process of the solar disk crossing the horizon and its accompanying atmospheric effects. Terminology A ...

'' (including the track "Where Do I Go", a duet by Ruffin and Marcy Levy) Robin Gibb and Bee Gees keyboardist

Blue Weaver Derek John "Blue" Weaver (born 11 March 1947) is a Welsh rock keyboardist, session musician, songwriter and record producer. Career Weaver's career as a musician began as a co-founding member of 1960s Welsh rock band Amen Corner and its succ ...

work together again by supplying tracks for the soundtrack of the film ''

'' (an RSO movie). And the result was the song "Help Me!" sung by Levy and Gibb. The song was heard in the film's closing credits. Related session outtake, "Touch Me", a song also written by Gibb and Levy with lead vocals provided by Levy as a demo for

Linda Clifford Linda Clifford (born 1944) is an American R&B, disco and house music singer who scored hits from the 1970s to the 1980s, most notably " If My Friends Could See Me Now", " Bridge over Troubled Water", " Runaway Love" and " Red Light". Care ...

but was not recorded by Clifford herself. Weaver says he and Levy didn't like its sexually charged lyrics and Gibb had to talk Levy into singing it. The B-side of the single, an instrumental version of "Help Me!" on which they made two instrumental versions of the same track, one with Gary Brown playing a sax solo. It peaked #50 in the

Billboard Hot 100 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 streamin ...

, #65 in ''Cashbox'' and #64 in '' Record World''. It was released in September 1980 elsewhere except in Australia when the song was released as a single there in November that same year.

Charts

Personnel

Adapted from the ''Times Square Soundtrack'' album booklet:'' Times Square Soundtrack'' liner notes * Robin Gibb —

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

and

harmony vocal In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. However, ...

— lead and harmony vocal *

—

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

, synthesizer * Gary Brown — sax * Uncredited — handclaps

References

{{authority control 1980 debut singles 1980 songs Robin Gibb songs Marcella Detroit songs Songs written by Robin Gibb Songs written by Blue Weaver Song recordings produced by Robin Gibb RSO Records singles