"Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me" is a song written by Harry Noble and originally performed by

Karen Chandler Eva Nadauld (September 1, 1923 – November 3, 2010), known professionally as Eve Young early in her career, and later as Karen Chandler, was an American singer of popular music during the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, best known for her 1952 hit, "Hol ...

in 1952. It has been re-recorded several times since then, the most notable covers being by

Mel Carter Mel Carter (born April 22, 1939, Cincinnati, Ohio) is an American singer and actor. He is best known for his 1965 million-selling recording, "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me". Biography At age 16 Carter studied singing with vocalist Little Jimmy Sc ...

in 1965 and

Gloria Estefan Gloria Estefan (; born Gloria María Milagrosa Fajardo García; born 1 September 1957) is a Cuban-American singer, actress, and businesswoman. Estefan is a seven-time Grammy Award winner, a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, and has been ...

in 1994.

Karen Chandler version

The original version was released by

in 1952, released by

Coral Records Coral Records was a subsidiary of Decca Records that was formed in 1949. Coral released music by Patsy Cline, Buddy Holly, the McGuire Sisters and Teresa Brewer. Coral issued jazz and swing music in the 1940s, but after Bob Thiele became head o ...

. It first appeared on the US ''Billboard'' charts on October 25, 1952 and last appeared on April 11, 1953, peaking at number five on ''Billboard'''s chart of "Most Played by Jockeys", number seven on ''Billboard'''s chart of "Best Selling Singles", and number nine on ''Billboard'''s chart of "Most Played in Juke Boxes".

Mel Carter version

The version most often associated with the song was recorded by

, released in 1965 on Imperial. Carter's version spent 15 weeks on 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 streaming ...

, peaking at number eight,Mel Carter - Chart History - The Hot 100
''Billboard.com''. Accessed October 21, 2015 while reaching number one on ''Billboard'''s

Easy Listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...

chart,Billboard Top 40 Easy Listening
, ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'', August 28, 1965. p. 20. Accessed October 21, 2015 number two on

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

's "''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

'' Play Sheet",R.P.M. Play Sheet
, '' RPM Weekly'', Volume 3, Ed. 24, August 9, 1965. Accessed October 21, 2015 and number four on Canada's CHUM Hit Parade. Chart No. 441. CHUM.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Gloria Estefan version

In 1994, American singer and songwriter

released a cover of "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me." It was released as the second single (only in Europe and Australia) from her fourth solo album, ''

Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me" is a song written by Harry Noble and originally performed by Karen Chandler in 1952. It has been re-recorded several times since then, the most notable covers being by Mel Carter in 1965 and Gloria Estefan in 1994. ...

''. The single also included a new song, "If We Were Lovers" which is the English version of her 1993 hit "

Con Los Años Que Me Quedan "Con Los Años Que Me Quedan" () is a song by Cuban–American singer-songwriter Gloria Estefan from her third studio album, ''Mi Tierra'' (1993). It was written by the artist and her husband Emilio Estefan, with Emilio, Jorge Casas, and Clay O ...

". "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me" peaked at number-one in Spain and Panama. Additionally the single also peaked at number 11 in the UK and number 13 in Scotland.

Critical reception

Maryann Scheufele from AXS wrote, "You can not help but move with this slow moving song. She uses every bit of her breath as she sings and she never hesitates to carry a note to completion. Music just dances around Gloria Estefan when she stays in one place to sing." A reviewer from ''

'' noted the "thrilling sounds" of the song, adding it as an "elegant" track. Pan-European magazine ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later ...

'' commented, "Raise the curtains please. Gloria excels on a ballad which is so big that it gets above the clouds, just like radio waves." Phil Shanklin of ReviewsRevues said, "The song is cheesy but Gloria seems aware of this and goes for broke by upping the drama."

Official versions

Original versions # Album version — (3:21)

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Certifications

Formats and track listings

Other versions

A version was released by American singer

Muriel Smith Muriel Smith may refer to: * Muriel Smith (politician) * Muriel Smith (singer) Muriel Burrell Smith (February 23, 1923 – September 13, 1985) was an American singer. In the 1940s and 1950s, she was a star of musical theater and opera, and w ...

in 1953, which reached No. 3 on 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 ...

's ''

New Musical Express ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' chart.

Sonny Til Earlington Carl Tilghman, known as Sonny Til (August 18, 1928 – December 9, 1981),
- accessed May 2010 was an American singer. He ...

and

The Orioles The Orioles were an American R&B group of the late 1940s and early 1950s, one of the earliest such vocal groups who established the basic pattern for the doo-wop sound. The Orioles are generally acknowledged as R&B's first vocal group. Balt ...

released an R&B version in 1953 (Jubilee 5108) American songstress

Connie Francis Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero (born December 12, 1937), known professionally as Connie Francis, is an American pop singer, actress, and top-charting female vocalist of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Called the “First Lady of Rock & Roll” ...

included a memorable version on her 1959 album ''

The Exciting Connie Francis ''The Exciting Connie Francis'' is a studio album recorded by American pop singer Connie Francis. It is the second album Francis cut for MGM Records. Background After her breakthrough in early 1958 with her single '' Who's Sorry Now?'', a roc ...

''. Greek singer

Nana Mouskouri Ioanna "Nana" Mouskouri ( el, Ιωάννα "Νάνα" Μούσχουρη ) (born 13 October 1934) is a Greek singer. Over the span of her career, she has released over 200 albums in at least twelve languages, including Greek, French, English, Ger ...

released a version of the song produced by

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

in 1962.

Dick and Dee Dee Dick and Dee Dee (or Dick and Deedee) is an American singer-songwriter duo that reached popularity in the early to mid-1960s. The group was founded by California classmates Richard Gosting and Mary Sperling. They eventually changed their names t ...

released a version of the song on their 1966 album, ''Songs We've Sung on Shindig''.

Shirley Bassey Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey (; born 8 January 1937) is a Welsh singer. Best known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the theme songs to three James Bond films, Bassey is widely regarded as one of the most popular vocalists ...

also covered the song on her 1969 album '' Does Anybody Miss Me''. In 1977,

Bobby Vinton Stanley Robert "Bobby" Vinton (born April 16, 1935) is a American former singer and occasional actor, who also hosted his own self-titled TV show in the late 1970s. As a teen idol, he became known as "The Polish Prince", as his music paid trib ...

released a version of the song on the album '' The Name Is Love'' and as a single. Vinton's version reached No. 43 on ''Billboard'''s Easy Listening chart.Easy Listening
, ''

'', August 27, 1977. p. 57. Accessed October 21, 2015 Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me was performed by

She and Him She & Him is an American musical duo consisting of Zooey Deschanel (vocals, piano, ukulele) and M. Ward (guitar, production) formed in 2006 in Portland, Oregon.Scaggs, Austin"Smoking Section: Modest Mouse, Zooey Deschanel, Kings of Leon"''Rolli ...

and is featured on their fourth album ''Volume 3'', in 2013. Nelson Riddle instrumental orchestral version from the 1961 album "Love Tide".

Influence

The song gave title for albums by Mel Carter (1965),

Johnny Mathis John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer of popular music. Starting his career with singles of standard music, he became highly popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum s ...

(1977), and

(1994), and was later referenced by U2's 1995 song "

Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It was released as a single from the ''Batman Forever'' soundtrack album on 5 June 1995. A number-one single in their home country of Ireland, as well as in seven other co ...

". Mel Carter's version was featured in the film named after the song, ''

''. In the 1995 film, ''

To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar ''To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar'' is a 1995 American road comedy film directed by Beeban Kidron and starring Wesley Snipes, Patrick Swayze, and John Leguizamo as three New York City drag queens who embark on a road trip. Its t ...

'', a fragment of Johnny Mathis' recording backs an internal summit point.

References

External links

* {{authority control Songs about kissing 1952 songs 1952 singles 1965 singles 1994 singles Mel Carter songs Dick and Dee Dee songs Bobby Vinton songs Gloria Estefan songs Number-one singles in Spain Imperial Records singles Coral Records singles Epic Records singles

Karen Chandler version

Mel Carter version

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Gloria Estefan version

Critical reception

Official versions

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Certifications

Formats and track listings

Other versions

Influence

See also

References

External links