"Indiana Wants Me" is a song written, composed, and originally recorded by Canadian singer-songwriter
R. Dean Taylor
Richard Dean Taylor (May 11, 1939 – January 7, 2022) was a Canadian musician, most notable as a singer, songwriter, and record producer for Motown during the 1960s and 1970s. According to Jason Ankeny, Taylor was "one of the most underra ...
. It was released on the
Rare Earth label, a subsidiary of
Motown Records, in 1970, and was a top ten hit in both the US and UK. In ''
Cashbox'' magazine, the single hit #1.
The song spent two weeks at #2 in Canada.
The song is written from the viewpoint of someone who has murdered a man who insulted his woman; he is missing his family and hiding from the police, who eventually catch up with him. Taylor wrote and composed the song after watching the movie ''
Bonnie and Clyde.''
In addition to writing, composing, and originally recording the selection, Taylor produced the record and arranged it in collaboration with
David Van De Pitte
David J. Van De Pitte (October 28, 1941 – August 9, 2009) was an American music arranger and bass player. He is best known for his work at Motown Records during the 1960s and early 1970s, when he was responsible for arranging many of the be ...
. It was released on the Rare Earth label, formed by Motown in an attempt to establish itself in the rock music market. The police siren sounds at the start of the record were removed from some copies supplied to radio stations after complaints that drivers hearing the song on the radio had mistakenly pulled over, thinking that the sounds were real.
[
The sirens are also heard during the instrumental section in the middle of the song. At the climax of the song, soon after the narrator has sung, "Red lights are flashin' around me,/ Yeah, love, it looks like they found me," and the chorus, a voice on a bullhorn is heard, commanding: "This is the police. Give yourself up. You are surrounded." The sound of gunfire ensues, implying the narrator declines to surrender and instead perishes in a shootout with the police. An alternate version of the song fades out at the end without the gunfire.
The record became Taylor's only hit as a performer in the US, where it rose to #5 on the '' Billboard'' Hot 100 and to #1 on ''Cashbox'' in late 1970.][ In the UK, where Taylor had had an earlier hit with " Gotta See Jane", it also became his biggest hit, reaching #2 in May 1971.]
Chart performance
Weekly singles charts
Year-end charts
See also
* List of ''Cashbox'' Top 100 number-one singles of 1970
References
{{Reflist
External links
R. Dean Taylor's official website
1970 singles
1971 singles
Motown singles
Cashbox number-one singles
Songs written by R. Dean Taylor
Songs about Indiana