"Loving Arms" is a song written by

Tom Jans Tom Jans (February 9, 1948 – March 25, 1984) was an American folk singer-songwriter and guitarist from San Jose, California. He is perhaps best known for his song "Loving Arms" (also known as "Lovin' Arms"), which was recorded initially by Kris ...

and first recorded and released by

Kris Kristofferson Kristoffer Kristofferson (born June 22, 1936) is a retired American singer, songwriter and actor. Among his songwriting credits are "Me and Bobby McGee", " For the Good Times", "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and "Help Me Make It Through the Nig ...

and

Rita Coolidge Rita Coolidge (born May 1, 1945) is an American recording artist. During the 1970s and 1980s, her songs were on '' Billboard'' magazine's pop, country, adult contemporary, and jazz charts, and she won two Grammy Awards with fellow musician and t ...

as a duet in 1973 on their album ''

Full Moon The full moon is the lunar phase when the Moon appears fully illuminated from Earth's perspective. This occurs when Earth is located between the Sun and the Moon (when the ecliptic coordinate system, ecliptic longitudes of the Sun and Moon opp ...

''. It was covered by

Dobie Gray Dobie Gray (born Lawrence Darrow Brown; July 26, 1940 – December 6, 2011) was an American singer and songwriter whose musical career spanned soul, country, pop, and musical theater. His hit songs included " The 'In' Crowd" in 1965 and "Dr ...

shortly after, and then by a number of artists the following year including

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

Petula Clark Petula Sally Olwen Clark, CBE (born 15 November 1932) is an English singer, actress, and composer. She has one of the longest serving careers of a British singer, spanning more than seven decades. Clark's professional career began during the ...

and

Jody Miller Myrna Joy "Jody" Miller (November 29, 1941 – October 6, 2022) was an American country music singer. "Home of the Brave" and "Queen of the House" are her well-known albums. She is a recipient of the Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal ...

Millie Jackson Mildred Virginia Jackson (born July 15, 1944) is an American Rhythm and blues, R&B and Soul music, soul recording artist. Beginning her career in the early 1960s, three of Jackson's albums have been certified Music recording certification, gold ...

and

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British-Australian singer, actress and activist. She was a four-time Grammy Award winner whose music career included 15 top-ten singles, including 5 number-one singles on the ...

also covered the song in 1975.

History

"Loving Arms" was written by

. Jans recorded the song and released his version on his 1974 self-titled album.

's version of the song peaked at number 61 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for the week of October 6, 1973.

and

's version was released as a single in late 1973, and became a minor ''Billboard'' Hot 100 hit in the spring of 1974. The song first appeared on their 1973 duet album ''

''. Elvis Presley's version was first released on his 1974 album ''

Good Times ''Good Times'' is an American television sitcom that aired for six seasons on CBS, from February 8, 1974, to August 1, 1979. Created by Eric Monte and Mike Evans and developed by executive producer Norman Lear, it was television's first African ...

''. In 1975, it was included as a B-side on some editions of his "

My Boy "My Boy" is a popular song from the early 1970s. The music was composed by Jean-Pierre Bourtayre and Claude François, and the lyrics were translated from the original version "Parce que je t'aime, mon enfant" (Because I Love You My Child) into E ...

" single. In 1981, it appeared on Presley's posthumous album ''Guitar Man'' and was released as the second single from it, with " You Asked Me To" on side B. In the UK, the song spent 6 weeks 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 ...

, peaking at number 47 for the week of April 14. In the United States, the single charted as a double A-side ("Lovin' Arms"/"You Asked Me To") on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles chart, peaking at number 8 on the week of June 20.

's version reached number 9 on the Canadian AC/Pop charts, February 1, 1975. In March 1977, the song was used in an episode of the TV show ''

Starsky and Hutch ''Starsky & Hutch'' is an American action television series, which consisted of a 72-minute pilot movie (originally aired as a ''Movie of the Week'' entry) and 92 episodes of 50 minutes each. The show was created by William Blinn (inspired by th ...

'' (season 2, "Long Walk Down a Short Dirt Road") when

David Soul David Soul (born David Richard Solberg; August 28, 1943) is an American-British actor and singer. He is known for his role as Detective Kenneth "Hutch" Hutchinson in the television series ''Starsky & Hutch'' from 1975 to 1979; Joshua Bolt on ' ...

as "Hutch" performed it with guest star

Lynn Anderson Lynn Renée Anderson (September 26, 1947 – July 30, 2015) was an American country singer and television personality. Her crossover signature recording, "Rose Garden," was a number one hit in the United States and internationally. She charte ...

in the show's tag. In total, the song has been covered over 50 times. Other notable covers include ones by

Etta James Jamesetta Hawkins (January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012), known professionally as Etta James, was an American singer who performed in various genres, including gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, rock and roll, and soul. Starting her career in 1954, sh ...

and

the Dixie Chicks The Chicks (previously known as Dixie Chicks) are an American country music band from Dallas, Texas. Since 1995, the band has consisted of Natalie Maines (lead vocals, guitar) and sisters Martie Maguire (vocals, fiddle, mandolin, guitar) and E ...

. French singer and actor

Johnny Hallyday Jean-Philippe Léo Smet (; 15 June 1943 – 5 December 2017), better known by his stage name Johnny Hallyday, was a French rock and roll and pop singer and actor, credited for having brought rock and roll to France. During a career spanning 57 ...

covered it in French (under the title "J'ai pleuré sur ma guitare") on his 17th studio album ''

Je t'aime, je t'aime, je t'aime ''Je t'aime, je t'aime, je t'aime'' is the 17th studio album by French singer Johnny Hallyday, released in 1974 on Philips Records. Commercial performance The album spent several weeks at number one in France (according to the data compiled by ...

'' (1974).

Personnel

– vocals *

Sammy Creason Sammy Lee Creason (27 November 1944 – 21 December 1995) was an American session drummer who played with Tony Joe White, Kris Kristofferson and Bob Dylan amongst others. Life and career Growing up in Jonesboro, Arkansas, United States, he ...

– drums *

Leland Sklar Leland Bruce Sklar (born May 28, 1947) is an American bassist and session musician. Sklar rose to prominence as a member of James Taylor's backing band, which coaleced into a group in its own right, The Section. This group of musicians so frequ ...

– bass *Jerry McGee – guitar, harmonica *

Bobbye Hall Bobbye Jean Hall is an American percussionist who has recorded with a variety of rock, soul, blues and jazz artists, and has appeared on 20 songs that reached the top ten in the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Early career, work for Motown and move to ...

– percussion *

Randy Scruggs Randy Lynn Scruggs (August 3, 1953 – April 17, 2018) was an American music producer, songwriter and guitarist. He had his first recording at the age of 13. He won four Grammy Awards and was named Musician of the Year at the Country Music ...

– guitar *

Booker T. Jones Booker Taliaferro Jones Jr. (born November 12, 1944) is an American musician, songwriter, record producer and arranger, best known as the frontman of the band Booker T. & the M.G.'s. He has also worked in the studios with many well-known art ...

– keyboards

Musical style and lyrics

As Steven Blanton notes in his book ''The Songwriter's Toolkit: From Pen to Push Play'', " e song is written using the method of holding the title until the last line effectively."

Charts

Dobie Gray version

Kris Kristofferson & Rita Coolidge version

Elvis Presley version

: * as "Lovin' Arms"/"You Asked Me To"

References

{{authority control 1973 songs 1973 singles 1974 singles 1981 singles A&M Records singles RCA Records singles Kris Kristofferson songs Rita Coolidge songs Dobie Gray songs Elvis Presley songs Jon English songs The Chicks songs Male–female vocal duets Country ballads Rock ballads 1970s ballads Songs written by Tom Jans Song recordings produced by Felton Jarvis