"She'd Rather Be with Me" is a song written by Garry Bonner and Alan Gordon and released by

the Turtles ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

in 1967. The song was the follow-up to " Happy Together".

Lyrics and music

Allmusic critic Stewart Mason described "She'd Rather Be with Me" as a "big, brassy pop song" that was "probably the least ironically cheerful single the Turtles ever did." Mason describes

Howard Kaylan Howard Kaylan (born Howard Lawrence Kaplan, June 22, 1947) is an American musician and songwriter, best known as a founding member and lead singer of the 1960s rock band The Turtles, and, along with bandmate and friend Mark Volman, a member of th ...

's lead vocal as evoking "unfeigned giddiness" and comments on the "huge

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

" including a full orchestra and prominent

cowbell A cowbell (or cow bell) is a bell worn around the neck of free-roaming livestock so herders can keep track of an animal via the sound of the bell when the animal is grazing out of view in hilly landscapes or vast plains. Although they are t ...

Chart performance

The song was a major international hit, and spent 11 weeks on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, peaking at No. 3, while reaching No. 1 on ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of the three main music industry trade magazines in the United States, along with '' Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 under the name ''Music Vendor'', but in 1964 it was changed to ''Record Wo ...

''s "100 Top Pops", No. 1 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 ...

'' 100", No. 1 in South Africa,Billboard Hits of the World
, ''

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 ...

'', October 7, 1967. p. 68. Accessed May 20, 2016. No. 2 on the ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' Top 100, No. 3 in Denmark,Billboard Hits of the World
, ''

'', September 9, 1967. p. 62. Accessed May 20, 2016. and No. 3 on the

Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are bas ...

. The song also spent 15 weeks on the UK's ''

Record Retailer ''Record Retailer'' was the only music trade newspaper for the UK record industry. It was founded in August 1959 as a monthly newspaper covering both labels and dealers. Its founding editor was Roy Parker (who died on 27 December 1964). The title ...

'' chart, peaking at No. 4, making it The Turtles' biggest hit in the United Kingdom.Turtles - Full Official Chart History
''

Official Charts Company The Official Charts (legal name: The Official UK Charts Company Limited) is a British inter-professional organization that compiles various "official" record charts in the United Kingdom, Ireland and France. In the United Kingdom, its charts inc ...

''. Accessed May 19, 2016 The song was a major hit in many other nations as well.

Weekly chart

Year-end charts

References

1967 songs 1967 singles Songs written by Alan Gordon (songwriter) The Turtles songs RPM Top Singles number-one singles Number-one singles in South Africa {{1960s-single-stub