"Take Me Down" is a song recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

band

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

. It was released in May 1982 as the second single from Alabama's album '' Mountain Music''. Written by

Exile Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...

band members Mark Gray and

J.P. Pennington James Preston Pennington (born January 22, 1949) is an American musician, known primarily as the guitarist and co-lead vocalist of the country pop band Exile. Pennington was one of the early members and one of the lead singers of the group unti ...

, the song was originally recorded by Exile in 1980. The Exile version was released as a single, but failed to become a major hit, although it reached number 102 on the US Bubbling Under chart and number 11 in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. However, it was not until Alabama released the song that it was the group's seventh number one on the country chart. In addition to its success on the country charts, the song fared modestly well on pop radio, reaching No. 18 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Single and album edits

The single edit to "Take Me Down," released for retail sale and radio airplay, is about 1:10 shorter than the full-length album version. Excised from the single version: * The second refrain; the song immediately proceeds from the second verse into the bridge. * An earlier fade during the ending harmony part (about 30 seconds earlier than the album version).

"B" side

The

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

to "Take Me Down" is a song titled "Lovin' You Is Killin' Me," a re-recording of one of Alabama's earliest songs. "Lovin' You Is Killin' Me" originally appeared as the B-side to the band's first charted single, 1977's "I Wanna Be With You Tonight."

Charts

Exile

Alabama

Year-end charts

Cover version

The song was covered in by soul singer

Johnny Bristol John William Bristol (February 3, 1939 – March 21, 2004) was an American musician, most famous as a songwriter and record producer for the Motown label in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was a native of Morganton, North Carolina, about which ...

the same year and released as the first single off his ''

Free to Be Me "Free to Be Me" was released as the second single from American Contemporary Christian music singer Francesca Battistelli's major label debut album, ''My Paper Heart (album), My Paper Heart'', in January 2009. The song was certified RIAA certificat ...

'' albu

References

Works cited *Morris, Edward, "Alabama," Contemporary Books Inc., Chicago, 1985 () 1982 singles 1980 songs Alabama (American band) songs Exile (American band) songs Songs written by Mark Gray (singer) Songs written by J.P. Pennington Song recordings produced by Harold Shedd RCA Records Nashville singles 1982 songs {{1980-country-song-stub