"You've Got Me (Right Where You Want Me)" is a song originally 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, ...

singer

Connie Smith Connie Smith (born Constance June Meador; August 14, 1941) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Her contralto vocals have been described by music writers as significant and influential to the women of country music. A similarity h ...

. It was composed by Smith herself, along with

George Richey George Richey (born George Baker Richardson; November 30, 1935 – July 31, 2010) was an American songwriter and record producer. He was born in Arkansas, but raised in Malden, Missouri. Career Richey was a mainstay of the Nashville country music ...

. The song was Smith's debut single for

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

, upon its release in 1973. The same year it was issued on her first album with Columbia titled '' A Lady Named Smith''.

Background, release and chart performance

By 1973, Connie Smith had nearly a decade of success on

RCA Victor Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Aris ...

, with hit country songs like "

Once a Day "Once a Day" is a song written by Bill Anderson and recorded as the debut single by American country artist Connie Smith. It was produced by Bob Ferguson for her self-titled debut album. The song was released in August 1964, topping the ''Bil ...

" (1964), "

I Never Once Stopped Loving You ''I Never Once Stopped Loving You'' is the fourteenth solo studio album by American country singer Connie Smith. It was released in September 1970 on RCA Victor and contained ten tracks. The collection mixed original material with covers of prev ...

" and "

If It Ain't Love (Let's Leave It Alone) "If It Ain't Love (Let's Leave It Alone)" is a single originally recorded by American country music artist Connie Smith. Released in July 1972, the song reached #7 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles chart. The song was issued onto Smith's se ...

" (1972). In 1973, Smith made the decision to leave her recording contract and sign with Columbia Records. She began recording alongside producer

, who helped compose the song "You've Got Me (Right Where You Want Me)". Smith also contributed to the song's composition. The track was recorded in her first session in Columbia, which occurred in January 1973. Produced by George Richey, the session took place at the Columbia Recording Studio in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

. "You've Got Me (Right Where You Want Me)" was released as Smith's first single for Columbia Records in March 1973. It was backed on the flip side by Smith's cover of

George Jones George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for his long list of hit records, including his best-known song "He Stopped Loving Her Today", ...

's "A Picture of Me (Without You)". The song spent 12 weeks on the ''

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 ...

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

chart and peaked at number 21 in May 1973. It was Smith's first solo single to peak outside the top 20 of the ''Billboard'' country chart. It was later issued on her debut studio LP with Columbia Records titled '' A Lady Named Smith''. The disc was also released in 1973. In 1984,

Reba McEntire Reba Nell McEntire (born March 28, 1955), or simply Reba, is an American country music singer and actress. Dubbed " the Queen of Country", she has sold more than 75 million records worldwide. Since the 1970s, McEntire has placed over 100 single ...

recorded a cover of "You've Got Me (Right Where You Want Me)" for her album titled '' My Kind of Country''. McEntire chose the song to record after re-discovering a series of old tapes and LP's in her music collection.

Track listing

7" vinyl single * "You've Got Me (Right Where You Want Me)" – 2:20 * " A Picture of Me (Without You)" – 2:38

Charts

References

{{Connie Smith singles 1973 singles Columbia Records singles Connie Smith songs Reba McEntire songs Song recordings produced by George Richey Songs written by George Richey Songs written by Connie Smith