"Don't Pull Your Love" is the debut single by Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds which became a top ten hit single in 1971. The song was written by Brian Potter and Dennis Lambert.

Background

Rumored to have been written with

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

in mind, and first recorded (as "Don't Pull Your Love Out") in 1970 by Country Store—an obscure group produced by the song's writers Lambert and Potter—"Don't Pull Your Love" had been optioned by

ABC-Dunhill Records ABC Records was an American record label founded in New York City in 1955. It originated as the main popular music label operated by the Am-Par Record Corporation. Am-Par also created the Impulse! jazz label in 1960. It acquired many labels bef ...

A&R vice-president

Steve Barri Steve Barri (born Steven Barry Lipkin; February 23, 1942, New York City) is an American songwriter and record producer. Career Early in his career, Barri was a staff writer with Dunhill Records. He produced such huge hits as " Dizzy" by Tommy R ...

to be recorded by

the Grass Roots The Grass Roots are an American rock band that charted frequently between 1965 and 1975. The band was originally the creation of Lou Adler and songwriting duo P. F. Sloan and Steve Barri. In their career, they achieved two gold albums and ...

, who Barri had been producing for five years. However, the Grass Roots passed on the song, which Barri recalls the group considered "a bit light eight. Joe Frank Carollo would recall how he and fellow band members Dan Hamilton and Tommy Reynolds were performing a

Creedence Clearwater Revival Creedence Clearwater Revival, commonly abbreviated as CCR or simply Creedence, was an American Rock music, rock band formed in El Cerrito, California. The band consisted of lead vocalist, lead guitarist, and primary songwriter John Fogerty, h ...

medley to audition for ABC-Dunhill when Steve Barri stopped the trio to play them the demo of "Don't Pull Your Love" two or three times until the trio themselves could sing it for Barri, who then arranged for Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds to be signed to ABC-Dunhill that same day. According to Steve Barri, Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds themselves played on the basic tracks for their recording sessions, on which

Jimmie Haskell Jimmie Haskell (born Sheridan Pearlman; November 7, 1926 – February 4, 2016) was an American composer and arranger for motion pictures and a wide variety of popular artists, including Elvis Presley, Neil Diamond, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Steely D ...

's horn and string arrangements were later overdubbed. The credits for their debut album, which included "Don't Pull Your Love", titled ''

Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds were a 1970s soft rock trio from Los Angeles. The original members were Dan Hamilton (guitar/lead vocal), Joe Frank Carollo (bass/vocal), and Tommy Reynolds (multi-instrumentalist/vocal), all of whom had previous ...

'', lists the group members as musicians (

Dan Hamilton Dan Hamilton is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama ''Holby City'', played by actor Adam Astill. He first appeared in the series thirteen episode "Blue Valentine", broadcast on 15 February 2011. Dan is a consultant orthopaedic sur ...

on lead vocals and guitar, Joe Frank Carollo on bass guitar and Tom Reynolds on keyboards) with additional credits for drummer Joe Correro Jr. – formerly of

Paul Revere & the Raiders Paul Revere & the Raiders (also known as Raiders) were an American rock band formed in Boise, Idaho, in 1958. They saw considerable U.S. mainstream success in the second half of the 1960s and early 1970s. The band was known for including Revolu ...

– and keyboardist

Larry Knechtel Lawrence William Knechtel (August 4, 1940 – August 20, 2009) was an American keyboard player and bassist who was a member of the Wrecking Crew, a collection of Los Angeles–based session musicians who worked with such renowned artists as Sim ...

. Both Correro (Carollo's second cousin) and Knechtel were prolific session musicians with Knechtel - who also played bass - being a regular member of famous Los Angeles session band the Wrecking Crew: it has been alleged that the instrumentation on "Don't Pull Your Love" was exclusively a work of the Wrecking Crew with the trio being relegated only to vocals, an allegation which Carollo has refuted ("we were self contained so we pretty much played on everything"), concluding that only Knechtel and Correro, as session musicians, played on the "Don't Pull Your Love" session. An instrumental entitled "Funk-in-Wagnal", credited to the group's members, was recorded to be

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

of "Don't Pull Your Love". Recorded in December 1970, "Don't Pull Your Love" was released April 1971 and reached No. 4 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 dated 31 July 1971, in which month the single was

certified gold Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

for sales of one million units (''

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 advertis ...

'' also afforded "Don't Pull Your Love" a No. 4 ranking on the magazine's

Easy Listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to the 1970s. It is related to middle of the road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit s ...

chart). On the Top 100 Singles chart in ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is 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 ...

'' dated 31 July 1971, "Don't Pull Your Love" was ranked at #1. In Canada, "Don't Pull Your Love" spent one week at number one.RPM 100
, ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...

'', Volume 15, No. 24, July 31, 1971. Accessed August 2, 2016.

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Glen Campbell medley version

The lead single from the 1976

Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American country musician and actor. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting ''The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour'' on CBS television from ...

album ''

Bloodline Heredity, also called inheritance or biological inheritance, is the passing on of traits from parents to their offspring; either through asexual reproduction or sexual reproduction, the offspring cells or organisms acquire the genetic infor ...

'' - which was produced by Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter - was a

medley Medley or Medleys may refer to: Sports *Medley swimming, races requiring multiple swimming styles * Medley relay races at track meets Music *Medley (music), multiple pieces strung together People *Medley (surname), list of people with this nam ...

of "Don't Pull Your Love" with the

John D. Loudermilk John Dee Loudermilk Jr. (March 31, 1934 – September 21, 2016) was an American singer and songwriter. Although he had his own recording career during the 1950s and 1960s, he was primarily known as a songwriter. His best-known songs include "In ...

composition "

Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye" is a song written by John D. Loudermilk. It was first released in 1962 by Don Cherry (singer/golfer), Don Cherry, as a country song and again as a doo-wop in 1967 by the group The Casinos on its album of the same nam ...

". Lambert and Potter had previously been responsible for Campbell's massive 1975 comeback album ''

Rhinestone Cowboy "Rhinestone Cowboy" is a song written and recorded by Larry Weiss in 1974, then popularized the next year by American country music singer Glen Campbell. When released on May 26, 1975, as the lead single and title track from his album '' Rhinesto ...

''. "Don't Pull Your Love"/ "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye" was far less successful than either of the singles off ''Rhinestone Cowboy'', the medley just scraping the top 30 of the

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

in ''

'', performing much better on the magazine's airplay-driven C&W and

charts. "Don't Pull Your Love"/ "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye" was a major hit in Canada, reaching number 2 on the country chart and number 51 on the pop chart. Campbell performed the medley in 1977 with

Cher Cher ( ; born Cheryl Sarkisian, May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Goddess of Pop", she is known for her Androgyny, androgynous contralto voice, Music an ...

on the '' Sonny & Cher Show'' on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

Chart performance

Sean Maguire version

In 1996, the song was covered by English actor/singer

Sean Maguire Sean Maguire (born 18 April 1976) is an English-American actor and singer who has been professionally making films, television shows and performing on stage for over 40 years. Originally from London, Maguire started his career at age five starr ...

, and released as his seventh single. It was the fourth and final single from his second album '' Spirit'' and reached number 14 on the UK Singles Chart.

Track listing

CD1 CD2

Other versions

"Don't Pull Your Love" was recorded by

Sam & Dave Sam & Dave were an American soul and R&B duo who performed together from 1961 until 1981. The tenor (higher) voice was Sam Moore (1935–2025) and the baritone/tenor (lower) voice was Dave Prater (1937–1988). Nicknamed "Double Dynamite", " ...

in 1971. Their version was released on Atlantic Records in October 1971 and reached number 36 on the ''Billboard'' R&B chart. It can be found on various "best of" Sam & Dave collections that are currently available. The song was sung by the characters Min and Max (

Two-Face Two-Face is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Bob Kane, and first appeared in ''Detective Comics'' #66 (August 1942). He has become one of the superhero Batman's most enduring e ...

's henchmen, voiced by

Rob Paulsen Robert Frederick Paulsen III (born March 11, 1956) is an American voice actor and voice director, known for his roles in numerous animated television series and films. He received a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Pro ...

) in the animated film ''

Batman and Harley Quinn ''Batman and Harley Quinn'' is a 2017 American animated superhero film produced by Warner Bros. Animation and distributed by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. It is the 30th film of the DC Universe Animated Original Movies, and is directed by Sa ...

''. They perform in a henchpersons' tavern that

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

Nightwing Nightwing is a superhero alias used by multiple characters in American comic books published by DC Comics. The most prominent bearer is Dick Grayson, the original Robin, who adopts the Nightwing identity to assert his independence from Batman. ...

, and

Harley Quinn Harley Quinn (Dr. Harleen Frances Quinzel, PhD) is a fictional American character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. She was created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm for ''Batman: The Animated Series'' as a henchwoman for the ...

visit for information on

Poison Ivy Poison ivy is a type of allergenic plant in the genus '' Toxicodendron'' native to Asia and North America. Formerly considered a single species, '' Toxicodendron radicans'', poison ivies are now generally treated as a complex of three separate s ...

The Grass Roots The Grass Roots are an American rock band that charted frequently between 1965 and 1975. The band was originally the creation of Lou Adler and songwriting duo P. F. Sloan and Steve Barri. In their career, they achieved two gold albums and ...

who passed on the song were performing it in concert by 1996, with their live version - entitled "Don't Pull Your Love Out on Me Baby" - being included on the group's 2000 concert album ''Live at Last''. The song was also recorded by

the Lettermen The Lettermen are an American male pop vocal trio whose trademark is close-harmony pop songs with light arrangements. The group started in 1959. They have had two Top 10 singles (both No. 7), 16 Top 10 singles on the Adult Contemporary chart (i ...

(album ''Love Book''/ 1971),

Sammy Babitzin Aleksandr "Sammy" Babitzin (11 July 1948 – 29 April 1973) was a Finnish popular music singer, the brother of Kirka and Muska. Babitzin was born into a Russian family in Helsinki, and he was of partial German-Russian descent through his mot ...

(as "Kuin Tuhka Tuuleen" _Finnish: album ''Sammy''/ 1973): also a 1972 single release), and

Guys 'n' Dolls Guys 'n' Dolls were a UK pop group, initially comprising a three-girl/three-boy line-up and later becoming two-girl/two-boy. In the mid-1970s, they scored UK top-ten hits with the singles "There's a Whole Lot of Loving" and " You Don't Have to ...

(album ''The Good Times''/ 1976), the last-named modifying the song to a

duet A duet (italian language, Italian: ''duo'') is a musical composition for two Performing arts, performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a har ...

with the lead vocals split between Dominic Grant and Martine Howard.

Jimmy Helms James D. Helms (born September 27, 1941) is an American soul singer, known as a member of Londonbeat but who also had solo hits such as " Gonna Make You an Offer You Can't Refuse". Early years Helms was born in Florida. His grandfather was a Bl ...

had a 1975 single release of "Don't Pull Your Love".

Sonny & Cher Sonny & Cher were an American pop and entertainment duo in the 1960s and 1970s, made up of spouses Sonny Bono and Cher. The couple started their career in the mid-1960s as rhythm and blues, R&B backing singers for record producer Phil Spector. ...

covered the song on an episode of ''

The Sonny & Cher Show ''The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour'' is an American variety show starring American pop singers Sonny Bono and Cher, who were married to each other at the time. The show ran on CBS in the United States, and premiered in August 1971. The show was canc ...

'' in 1976.

References

External links

* {{authority control 1970 songs 1971 debut singles 1976 singles 1996 singles Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds songs Glen Campbell songs Sean Maguire songs Cashbox number-one singles RPM Top Singles number-one singles Songs written by Brian Potter (musician) Songs written by Dennis Lambert Capitol Records singles Dunhill Records singles ABC Records singles Parlophone singles