"Call Me" is a song written and recorded by American singer Aretha Franklin. The song was co-produced by Jerry Wexler, Tom Dowd and Arif Mardin.
Background
Franklin came up with the idea for the song after she saw a young couple engaged in deep conversation on New York's Park Avenue. Before they parted, Franklin heard them say to each other: "I love you... call me."[1] With the exception of Franklin on piano, musical backing for "Call Me" was handled by members of the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section.
Chart performance
"Call Me" was released as a single in January 1970 from Aretha's This Girl's in Love with You album and became another hit for her, spending two weeks at number one on the US R&B Singles chart, while reaching number 13 on the Pop chart.[2]
| Chart (1970) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada (RPM Top 100)[3] | 11 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 11 |
| US Billboard Best Selling Soul Singles | 1 |
Personnel
Credits are adapted from the liner notes of This Girl's in Love with You.[4][5]
Main performance
- Aretha Franklin – vocals, acoustic piano, additional keyboards
- Brenda Bryant – background vocals
- Cissy Houston – background vocals
- Pat Lewis – background vocals
- Barry Beckett – electric piano, Hammond organ
- Roger Hawkins – drums
- Eddie Hinton – guitar
- David Hood – bass
- Jimmy Johnson – guitar
Production
- Ron Albert – engineer
- Tom Dowd – producer
- Chuck Kirkpatrick – engineer
- Arif Mardin – producer, arranger
- Jerry Wexler – producer
Cover versions
- Diana Ross's rendition of the song for her 1971 album Everything Is Everything.[6] This version was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Female R&B Vocal Category.
- In 1991, R&B singer Phil Perry recorded a version of this song for his album, The Heart of the Man, which reached number one on the Hot R&B Singles Chart.[7]
Samples
- Danny! sampled it in 2004 for his song "When You Get There"
- Later in 2004, Kanye West sampled it for Slum Village's hit "Selfish".
See also
References
- ^ Ed Hogan, "Song Review" on Allmusic
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–2004. Record Research. p. 215.
- ^ "RPM Top 100 Singles - March 28, 1970" (PDF).
- ^ Franklin, Aretha. "This Girl's In Love with You" (Original Album Notes). Atlantic. 1970.
- ^ Franklin, Aretha. "This Girl's in Love with You" (CD Re-issue Liner Notes). Rhino. 1993.
- ^ "www.allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved September 21, 2022.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 457.
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