"Move in a Little Closer" | |
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Single by Harmony Grass | |
from the album This Is Us | |
B-side | "Happiness Is Toy Shaped" |
Released | 1968 |
Genre | Pop |
Label | RCA Records |
Songwriter(s) | O'Connor, Capitanelli |
Producer(s) | Chris Andrews |
Performance video | |
"Move in a Little Closer Baby" (in Beat Club, 1969) by Harmony Grass on YouTube |
"Move in a Little Closer, Baby" is a pop song, first recorded by Harmony Grass as "Move in a Little Closer." The song became an international hit for Cass Elliot in the spring of 1969.
Grass had recorded the song in 1968, and released it as a single. The song reached number 24 in the UK Singles Chart in January 1969. [1] It was also released in Germany, Spain and Australia. [2]
Chart (1968–69) | Peak position |
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UK [3] | 24 |
"Move in a Little Closer, Baby" | ||||
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Single by Mama Cass Elliot | ||||
from the album Bubblegum, Lemonade, and...Something for Mama | ||||
B-side | "All for Me" | |||
Released | March 1969 | |||
Genre | Pop | |||
Label | Dunhill Records | |||
Songwriter(s) | O'Connor, Capitanelli | |||
Producer(s) | Steve Barri | |||
Mama Cass Elliot singles chronology | ||||
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Audio | ||||
"Move in a Little Closer, Baby" by Cass Elliot on YouTube |
"Move in a Little Closer, Baby" was the first advance single from Cass Elliot's second solo album Bubblegum, Lemonade, and...Something for Mama . Elliot would recall recording "Move in..." "as a lark. I did all the background voices and it sounds like [Elliot's former group] the Mamas & the Papas. But I'm tired of being 'hit over the head with' the Mamas & Papas", [4] referencing Dunhill Records displeasure with Elliot's shift of musical direction on her solo debut album. The sessions for Elliot's "Bubblegum, Lemonade..." album were produced by Dunhill's a&r vice-president Steve Barri, who would recall having Elliot record bubblegum music since "I wanted to capture who she was...this real fun-loving positive kind of person". [5] Elliot would in 1971 recall that at Dunhill she'd been "forced to be so bubblegum that I'd stick to the floor when I walked": [6] however Barri's contention was that: "We never recorded anything that she didn't want to do" while allowing that Elliot "wasn't too thrilled" with "Move in...". [5] Elliot, who had been affronted by her first solo single "Dream a Little Dream of Me" facing UK chart competition from a rival version by Anita Harris, would allege that she had no awareness of the Harmony Grass original of "Move in..." when she recorded the song and was embarrassed to learn she'd unknowingly cut a cover version [4] [7] [8] Elliot's version of the song peaked at number 58 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and reached number 55 on the Pop chart and number 19 on the Adult Contemporary chart. It also reached number 34 in Australia.
Chart (1969) | Peak position |
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Australia KMR [9] | 34 |
Canada RPM Top Singles [10] | 55 |
Canada RPM Adult Contemporary [11] | 19 |
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 [12] | 58 |
U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary | 32 |
U.S. Cash Box Top 100 | 59 |
"Move in a Little Closer Baby" has also been covered by The Bloomfields and the Four King Cousins.
The Mamas & the Papas was a folk-rock vocal-group which recorded and performed from 1965 to 1968. The group was a defining force in the music scene of the counterculture of the 1960s. Formed in New York City, the group consisted of Americans John Phillips, Cass Elliot, and Michelle Phillips, and Canadian Denny Doherty. Their sound was based on vocal harmonies arranged by John Phillips, the songwriter, musician, and leader of the group, who adapted folk to the new beat style of the early 1960s.
Ellen Naomi Cohen, known professionally as Cass Elliot, was an American singer. She was also known as "Mama Cass", a name she reportedly disliked. Elliot was a member of the singing group the Mamas & the Papas. After the group broke up, she released five solo albums. Elliot received the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary (R&R) Performance for "Monday, Monday" (1967). In 1998, she was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for her work with the Mamas & the Papas.
Dennis Gerrard Stephen Doherty was a Canadian singer and musician. A tenor, he was a founding member of the 1960s musical group the Mamas & the Papas for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.
Philip Gary "Flip" Sloan, known professionally as P. F. Sloan, was an American singer and songwriter. During the mid-1960s, he wrote, performed, and produced many Billboard Top 20 hits for artists such as Barry McGuire, the Searchers, Jan and Dean, Herman's Hermits, Johnny Rivers, the Grass Roots, the Turtles, and the Mamas and the Papas.
Jill Gibson is an American singer, songwriter, photographer, painter and sculptor. She is mostly known for her collaboration work with Jan & Dean and for having briefly been a member of the successful 1960s rock group the Mamas and the Papas. She was also one of the main photographers at the historic Monterey Pop Festival in 1967.
Lester Louis Adler is an American record and film producer and the co-owner of the Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood, California. Adler has produced and developed a number of high-profile musical artists, including The Grass Roots, Jan & Dean, The Mamas & the Papas, and Carole King. King's album Tapestry, produced by Adler, won the 1972 Grammy Award for Album of the Year and has been called one of the greatest pop albums of all time.
"Dream a Little Dream of Me" is a 1931 song with music by Fabian Andre and Wilbur Schwandt and lyrics by Gus Kahn. It was first recorded in February 1931 by Ozzie Nelson and His Orchestra, soon followed by Wayne King and His Orchestra with vocals by Ernie Birchill. A popular standard, it has seen well over 400 recorded versions.
"Make Your Own Kind of Music" is a song by American singer Mama Cass Elliot released in September 1969 by Dunhill Records. The song was written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, while production was helmed by Steve Barri. In the United States, "Make Your Own Kind of Music" was a Top 40 hit, in which it peaked at number 36 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Lawrence William Knechtel 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 Simon & Garfunkel, Duane Eddy, the Beach Boys, the Mamas & the Papas, the Monkees, the Partridge Family, Billy Joel, the Doors, the Byrds, the Grass Roots, Jerry Garcia, and Elvis Presley. He also was a member of the 1970s band Bread.
"Dedicated To The One I Love" is a song written by Lowman Pauling and Ralph Bass that was a hit for the "5" Royales, the Shirelles, the Mamas & the Papas and Bitty McLean. Pauling was the guitarist of the "5" Royales, the group that recorded the original version of the song, produced by Bass, in 1957. Their version was re-released in 1961 and charted at number 81 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Steve Barri is an American songwriter and record producer.
Bubblegum, Lemonade &... Something for Mama is the second solo album released by Cass Elliot under the billing "Mama Cass". It was recorded in 1969 and arranged and produced by Steve Barri. The album was originally released in June 1969, with only 11 tracks. It was released again in November 1969, under a new title and with a different album cover as Make Your Own Kind of Music/It’s Getting Better. "Make Your Own Kind of Music" had just become a hit and was added to the album.
Dream a Little Dream is the debut solo album by American singer Cass Elliot immediately following the breakup of The Mamas & the Papas, though she was still billed as "Mama Cass" for this release. Capitalizing on the success of her first solo song as the album's title, it was released in October 1968 by Dunhill Records. The album was re-released by MCA Japan in 2001.
Mama's Big Ones is a compilation album of previously released material as noted below, by Cass Elliot.
Dave Mason & Cass Elliot was the only teaming of artists Dave Mason and Cass Elliot. The album was produced by both Mason and Elliot and recorded in 1970. The album was released by Mason's label, Blue Thumb Records.
"Twelve Thirty" a.k.a. "Twelve-Thirty ", is a song by the Mamas & the Papas.
"It's Getting Better" is a song written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil that was a sunshine pop hit single in 1969 for Mama Cass.
Deliver is the third studio album by the Mamas & the Papas, released in February 1967 on Dunhill Records. One song, "Creeque Alley", outlines the unique circumstances in which the band met and formed. Other songs on the album are covers of popular hits from years past.
"New World Coming" is a pop song written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil which became a hit for Cass Elliot in early 1970.
The Mamas & the Papas were a vocal group from Los Angeles, California that was active from 1966 to 1969. Their discography consists of a total of five albums and 17 singles, six of which made the Billboard top ten, and sold close to 40 million records worldwide. "Monday, Monday" hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in March 1966 and "California Dreamin'" was the top song on the Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1966.