Would You Hold It Against Me

Last updated
"Would You Hold It Against Me"
Single by Dottie West
from the album Suffer Time
B-side "You're the Only World I Know"
ReleasedMarch 12, 1966
Genre Country, Nashville sound
Label RCA Victor
Songwriter(s) Bill West, Dottie West
Dottie West singles chronology
"Before the Ring on Your Finger Turns Green"
(1965)
"Would You Hold It Against Me"
(1966)
"Mommy, Can I Still Call Him Daddy"
(1967)

"Would You Hold It Against Me" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music singer Dottie West. It was released in March 1966 as the second single from the album Suffer Time . West wrote the song with her then-husband Bill.

By 1966, Dottie West's professional career in Country music was only getting started. However, two years before, West achieved her first Top 10 hit with "Here Comes My Baby". The song won West a Grammy award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance in 1965, making West the first female Country singer to ever win a Grammy. However, after the success of "Here Comes My Baby", West couldn't really follow-up her success with another Top 10 hit for a while, and West never won a Grammy award again, although she would receive several later nominations.

However, 1966 was a year of great change for West. Not only did she release her highest-selling solo album of all time ("Suffer Time"), but she also released the single "Would You Hold It Against Me". The song was written by West and her husband Bill. The song was released on her new album that year, and was soon released to the Country charts.

The song became Dottie West's biggest hit of the year, peaking at number 5 on the Hot Country Songs [1] list in 1966. The song was West's biggest hit as a solo artist that decade. "Would You Hold It Against Me" was definitely a Nashville Sound recording, with violins and other string instruments that can be heard in the background of the song.

"Would You Hold It Against Me" set the stage for a couple of other hits in the 1960s for West.

Charts

Chart (1966)Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs 5

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The singles discography of American country artist Dottie West contains 59 singles released as a solo artist, 12 singles released as a collaborative artist, 3 promotional singles and 1 other charting song. West signed with RCA Victor Records in 1963, having her first Top 40 hit the same year. It was followed in 1964 by "Love Is No Excuse", a duet with Jim Reeves that became West's first top 10 hit. In 1964, she also released "Here Comes My Baby". The song reached number 10 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart and became the first song by a female country artist to win a Grammy award. From her 1966 album, West issued four singles, including the top 10 hits "Would You Hold It Against Me" and "What's Come Over My Baby". Over the next two years she had major hits with "Paper Mansions", "Like a Fool", "Country Girl", and "Reno". In 1969, West collaborated with Don Gibson on "Rings of Gold", which reached number 2 on the Billboard country chart. In 1973, she released a single version of a commercial jingle originally used by The Coca-Cola Company. Entitled "Country Sunshine", the song became West's biggest hit, reaching number 2 on the country songs chart and number 49 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song also nominated her for her eleventh Grammy. After releasing the top 10 hit "Last Time I Saw Him" (1974), West's chart hits declined and she was dropped from RCA in 1976.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dottie West albums discography</span>

The albums discography of American country artist Dottie West contains 28 studio albums as a solo artist, five studio albums as a collaborative artist, 18 compilation albums and additional album appearance. Among West's studio releases were five collaborative albums with various artists, including Kenny Rogers. After signing with RCA Victor Records in 1963, West released her debut studio album Here Comes My Baby (1965). The album peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart in July 1965. West's third studio album Suffer Time (1966) spawned four singles, including "Would You Hold It Against Me", a top 5 hit on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. Suffer Time would reach number 3 on the country albums chart, West's highest-charting solo album. Between 1967 and 1968, West released 5 more studio albums. With All My Heart and Soul (1967) featured the top 10 hit "Paper Mansions" and the album itself peaked at number 8 on the Top Country Albums list. In 1969, she paired with Don Gibson for her first collaborative project Dottie and Don. The album featured the pair's number 2 Billboard country hit "Rings of Gold". In 1970, she collaborated with Jimmy Dean on the studio release Country Boy and Country Girl. In 1973, West had her biggest hit with the single "Country Sunshine". Its corresponding album of the same name peaked at number 17 on the country album chart in February 1974.

"Before the Ring on Your Finger Turns Green" is a song originally recorded by American country artist Dottie West. Released as a single in 1965, it became a top 40 chart single on the US country music chart. It was also issued as the lead single for West's 1966 studio album Suffer Time.

References

  1. Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 378.