Baby (You've Got What It Takes)

Last updated
"Baby (You've Got What It Takes)"
Single by Dinah Washington and Brook Benton
from the album The Two of Us
B-side "I Do"
ReleasedJanuary 1960
RecordedAugust 1959
Genre R&B
Length2:42
Label Mercury Records: AMT 1083
Songwriter(s) Clyde Otis, Murray Stein
Producer(s) Clyde Otis
Dinah Washington and Brook Benton singles chronology
"What a Diff'rence a Day Made"
(1959)
"Baby (You've Got What It Takes)"
(1960)
"A Rockin' Good Way (To Mess Around and Fall in Love)"
(1960)
Official audio
"Baby (You've Got What It Takes)" on YouTube

"Baby (You've Got What It Takes)" is a 1950s song written by Clyde Otis and Murray Stein.

Contents

Originally titled "You've Got What It Takes", the song was first recorded by Brook Benton's sister, [1] Dorothy Pay, in 1958, as the B-side of her single "Strollin' with My Baby" on Mercury 71277. [2] [3]

In August 1959, Brook Benton partnered with Dinah Washington to record the song as "Baby (You've Got What It Takes)". Their version, released in January 1960, was hugely successful on both the pop and R&B charts, reaching #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Hot R&B sides chart for ten weeks, [4] becoming one of the most successful R&B singles of the 1960s. The song was also featured on their 1960 duet album, The Two of Us. [5]

Piano was by Joe Zawinul and Belford Hendricks was the arranger and conductor. [6]

Charts

Dinah Washington and Brook Benton

Chart (1960)Peak
position
US Billboard Hot 100 5
US Billboard Hot R&B Sides 1

Later versions

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References

  1. Company, Johnson Publishing (May 4, 1963). "Ebony". Johnson Publishing Company via Google Books.
  2. "You've Got What It Takes", Secondhand Songs. Retrieved 12 January 2018
  3. Singles Discography for Mercury Records - 71000 series, Global Dog Productions. Retrieved 12 January 2018
  4. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 54.
  5. "The Two of Us - Dinah Washington" via www.allmusic.com.
  6. "Mercury Records Catalog: 20500 series". www.jazzdisco.org.