Reach Out I'll Be There

Album

Single

Label

Motown

Genre

Pop Soul

Media Type

45s

Duration

4:03

Composer(s)

Brian Holland;Lamont Dozier;Eddie Holland Jr.

Entered Chart

May 1, 1971

Peak Date

May 29, 1971

Released

27 April 1971

Recorded

Unknown

Catalog #

Motown 1184

B-Side

(They Long To Be) Close To You

Original Artist

Four Tops

Reach Out I'll Be There Article Talk Read Edit View history Tools From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia "Reach Out I'll Be There" US picture sleeve Single by the Four Tops from the album Reach Out B-side "Until You Love Someone" Released August 18, 1966[1] Recorded July 27, 1966[1] Studio Hitsville U.S.A., Detroit Genre Soul Length 2:56 Label Motown Songwriter Holland–Dozier–Holland[2] Producers Brian HollandLamont Dozier[2] The Four Tops singles chronology "Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever" (1966) "Reach Out I'll Be There" (1966) "Standing in the Shadows of Love" (1966) Official Audio "Reach Out I'll Be There" on YouTube "Reach Out I'll Be There" (also formatted as "Reach Out (I'll Be There)") is a song recorded by the American vocal quartet Four Tops from their fourth studio album, Reach Out (1967). Written and produced by Motown's main production team, Holland–Dozier–Holland,[3] the song is one of the most notable Motown hits of the 1960s. It was the number one song on the Rhythm & Blues chart for two weeks[4] and on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks, in October 15–22, 1966. The track also reached number one on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Motown's second UK chart-topper after the Supremes' 1964 release "Baby Love".[5] It reached number one on October 27, 1966, and stayed there for three weeks.[6] Rolling Stone later ranked "Reach Out" number 206 on its list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Billboard ranked the record as the number four song for 1966.[7] In 2022, the single was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry.[8] Writing and recording In 1966, Holland, Dozier and Holland were writing new songs for the Four Tops to record for an album. Lamont Dozier said that he wanted to write "a journey of emotions with sustained tension, like a bolero. To get this across, I alternated the keys, from a minor, Russian feel in the verse to a major, gospel feel in the chorus." He developed the lyrics with Eddie Holland, aiming for them to sound "as though they were being thrown down vocally." Dozier said that they were strongly influenced by Bob Dylan at the time, commenting: "We wanted Levi [Stubbs] to shout-sing the lyrics... as a shout-out to Dylan."[9] For the recording, the writers and producers intentionally put Levi Stubbs at the top of his vocal range, according to Abdul Fakir of the Four Tops, "to make sure he'd have that cry and hunger and wailing in his voice." Arranger Paul Riser overdubbed instruments including a piccolo and flute in the intro, and a drum pattern made by using timpani mallets on a tambourine head. After the recording was completed and on hearing the final version, the group begged Berry Gordy not to release it; according to Fakir, "for us, the song felt a little odd." However, Gordy insisted that it be issued as a single.[9] Style Lead singer Levi Stubbs delivers many of the lines in the song in a tone that some suggest straddles the line between singing and shouting,[3] as he did in the 1965 hit, "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)". AllMusic critic Ed Hogan praises Stubbs' vocal as well as the song's "rock-solid groove" and "dramatic, semi-operatic tension and release."[10] Critic Martin Charles Strong calls the song "a soul symphony of epic proportions that remains [the Four Tops'] signature tune."[11] In 2014, interviewed by The Guardian, Four Tops singer Duke Fakir said: Eddie realized that when Levi hit the top of his vocal range, it sounded like someone hurting, so he made him sing right up there. Levi complained, but we knew he loved it. Every time they thought he was at the top, he would reach a little further until you could hear the tears in his voice. The line "Just look over your shoulder" was something he threw in spontaneously. Levi was creative like that; he could always add something from the heart.[12] Reception Cash Box said that it is "a hard-driving, pulsating pop-r&b romancer about a very-much-in-love guy who claims that he'll always be at his gal's beck-and-call."[13] In 1988, in Melody Maker, Jon Wilde called it "the third best number 1 single ever. The bit that sounds like a horse galloping at the beginning is fairly unbeatable but, when Levi starts up, I swear it's one of the finest sights in the solar system."[14] Charts Weekly charts Chart (1966–1967) Peak position Argentina (CAPIF) [15] 1 Australia (Kent Music Report)[16] 62 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[17] 10 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[18] 6 Ireland (IRMA)[19] 4 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[20] 8 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[21] 6 New Zealand (Listener)[22] 11 Spain (Cash Box)[23] 1 UK Singles (OCC)[24] 1 US Billboard Hot 100[25] 1 US Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles (Billboard)[25] 1 US Cash Box Top 100[26] 1 US Record World Top 100[27] 2 West Germany (GfK)[28] 13 1988 Remix Chart (1988) Peak position Ireland (IRMA)[29] 11 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[30] 28 UK Singles (OCC)[31] 11 Michael Bolton with the Four Tops Chart (1993) Peak position Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[32] 2 Europe (European Hit Radio)[33] 31 UK Airplay (Music Week)[34] 38 Year-end charts Chart (1966) Position Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[35] 67 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[36] 47 US Billboard Hot 100[7] 4 US Cash Box Top 100[37] 38 Chart (1993) Position Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[38] 33 Certifications Region Certification Certified units/sales New Zealand (RMNZ)[39] Gold 15,000‡ United Kingdom (BPI)[40] Platinum 600,000‡ United States (RIAA)[41] Gold 500,000^ ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. Legacy The version by the Four Tops was used by Joe Biden during his campaign in the 2020 United States presidential election.[42] Many artists covered the song,[43] including the Jaded Hearts Club cover as recently as 2020.[44] In 1998, the 1966 recording by the Four Tops on Motown Records was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.[45] The Four Tops version was used in the main trailer for the second season of the Apple TV+ series Severance.[46] Diana Ross version "Reach Out I'll Be There" Single by Diana Ross from the album Surrender B-side "(They Long to Be) Close to You" Released 1971 Studio Hitsville U.S.A. (Studio A) Length 5:34 (album version) 4:03 (single version) Label Motown Songwriter Holland–Dozier–Holland Producer Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson Diana Ross singles chronology "Remember Me" (1970) "Reach Out I'll Be There" (1971) "Surrender" (1971) American singer Diana Ross covered "Reach Out, I'll Be There" in 1971. Her version was released by Motown from her third album, Surrender (1971). It was produced by Ashford & Simpson, and reached number 29 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 35 in Canada.

If you feel that
You can't go on
'Cause all your hope is gone

And your life is filled with confusion
And happiness is just an illusion
And your world around is tumbling down

Darling, reach out
Reach out, reach out

I'll give you all the love you need
I'll be there
You can always depend on me, ooh

I can tell the way you hang your head
You're without love
Now you're afraid

And through your tears
You look around
And there's no peace of mind
To be found

I know what you're thinking
You're alone now
No love of your own
Darling, reach out
Reach out
Reach out for me boy

I'll give you all the love you need
(I'll be there)
Hey baby, I'm gonna be right there
You can always depend on me

You can always
Depend on me
You can always
When things get tough

You can always cuddle me
See you through
You can always depend on me
Whatever else you do

You can always
Ring my phone
Yeah, you can always catch me at home
You can always cuddle me

You can always depend on me
You can always, you can always
Depend on me, ooh
You can always, you can always
Depend on me, oh

You can always depend on me, yeah
You can always depend on me (and reach out)
You can always depend on me (I'll be there)
You can always depend on me (ooh, yeah)

You can always depend on me (oh, yeah)
You can always depend on me

When you're lost and about to give up
'Cause your best ain't good enough
And you feel the world has grown cold

And you're drifting on your own
When you need a hand to hold
When you need a friend

Reach out
I'll be there
Reach out
I'll be there
Reach out
I'll be there

To give you all the love you need
I'll gonna to give you all the love you need
I'll be there to love and shelter you

I'll be there to always see you through
To give you all the love you need
I'm gonna give you all the love you need
I'll be there to love and shelter you

I'll be there to always see you through
To give you all the love you need
I'm gonna give you all the love you need
I'll be there
To hold and shelter you
I'll be there
To always see you through
Give you all the love you need