"Back in My Arms Again" is a 1965 song recorded by The Supremes for the Motown label.
Written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland, "Back in My Arms Again" was the fifth consecutive and overall number-one song for the group on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart in the United States from June 6, 1965, through June 12, 1965,[1] also topping the soul chart for a week.
On the album in which this single appeared, More Hits by the Supremes, and on the official single, each member is pictured separately on the front cover, with her signature above it.
The Supremes performed the song on The Mike Douglas Show, a syndicated daytime program, on May 5, 1965, and again on November 3.[3] They performed the song nationally on the NBCvariety programHullabaloo![4] on Tuesday, May 11, 1965, peaking on the music charts in the following weeks.
Billboard said that "Back in My Arms Again" has "a strong teen lyric and a powerful vocal performance pitted against a hard rock backing in full support."[5]Cash Box described it as "a rollicking, pop-r&b romancer about a lucky lass who gets back with her boyfriend after quite a hiatus."[6]Record World chose it as one of their "Single Picks of the Week," stating that the Supremes are "unbeatable."[7]Allmusic critic Ed Hogan called the rhythm section provided by the Funk Brothers "tight," the saxophone played by Mike Terry "rollicking" and the vibraphone played by James Gitten "dreamy."[2]
"Back in My Arms Again" returned to the Billboard Hot 100 in 1978 with a remake by Genya Ravan on a single (taken from the singer's album Urban Desire) which was Ravan's only Hot 100 entry, peaking at #92.[24][25]
The song almost made the Hot 100 in 1983 via a remake on Motown's Gordy label by female vocal group High Inergy, whose 1977 debut album Turnin' On had yielded a Top 20 hit in ("You Can't Turn Me Off") and elicited numerous comparisons with the Supremes.[26][27][28][29][30] High Inergy remained a one hit wonder despite the release of seven more albums and 27 more singles. In 1983, the group released what would be their last album, Groove Patrol, from which a near note-for-note remake of "Back in My Arms Again" was released as a single[31] (the group's last) and reached #105 on the BillboardBubbling Under Hot 100 chart (without ranking on the magazine's R&B chart).[32]
The song was recorded by the all-female American rock group Fanny in early 1973 but their version, produced by Todd Rundgren, remained unreleased until 2002, when it appeared on Rhino Handmade's limited-edition Fanny anthology First Time In A Long Time: The Reprise Recordings.[35] The outtake was later included on the 2016 reissue of 1973's Mothers Pride. The song was also covered by The Jam live at the 100 Club on 11 September 1977, a version released on the six-CD set Fire and Skill – The Jam Live in 2015.
Chronology(The band's name history: The Primettes 1959–1961 / The Supremes 1961–1967 / Diana Ross & The Supremes 1967–1970 / The Supremes 1970 / Diana Ross & The Supremes 1970 / The Supremes 1970–)
