"Move in a Little Closer"
Single by Harmony Grass
from the album This Is Us
B-side"Happiness Is Toy Shaped"
Released1968
GenrePop
LabelRCA Records
Songwriter(s)O'Connor, Capitanelli
Producer(s)Chris Andrews
"Move in a Little Closer, Baby"
Single by Mama Cass Elliot
from the album Bubblegum, Lemonade, and...Something for Mama
B-side"All for Me"
ReleasedMarch 1969
GenrePop
LabelDunhill Records
Songwriter(s)O'Connor, Capitanelli
Producer(s)Steve Barri
Mama Cass Elliot singles chronology
"California Earthquake"
(1968)		 "Move in a Little Closer, Baby"
(1969)		 "It's Getting Better"
(1969)

"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 performance

Chart (1968–69) Peak
position
UK [3] 24

Cass Elliot version

Background

"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 performance

Chart (1969) Peak
position
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

Other versions

"Move in a Little Closer Baby" has also been covered by The Bloomfields and the Four King Cousins.

References

  1. ↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 244. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  2. ↑ "Harmony Grass - Move In A Little Closer Baby (Vinyl)". Discogs.com. 1968. Retrieved 2016-10-02.
  3. ↑ "Top 100 19__". Top-source.info. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  4. 1 2 Melody Maker 1 March 1969 "It's Tea For Two with Mama Cass" by Tony Wilson p.9
  5. 1 2 Fiegel, Eddi (2005). Dream a Little Dream of Me: the life of 'Mama' Cass Elliot. London: Sidgwick & Jackson. p. 300. ISBN 0-283-07331-4.
  6. ↑ Los Angeles Times 5 December 1971 "Mamas & Papas: four rugged individuals getting back together" by Nat Freedland p.705
  7. ↑ New Musical Express 25 October 1969 "Mama Cass Hates Hypocrisy" by Gordon Coxhill p.3
  8. ↑ Record Mirror" 1 November 1969 "It's the Artist Who Makes the Song a Hit Says Mama Cass" by Ian Middleton p.7
  9. ↑ "Australian Chart Book". Austchartbook.com.au. Retrieved 2016-10-02.
  10. ↑ "Image : RPM Weekly - Library and Archives Canada". Bac-lac.gc.ca. 17 July 2013. Retrieved 2016-10-02.
  11. ↑ "Image : RPM Weekly - Library and Archives Canada". Bac-lac.gc.ca. 17 July 2013. Retrieved 2016-10-02.
  12. ↑ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
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