"You've Really Got a Hold on Me"

A couple days ago, I listened to the first disc of the Beatles' Live on the BBC and noticed that in their version of "You Really Got a Hold on Me" [sic], "always" in the line "Seems that I'm always thinkin' of you" is sung with a melisma, musically giving a sense of the duration of "always."  (This is also in their studio version.)

To-day I checkt Smokey Robinson & the Miracles' original and the Zombies' version and discovered that they both have this feature too.  Smokey Robinson sings "always" to the notes A A G, and while they changed the key to A major, the Beatles follow this (F# F# E).  The Zombies' version is a bit different though; like the Beatles, they changed the key to A major, but it sounds like Colin Blunstone sings "always" to the notes F# F# C#.  There might be a B in there (F# F# B C#), but I might just be hearing a bit of Rod Argent's harmony part.

"You've Really Got a Hold on Me/Bring It on Home to Me"

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For Christmas, I got a two-disc set of Smokey Robinson & the Miracles that includes Recorded Live on Stage (for what it's worth, I wrote about a musical phrase in the vocal parts of a couple songs that are also in some Isley Brothers' songs).  That's the album that has the live recording of "You've Really Got a Hold on Me" that the Zombies mention in the Zombie Heaven liner notes.  "Though the Beatles has recorded ["You've Really Got a Hold on Me"] for their second album the previous year, the Zombies based their arrangement of this classic Smokey Robinson tune on that from The Miracles Recorded Live On Stage."  To-day I listened to the second disc (the disc that Recorded Live on Stage is on), and then I compared the Miracles' version of "You've Really Got a Hold on Me" with the Zombies'.

The first thing I noticed is that the Miracles retain the introduction.  The Zombies' version starts right at the beginning of the first verse.

I checked the keys, and the Miracles stay in C major (which is the key they recorded the studio version in), where the Zombies moved it to A major (the same key the Beatles did it in).

The title listed on the CD case is just "You've Really Got a Hold on Me," but the Miracles do go into Sam Cooke's "Bring It on Home to Me," just like the Zombies do in their version.

I'm not sure if I mentioned this before when comparing the Zombies' version with the Miracles' studio version, but the Zombies' omit the second verse ("Baby, I don't want you, but I need you...").  There's also a small lyrical change that's specific to the Zombies' version (I'd noticed that it was different from the Miracles' studio version, but I didn't know if they were following the live version; they're not).  In the third verse, the Miracles have "Though I wanna split now / I can't quit now," but the Zombies flip it around a bit to "Ho ho ho, I wanna quit now / I just can't split now."  I'm still sort of surprised that they misheard "Though" as "Ho ho ho" since it's quite clear, even in the live version.

"You've Really Got a Hold on Me/Bring It on Home to Me"

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Last night, I spent some time figuring out the bass part for "You've Really Got a Hold on Me/Bring It on Home to Me."  I got further than I expected but not as far as I would have liked, if that makes sense.  I figured out the bass part for "You've Really Got a Hold on Me" (although I think I missed a note), but not "Bring It on Home to Me."  And I still haven't really figured out the guitar part beyond just the chords and a phrase or two.

I discovered a couple things specific to the Zombies' version.  Unlike the Miracles' original (and the Beatles' cover), they don't start with the introductory phrase; they go right into the first verse.  To some degree, because of that in medias res beginning, they can put in the same falling fifth (E to A) that starts "She's Not There," "I Love You," and Argent's "Free Fall."

"You've Really Got a Hold on Me/Bring It on Home to Me"

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Lest I forget anything, I've been writing down some parts.  To-day I wrote down the chords and a few of the guitar parts for "You've Really Got a Hold on Me/Bring It on Home to Me."

Because I started doing this same type of project for the Beatles' catalogue (with even less of a chance of ever finishing) and the Beatles also recorded "You've Really Got a Hold on Me," I compared the two versions, even though Rod Argent explains in the Begin Here liner notes that "even though the Beatles have recorded it," the Zombie version "follows the Miracles original rather than the Beatle version" (although the Zombie Heaven liner notes seem to complicate this: "Though the Beatles had recorded ["You've Really Got a Hold on Me"] for their second album the previous year, the Zombies based their arrangement of this classic Smokey Robinson tune on that from The Miracles Recorded Live On Stage, where it incorporated part of Sam Cooke's equally timeless 'Bring It On Home To Me.'").

Anyway, I discovered first of all that "You've Really Got a Hold on Me" is in 3/4, which I hadn't realized.  But - more interestingly - the Zombies' version is in the same key as the Beatles' version (A major), where Smokey Robinson and the Miracles' original is in C major.  I don't own The Miracles Recorded Live on Stage, but I found it on Amazon, and the 30-second sample proves that the live version of "You've Really Got a Hold on Me" is in C major too.  Sam Cooke's "Bring It on Home to Me" is also in C major.  So while the original versions of "You've Really Got a Hold on Me" and "Bring It on Home to Me" are already in the same key, the Zombies changed the keys of both.  Since it wasn't necessary to change the keys so that they could join the songs and since the key they did change it to is the same key that the Beatles did it in, maybe there's some Beatle influence there after all.

"You've Really Got a Hold on Me/Bring It on Home to Me"

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I listened to a compilation album of Smokey Robinson & the Miracles to-day, and I worked on transcribing "You've Really Got a Hold on Me" (because my transcription obsession isn't limited to the Zombies).  I noticed a few interesting differences between the Miracles' original and the Zombies' version.

In the Miracles' version, the third line of every verse starts with "Though."  "Though you treat me badly," "Though you do me wrong now," and "Though I wanna split now."  In the Zombies' version, instead of that melisma'd "though," it's "Oh ho ho."

In looking into that difference, I've discovered that the Zombies substitute the Miracles" third verse ("I wanna leave you, don't wanna stay here / Don't wanna spend another day here") for the second ("Baby, I don't want you, but I need you / Don't wanna kiss you, but I need to").  They also transpose some lines (and add a word), so that the Miracles' "Though I wanna split now / I can't quit now" becomes "Ho ho ho, I wanna quit now / I just can't split now."

I looked up "You've Really Got a Hold on Me" on Wikipedia (just to confirm that it was written by Smokey Robinson), and I discovered that he wrote it with Sam Cooke's "Bring It on Home to Me" in mind.  Normally, I'd be wary of Wikipedia's veracity, but there's a citation that leads to a digital book that says:

The Miracles returned to the pinnacle of the R&B hit parade for the second time at year's end with a passionate "You've Really Got A Hold On Me" that cracked the pop Top Ten.  Smokey, who wrote and produced this one all by his lonesome, found his muse in Sam Cooke's then-current hit "Bring It On Home To Me."  "Sam had that record out at the time," he said.  "I was in New York taking care of some business for Berry for the company with another publisher.  And I wanted to write something like 'Bring It On Home To Me.'  I was in my hotel room with nothing to do, so that's what I did, 'You've Really Got A Hold On Me.'"

According to the Zombie Heaven liner notes, the Zombies medley'd these two because that's what the Miracles did on a live album.  I don't know if the Zombies knew that "Bring It on Home to Me" inspired "You're Really Got a Hold on Me" though.

I suppose if the Zombies followed a live version (which I haven't heard) maybe it's that live version that deviates from the studio version.  And all the changes I noted above don't really apply.

Begin Here Session

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Fifty years ago to-day (10 December 1964), the Zombies had an-other session for the Begin Here album.  They recorded "Can't Nobody Love You," "The Way I Feel Inside," "I Got My Mojo Working," "You've Really Got a Hold on Me/Bring It on Home to Me," "I Can't Make up My Mind," and "Work 'n' Play."

They also received an award for "She's Not There" - it had been #1 on Cashbox.  I'm fairly certain that most of the pictures of the Zombies in the Decca studio in West Hampstead were taken on this day, as some sort of publicity event because they received that award.

"You've Really Got a Hold on Me/Bring It on Home to Me"

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I learned the chords for this last fall.  The other parts I've included are just what I was able to figure out in a few minutes after listening to it.  I'm pretty sure the riff during the verses is right, but the other one (which is actually the bass part) may be wrong in a few places.

"You've Really Got a Hold on Me/Bring It on Home to Me"

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I was watching Parenthood earlier, and Sam Cooke's "Bring It on Home to Me" was on in the background of one of the scenes.  Since I had my guitar on my lap, I started playing along, and I figured out that it's basically a three-chord song (C, F, and G).  But then I realised that the Zombies (sort of) covered "Bring It on Home to Me."

I say "sort of" because they have a medley track that starts off with "You've Really Got a Hold on Me" then transitions to "Bring It on Home to Me" and then back to "You've Really Got a Hold on Me."

So I realised that I could take "Bring It on Home to Me," which I had just learned, and use it to figure out "You've Really Got a Hold on Me."  Which I did (it's only five different chords - A, F#m, D, E, and an occasional B), but - typically - it's not in my vocal range.