In his signature song, jazz-pop singer Mel Carter is in the throes of his first real romance. Everyone tells the infatuated singer not to get carried away by his emotions but he ignores them, begging his girl with the title refrain.
Written by New Jersey songwriter Harry Noble, the tune was first recorded by Karen Chandler in 1952. Chandler had just re-emerged on the music scene, having previously recorded under the name Eve Young; "Hold Me" was her debut single under her new name and her new recording contract with Coral Records. Peaking at #7 on the Best Selling Singles chart, the million-seller was the biggest hit of her career. The following year, Sonny Til and the Orioles gave the song a doo-wop treatment, and Connie Francis followed with an emotive pop take in 1959. But it wouldn't reach the charts again until 1965 when Carter made it his own.
Carter recorded this during his tenure at Imperial Records, where he worked with producer Phil Schaff, who convinced a skeptical Carter to record the love song. "Phil brought the 'Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me' song to me," Carter told Vintage Vinyl. "When we first did it, I hated the song because I had to be directed to sing on the beat, but little did I know." Carter was previously signed to Sam Cooke's SAR label and Mercury Records, where he was discovered by Quincy Jones.
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