Released 1974 Recorded 1974 Length 3:23 | Format 7" Vinyl, 45 RPN Genre Soul, Funk | |
B-side Take Care Of You For Me | ||
"Hang on in There Baby" is a song written by Johnny Bristol as the title track from his first album. It was released a single in 1974, reaching no.8 in the US Pop and no.2 in the US R&B chart. The song also reached no.3 in the UK.
Contents
Cover versions
The song was later covered as a disco version by American singer and actress Bette Midler in 1979, British pop band Curiosity in 1992, which also peaked at number three on the UK Singles Chart. Johnny Bristol re-released the track as a duet with female American singer Alton McClain in 1980. In 1996 it was recorded by Gary Barlow for his debut solo album, Open Road. English boyband Blue released a version of the song on their album Colours in 2015.
Gary Barlow version
Barlow recorded the song in 1996, during recording sessions for his first solo album. Although the song was included on the British version of Open Road, it was never released as a single in the UK. The song was released as the album's third single in America, and was also released as a single in Germany and to radio in the Netherlands due its popularity. The single version features vocals from American singer Rosie Gaines.
When Barlow started touring in promotion of Open Road, he hired American singer Rosie Gaines as a support act; however, whilst on tour, he decided to record a new version of "Hang On in There Baby", featuring Gaines, which he intended to use for performance only. However, following signing a record deal with Arista and planning to release Open Road in America, he hired Gaines, and the pair recorded a studio version of the song for the album. On April 3, 1998, he released the duet version as the third American single from Open Road, as well as releasing it in the Netherlands. When Barlow's video album, Open Book, was released in the United Kingdom on June 1998, an accompanying single given away with the video featured the duet version of "Hang On in There Baby" as its lead track, as the duet version had previously been unavailable in the UK.
Music video
The music video features footage of Barlow and Gaines performing the song on the Open Road tour, as well as backstage footage featuring Barlow's home life and rehearsals. A snippet of the video was included on Open Book; however, the full video has never been commercially released.
Track listing
- "Hang On in There Baby" (Duet with Rosie Gaines) - 3:38
- "A Million Love Songs" (Live) - 3:53
- "Hang On in There Baby" (Duet with Rosie Gaines) - 3:38
- "Hang On in There Baby" - 3:38
- "My Commitment" (Soulshock Mix) - 7:01
- "Hard to Handle" (Live) - 4:13
- "A Million Love Songs" (Live) - 3:53
- "Hang On in There Baby" (Duet with Rosie Gaines) - 3:38
- "My Commitment" (Soulshock Mix) - 7:01
- "Hard to Handle" (Live) - 4:13
- "A Million Love Songs" (Live) - 3:53