Dear Sherwood Town Criers,

Our Meeting Theme: Fathers

Steve Davis – My Dad

My Dad

Eric Clapton – ʻMy Fatherʻs Eyesʻ

Eric Clapton ʻMy Fatherʻs Eyesʻ Lyrics

Yeni Türkü – Bana Bir Masal Anlat Baba

Yeni Türkü – Bana Bir Masal Anlat Baba – Lyrics translated from Turkish to English

Mert Fırat – Baba Bi’ Bak Bana (Babalar Günü Şarkısı)

Mert Fırat – Baba Bi’ Bak Bana (Babalar Günü Şarkısı) Lyrics translated from Turkish to English

The Shires – ʻDaddyʻs Little Girlʻ

Diana Ross – “Reach Out And Touch (Somebody’s Hand)”

Diana Ross “Reach Out And Touch (Somebody’s Hand)” Lyrics

Wikipedia – Reach Out and Touch (Somebody’s Hand)

Trivia

“Reach Out and Touch (Somebody’s Hand)” is the debut solo single of singer Diana Ross, released in April 1970.

Ross, having just left The Supremes after a decade of serving as that group’s lead singer, went through a difficult situation trying to piece a solo album together. With Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson writing and producing for her, and Paul Riser arranging,^[1] Ross recorded “Reach Out and Touch”, which carried a heavy gospel influence, and was one of the few songs the singer recorded to express her social conscience, previously experimented with Supremes singles such as “Love Child” and “I’m Livin’ in Shame“.^[2]

“Reach Out and Touch” peaked at number 20 on the Billboard Hot 100,^[3] number 10 on the Cash Box Top 100,^[4] and number 7 on the R&B charts with 500,000 copies sold. It was also a hit in the United Kingdom, making number 33 on the UK Singles Chart in August 1970. While the song’s initial success fell short of expectations, “Reach Out and Touch” became one of Ross’ most popular and notable songs. During her concert performances of the song, Ross often had the whole crowd turn to their neighbors, and “reach out and touch” their hands.

In 1970, the same year that Ross released “Reach Out and Touch” as her first solo single, the song was also covered by the group that she had just left at the start of that year, The Supremes (now fronted by Jean Terrell, along with other members Mary Wilson and Cindy Birdsong). The Supremes’ version was a duet with fellow Motown Records artists The Four Tops on the two group’s joint album The Magnificent Seven released by Motown toward the end of 1970. In one of her autobiographies, Mary Wilson mentioned that some fans at the post-Ross Supremes concerts used to call out requesting that The Supremes would sing this record live, as some fans erroneously recalled that it had been The Supremes’ version, and not Ross’s, that had charted as a hit Billboard single in early 1970.

She also performed this song as the finale for the Nobel Peace Prize Concert held in Oslo, Norway, in 2008.