Hang On in There Baby

"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 (1974, #8 US Pop,^[1] #2 US R&B chart. ^[2] Overseas, "Hang On in There Baby" peaked at #3 in the UK. It was later recorded by Gary Barlow for his debut solo album, Open Road.

Background

The song was originally recorded by American songwriter Bristol in 1974, then later covered as a disco version by American singer and actress Bette Midler in 1979, and British pop band Curiosity Killed the Cat in 1992, with both versions being released as singles, and both peaking 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, which complemented the implicitly coital nature of the song.

Gary Barlow Version

"Hang on in There Baby"
Single by Gary Barlow
from the album Open Road
B-side	"A Million Love Songs" (live)
Released	April 3, 1998
Format	CD Single
Recorded	1996
Genre	Pop
Length	3:38
Label	Sony BMG / Arista
Writer(s)	Johnny Bristol
Producer(s)	Peter Thompson
Gary Barlow singles chronology
"Superhero" (1998) "Hang on in There Baby" (1998) "Stronger" (1999)

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 there. 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 there. The single version features vocals from American singer Rosie Gaines.^[3]

When Barlow started touring in promotion of Open Road, he hired American singer Rosie Gaines as a support act; however, whilst on tour, he masterminded 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 due its popularity during the tour there. 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

• America

1. "Hang On in There Baby" (Duet with Rosie Gaines) - 3:38
2. "A Million Love Songs" (Live) - 3:53

• Netherlands

1. "Hang On in There Baby" (Duet with Rosie Gaines) - 3:38
2. "Hang On in There Baby" - 3:38
3. "My Commitment" (Soulshock Mix) - 7:01
4. "Hard to Handle" (Live) - 4:13
5. "A Million Love Songs" (Live) - 3:53

• Open Book Single

1. "Hang On in There Baby" (Duet with Rosie Gaines) - 3:38
2. "My Commitment" (Soulshock Mix) - 7:01
3. "Hard to Handle" (Live) - 4:13
4. "A Million Love Songs" (Live) - 3:53

Charts

Chart (1998)	Peak Position
Germany (Media Control AG)[4]	69

Other versions

English band Blue released a cover version on their album Colours in 2015.

References

1. Ron Wynn. "Johnny Bristol | Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-01-26.
2. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 79.
3. 2009-10-10 YOUTUBE live from the Open Road Tour on YouTube
4. "Die ganze Musik im Internet". Musicline.de. Retrieved 16 February 2015.