Official audio for John Holt's seminal reggae version of Kris Kristoffersson's 'Help Me Make It Through The Night'
Written and originally recorded by Kris Kristofferson, ‘Help Me Make It Through The Night’ first appeared on the celebrated singer-songwriter’s his 1970 album, ‘Kristofferson’, before being covered soon after by Sammi Smith, whose version ranks among the most successful country singles of all time, topping the country singles chart, and reaching number 8 on the US pop chart.
Later renderings of the song, included versions by Tammy Wynette, Loretta Lynn, Glen Campbell, Joan Baez, Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley, Joe Simon, Joey Sontz, Ray Stevens, and Willie Nelson, although the first interpretation to chart in the UK was performed by Gladys Knight & the Pip, with the r&b group reaching Number 11 on 20 January 1973 with the composition. It was this version that inspired former Paragons singer John Holt to rework the number in a reggae style. Produced by UK-based sound system operator, Tony Ashfield, the recording’s backing track was cut at Byron Lee’s Dynamic Sounds studio in Kingston, Jamaica, with vocal parts and orchestration later added in London.
Holt’s cut first featured on the singer’s best-selling Trojan LP, ‘One Thousand Volts Of Holt’ (aka ‘1000 Volts Of Holt’) from 1973 - a collection that followed soon after the singer’s initial album collaboration with Ashfield, ‘The Further You Look’.
Early the following year, Trojan issued Holt’s rendition on a 7” single, but it was not to be until 14 December of that year that it finally entered the British pop chart. The disc eventually climbed to Number 6 on 26 January 1975, making it the UK’s highest charting version of the song.
Follow Trojan Records:
open.spotify.c....
/ trojanrecords
/ trojan_reco. .
/ trojanrecords
www.trojanreco...
HELP ME MAKE IT THROUGH THE NIGHT
Written by Kris Kristoffersson
Take the ribbon from your hair
Shake it loose and let it fall
Laying soft upon my skin
Like the shadows on the wall
Come and lay down by my side
Till the early morning light
All I'm takin' is your time
Help me make it through the night
I don't care who's right or wrong
I don't try to understand
Let the devil take tomorrow
Lord tonight I need a friend
Yesterday is dead and gone
And tomorrow's out of sight
And it's sad to be alone
Help me make it through the night
#John Holt #HelpMeMakeItThroughtTheNight #KrisKristoffersson #1975 #Trojan
15 сен 2024
