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Sometimes When We Touch

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For the Tammy Wynette album, see Sometimes When We Touch (album).
"Sometimes When We Touch"
Single by Dan Hill
from the album Longer Fuse
B-side"Still Not Used To"
Written1973
ReleasedOctober 1977 (Canada)[1]
November 1977 (US)[2]
January 1978 (Europe)[3]
January 1978 (Australia)[4]
Recorded1977
GenreSoft rock[5][6]
Length3:33 (Single Version)
4:12 (Album Version)
LabelGRT (Canada)
20th Century Fox (USA/UK)
Songwriter(s)Dan Hill (lyrics)
Barry Mann (music)
Producer(s)Matthew McCauley, Fred Mollin

"Sometimes When We Touch" is a 1977 ballad by Canadian pop rock artist Dan Hill, from his album Longer Fuse. It was written by Hill and Barry Mann; Hill wrote the lyrics, while Mann wrote the music.

The song was Hill's biggest hit, peaking at #3 on the United States Billboard Hot 100 and #10 on the Adult Contemporary chart.[7] It has since been covered by a variety of other artists.

Composition

"Sometimes When We Touch" began as a song Hill wrote in 1973, at age 19, in an attempt to convince the woman he was dating to be his exclusive girlfriend; at the time, she was dating two other men.[8][9] The lyrics were based on the relationship between Hill and the woman, and Hill's ambivalence at not being able to express his true feelings for her.[10] After completing it, Hill sang the song for the woman, but his attempt was unsuccessful, as she had just recently decided to move to the United States with one of the other men she had been dating, an American football player who had just been dropped from the the Toronto Argonauts, the [[Canadian football}CFL]] team .[10]

By 1976, Hill had released two albums, but had not yet broken into the American market. Hill was in Los Angeles, meeting with the Sam Trust, the president of his publishing company, ATV Music, when Trust told Hill that he felt that Hill's problem was that his melodies were not catchy enough, and suggested that he collaborate with American songwriter Barry Mann.[9] Hill met with Mann, and gave Mann the lyrics to his song, which he had never released. Hill told Mann that it was simply a poem he had written, not wanting Mann to feel insulted that he was receiving a rejected song.[10] Within a day, Mann had written a new melody for the song, which required Hill to write several new lines, as Mann had restructured the lyrics somewhat.[10]

Production

"Sometimes When We Touch" was first recorded in 1977. Musicians included Bobby Ogdin (piano), Larrie Londin (drums), Bob Mann (guitar), Don Potter (guitar), and Tom Szczesniak (bass). The record was produced by Fred Mollin and Matthew McCauley, recorded at Manta Sound, Toronto.

Personnel

Charts

Mark Gray and Tammy Wynette version

"Sometimes When We Touch"
Single by Mark Gray and Tammy Wynette
from the album This 'Ol Piano or Sometimes When We Touch
B-side"You're Gonna Be the Last Love"
ReleasedJanuary 1985 (1985-01)
GenreCountry
Length3:37
LabelColumbia
Producer(s)Steve Buckingham
Tammy Wynette singles chronology
"Lonely Heart"
(1984) 		"Sometimes When We Touch"
(1985) 		"You Can Lead a Heart to Love (But You Can't Make It Fall)"
(1985)
Mark Gray singles chronology
"Diamond in the Dust"
(1984) 		"Sometimes When We Touch"
(1985) 		"Smooth Sailing (Rock in the Road)"
(1985)

"Sometimes When We Touch" was notably covered in 1985 as a duet by American country music artists Mark Gray and Tammy Wynette.

The song was recorded in November 1984 and was produced by Steve Buckingham. It was released as a single in January 1985 via Columbia Records. The B-side of the record was a solo recording by Gray entitled "You're Gonna Be the Last Love". The single reached number 6 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart[22] and number 25 on the Canadian Country chart.[23] The song became Wynette's first top ten hit since 1982's "Another Chance" and Gray's fourth top ten hit as a solo artist.[22]

The song was issued on both Gray and Wynette's solo studio albums. "Sometimes When We Touch" first appeared on Gray's album This 'Ol Piano in 1984. It was the only duet recording featured on the album and was his second studio album release.[24] It was then issued on Tammy Wynette's 1985 studio album, also called Sometimes When We Touch. The track was also the only duet recording on Wynette's studio release.

Track listings

7" vinyl single[24]
  • "Sometimes When We Touch" (Mark Gray and Tammy Wynette) – 3:37
  • "You're Gonna Be the Last Love" (Mark Gray) – 2:37

Charts

Chart (1985) Peak
position
US Hot Country Singles (Billboard)[22] 6
CAN Country Singles (RPM)[23] 24

Other versions

Cultural influence

The song has been used in numerous films, television programs and commercials since its initial release. Among the more notable usages are the 1999 film Superstar, a 2003 GEICO commercial, the 2008 film Tropic Thunder (it is agent Rick Peck's ringtone), and the 2014 The Simpsons episode "The Yellow Badge of Cowardge".

In 1996, This Hour Has 22 Minutes ran a comedic sketch in which Canada was taken over by terrorists who in turn were promptly defeated when the Canadian Armed Forces deployed the song as their secret weapon. At the time, Hill was making television appearances to promote his new album I'm Doing Fine, and Pamela Wallin confronted Hill (who had not yet seen it) with the sketch on live national television.[9]

References

  1. ^ "Sometimes When We Touch". Retrieved 2019-02-08.
  2. ^ "Sometimes When We Touch". Retrieved 2019-02-08.
  3. ^ "Sometimes When We Touch". Retrieved 2019-02-08.
  4. ^ "Sometimes When We Touch". Retrieved 2019-02-08.
  5. ^ "The 10 Ickiest Soft-Rock Hits of the '70s - Oldies Music". Oldies.about.com. 2014-04-03. Archived from the original on July 11, 2014. Retrieved 2014-05-22.
  6. ^ "VH1's 40 Most Softsational Soft-Rock Songs". Stereogum. SpinMedia. May 31, 2007. Retrieved July 31, 2016.
  7. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 115.
  8. ^ "Dan Hill reveals sad story behind 'Sometimes When We Touch'". ABS-CBN News. 9 February 2017. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  9. ^ a b c Hill, Dan (January 14, 2010). "You'll never guess what Dan Hill thinks of his own song". Macleans. St. Joseph Communications. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
  10. ^ a b c d Warner, Andrea (June 2, 2021). "Dan Hill tells the whole truth about his biggest hit, 'Sometimes When we Touch'". CBC.
  11. ^ "Forum - 1970 (ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts)". Australian-charts.com. Archived from the original on 2016-06-02. Retrieved 2016-12-16.
  12. ^ "Sometimes When We Touch". Charts NZ. 1978. Retrieved 20 May 2011.
  13. ^ "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  14. ^ "Dan Hill Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  15. ^ "Dan Hill Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
  16. ^ "Forum - 1970 (ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts)". Australian-charts.com. Archived from the original on 2016-06-02. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  17. ^ "Kent Music Report No 236 – 1 January 1979 > National Top 100 Singles for 1978". Kent Music Report. Retrieved 8 January 2022 – via Imgur.com.
  18. ^ Bac-lac.gc.ca
  19. ^ "The Official New Zealand Music Chart".
  20. ^ Musicoutfitters.com
  21. ^ "Cash Box YE Pop Singles - 1978". Archived from the original on 2018-09-29. Retrieved 2016-12-17.
  22. ^ a b c Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 491.
  23. ^ a b "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1985-05-25. Retrieved 2019-04-10.
  24. ^ a b Wynette, Tammy; Gray, Mark (January 1985). ""Sometimes When We Touch"/"You're Gonna Be the Last Love" (7" vinyl single)". Epic Records. 38-04782.
  25. ^ Video on YouTube
  26. ^ "Pacquiao's 'Sometimes When We Touch' cracks Billboard list". news.abs-cbn.com. June 29, 2011. Archived from the original on January 26, 2020. Retrieved June 29, 2011.
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