THE KRAVATS
Baby Let Me Take You Home
(Bert Russell - Wes Farrell, attrib. here to Price-Burdon-Steel-Valentine-Chandler [The Animals])
Australia 1965
#1 Hobart #32 Perth

Hobart band known locally as 'Tasmania's answer to The Beatles' and 'The Mighty Kravats'. Like many Australian bands of the beat era The Kravats, formed in 1958, started out playing in the style of The Shadows: their first big hit in Hobart was an instrumental, Puppet Strings/Bei Mir Bist Duschoen (1964).

After another instrumental record, Fred/Jindivick, both original compositions, went Top 5 in Hobart in 1965, The Kravats took on the British Invasion with Barry Woodruff as lead singer and managed to keep The Beatles' Help from #1 for three weeks with Baby Let Me Take You Home.

See also That's What I Want.

Reference: Ian MacFarlane, Encyclopedia of Australian Rock & Pop. Suggestion from Terry Stacey.

THE ANIMALS
Baby Let Me Take You Home
(Bert Russell - Wes Farrell)
UK 1964
Influential version
#21 UK #57 USA

The Animals' first single, on Columbia. In the US the B-side I'm Gonna Take You Back To Walker became the A-side.

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HOAGY LANDS
Baby Let Me Hold Your Hold
(Bert Russell - Wes Farrell)
USA 1964

Single on Atlantic, produced by Bert Russell (Berns). See the Bert Berns Discography Page 1 and the label shot at that page.
BOB DYLAN
Baby Let Me Follow You Down
(Trad., arr. Geno Foreman - Dave van Ronk - Eric von Schmidt - Bob Dylan)
1962

On his first album, Bob Dylan.

Dylan learnt the song from Eric von Schmidt. See commentary at Bob Dylan's Musical Roots.

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Also recorded in the 60s by Rev. Gary Davis and by Dave van Ronk in 1964.

BLIND BOY FULLER
Mama Let Me Lay It On You
(Traditional, sourced from Rev Gary Davis)
1936
Original version

Recording on ARC label by Fulton Allen.

Recorded a few months earlier by Walter Coleman but unreleased at the time. Memphis Minnie may have released an even earlier version, a duet with her husband Joe McCoy in 1930.

See Bob Dylan's Musical Roots (which questions the attribution of the song to Rev Gary Davis). Arnold Rypens' The Originals discusses the song's origins and lists some other versions and variations.

THE TWILIGHTS
Baby Let Me Take You Home
Australia 1966
#20 Adelaide

Adelaide band who in 1966 won the first national Hoadleys Battle of the Sounds and sailed off to record in London as part of their prize (see What's Wrong With The Way I Live). One of their two lead vocalists, Glenn Shorrock (the other was Paddy McCartney) achieved further fame with Axiom and Little River Band, and as a solo artist. Guitarist Terry Britten's compositions have been widely recorded, including We Don't Need Another Hero and What's Love Got To Do With It? by Tina Turner (both co-wr. Graham Lyle from Gallagher & Lyle). Another founding member of the band, Kevin Peek, found fame with pop-classical group Sky.

Further reading1. Milesago's detailed Twilights history. 2. The Twilights at Howlspace. 3. Ian McFarlane, The Encyclopedia of Australian Rock & Pop (1999), pp. 652-654.

THE BAND
Baby Let Me Follow You Down
USA 1978

On The Last Waltz.
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