Loving Arms

"Loving Arms" is a song written by Tom Jans and first recorded as a duet by Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge for their 1973 album Full Moon.

"Loving Arms"
Single by Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge
from the album Full Moon
B-side	"I'm Down (But I Keep Falling)"
Released	1973
Recorded	August 1973
Genre	Country soft rock
Length	3:50
Label	A&M Records
Songwriter(s)	Tom Jans
Producer(s)	David Anderle
Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge singles chronology
"A Song I'd Like to Sing" (1973) "Loving Arms" (1973) "Rain" (1974)

"Lovin' Arms"
Single by Elvis Presley
from the album Good Times
B-side	"You Asked Me To"
Released	March 27, 1981
Recorded	December 13, 1973
Genre	Country
Label	RCA Records
Songwriter(s)	Tom Jans
Producer(s)	Felton Jarvis
Elvis Presley singles chronology
"Guitar Man" (1981) "Lovin' Arms" (1981) "There Goes My Everything" / "You'll Never Walk Alone" (1982)

The song was notably covered by Dobie Gray that same year, then by a number of artists including Elvis Presley and Petula Clark in 1974.

History

"Loving Arms" was written by Tom Jans.^[1] Jans recorded the song and released his version on his 1974 self-titled album.

Dobie Gray's version of the song peaked at number 61 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the week of October 6, 1973.^[2][3]

Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge's version was released as a single in late 1973, and became a minor Billboard Hot 100 hit in the spring of 1974.^[4][5] The song first appeared on their 1973 duet album Full Moon.

Elvis Presley's version was first released on his 1974 album Good Times. In 1975, it was included as a B-side on some editions of his "My Boy" single. In 1981, it appeared on Presley's posthumous album Guitar Man and was released as the second single from it, with "You Asked Me To" on side B. In the UK, the song spent 6 weeks on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number 47 for the week of April 14.^[6] In the United States, the single charted as a double A-side ("Lovin' Arms"/"You Asked Me To") on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart, peaking at number 8 on the week of June 20.

Petula Clark's version reached number 12 on the US AC chart and number 9 on the Canadian AC/Pop charts on February 1, 1975.^[7]

In total, the song has been covered over 50 times.^[1] Other notable covers include ones by Olivia Newton-John, Etta James,^[1] the Dixie Chicks,^[3] and Demis Roussos.

Personnel

• Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge – vocals
• Sammy Creason – drums
• Leland Sklar – bass
• Jerry McGee – guitar, harmonica
• Bobbye Hall – percussion
• Randy Scruggs – guitar
• Booker T. Jones – keyboards

Personnel on Dobie Gray's version

• Dobie Gray, vocals
• David Briggs, keyboards
• Mike Leech, bass
• Kenny Malone, drums
• Troy Seals, acoustic and electric guitar
• Reggie Young, acoustic and electric guitar, banjo
• Weldon Myrick, pedal steel guitar
• Buddy Spicher, violin
• Charlie McCoy, harmonica ^[8]

Musical style and lyrics

As Steven Blanton notes in his book The Songwriter's Toolkit: From Pen to Push Play, "[t]he song is written using the method of holding the title until the last line effectively."^[1]

Charts

Dobie Gray version

Chart (1973)	Peak position
US Billboard Hot 100[2]	61
Canada (RPM)[9]	67

Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge version

Chart (1974)	Peak position
US Billboard Hot 100[5]	86
Canada (RPM)[10]	83
Canada AC (RPM)[11]	9

Elvis Presley version

Chart (1981)	Peak position
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[6]	47
US Billboard Hot Country Singles[12]	8*

* as "Lovin' Arms"/"You Asked Me To"

References

1. Steven Blanton (2010). The Songwriter's Toolkit: From Pen to Push Play. Tate Publishing. pp. 45–. ISBN 978-1-61663-349-3.
2. "Dobie Gray – Chart history". Billboard.
3. Ace Collins (8 September 2015). All About the Dixie Chicks. St. Martin's Press. pp. 118–. ISBN 978-1-250-09758-3.
4. Colin Larkin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music: Kollington – Morphine. MUZE. ISBN 978-0-19-531373-4.
5. "Music: Top 100 Songs – Billboard Hot 100 Chart (1974-04-13)". Billboard. Retrieved 2016-12-15.
6. "Elvis Presley – full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2016-12-14.
7. "RPM Top 50 AC Singles - February 1, 1975" (PDF).
8. Gray, Dobie, Dobie Gray: Drift Away, Loving Arms, Hey Dixie, BGO Records, liner notes, 2011
9. "RPM Top 100 Singles - September 29, 1973" (PDF).
10. "RPM Top 100 Singles - April 13, 1974" (PDF).
11. "RPM Top 50 AC/Pop Singles - June 15, 1974" (PDF).
12. "Elvis Presley – Chart history (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 2016-12-14.