She'd Rather Be with Me

"She'd Rather Be with Me" is a song written by Garry Bonner and Alan Gordon and released by the Turtles in 1967. The song was the follow-up to "Happy Together".

"She'd Rather Be with Me"
Single by the Turtles
from the album Happy Together
B-side	"The Walking Song"
Released	April 1967
Genre	Rock[1] pop bubblegum[2]
Length	2:17
Label	White Whale
Songwriter(s)	Garry Bonner, Alan Gordon
Producer(s)	Joe Wissert
The Turtles singles chronology
"Happy Together" (1967) "She'd Rather Be with Me" (1967) "Guide for the Married Man" (1967)

Lyrics and music

Allmusic critic Stewart Mason described "She'd Rather Be with Me" as a "big, brassy pop song" that was "probably the least ironically cheerful single the Turtles ever did."^[3] Mason describes Howard Kaylan's lead vocal as evoking "unfeigned giddiness" and comments on the "huge production" including a full orchestra and prominent cowbell.^[3]

Chart performance

The song was a major international hit, and spent 11 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at No. 3,^[4] while reaching No. 1 on Record World's "100 Top Pops",^[5] No. 1 on Canada's "RPM 100",^[6] No. 1 in South Africa,^[7] No. 2 on the Cash Box Top 100,^[8] No. 3 in Denmark,^[9] and No. 3 on the Irish Singles Chart.^[10] The song also spent 15 weeks on the UK's Record Retailer chart, peaking at No. 4, making it The Turtles' biggest hit in the United Kingdom.^[11] The song was a major hit in many other nations as well.

Weekly chart

Chart (1967)	Peak position
Australia (Go-Set)[12]	21
Australia (Modern Melbourne)[13]	4
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[14]	13
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[15]	18
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[16]	1
Denmark (Danmarks Radio)[9]	3
Israel Forces Broadcasting Network[17]	≥3
Ireland (IRMA)[18]	3
Netherlands (Parool Top 20)[19]	15
Netherlands (Veronica Top 40)[20]	21
New Zealand Listener[21]	8
South Africa (Springbok Radio)[7]	1
Switzerland (Pop Redaktion)[9]	10
UK (Record Retailer)	4
US Billboard Hot 100[22]	3
US Cash Box Top 100	2
US Record World 100 Top Pops	1
West Germany (Musikmarkt)[23]	23

Year-end charts

Chart (1967)	Position
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[24]	28
US Billboard Hot 100[25]	78
US Cash Box[26]	24

References

1. Evans, Paul (2004). "The Turtles". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. 828. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
2. Segretto, Mike (2022). "1967". 33 1/3 Revolutions Per Minute - A Critical Trip Through the Rock LP Era, 1955–1999. Backbeat. p. 158. ISBN 9781493064601.
3. Mason, Stewart. "She'd Rather Be with Me". Allmusic. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
4. Hot 100 - She'd Rather Be With Me The Turtles Chart History, Billboard.com. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
5. "100 Top Pops", Record World, June 24, 1967. p. 23. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
6. "R.P.M. 100", RPM Weekly, Volume 7, No. 17, June 24, 1967. Accessed May 19, 2016
7. "Billboard Hits of the World", Billboard, October 7, 1967. p. 68. Accessed May 20, 2016.
8. "Cash Box Top 100", Cash Box, July 1, 1967. p. 4. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
9. "Billboard Hits of the World", Billboard, September 9, 1967. p. 62. Accessed May 20, 2016.
10. "Song Title search results for 'She'd Rather Be with Me'". Irishcharts.ie. Retrieved May 21, 2016.
11. Turtles - Full Official Chart History, Official Charts Company. Accessed May 19, 2016
12. Ed Nimmervoll, "GO-SET National Top 40", August 2, 1967. Accessed May 19, 2016
13. "Billboard Hits of the World", Billboard, August 19, 1967. p. 59. Accessed May 20, 2016.
14. "The Turtles – She'd Rather Be with Me" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
15. "The Turtles – She'd Rather Be with Me" (in French). Ultratop 50.
16. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 10075." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
17. "Hits of the World", Billboard, October 21, 1967. p. 54. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
18. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – She'd Rather Be With Me". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
19. The Turtles – She'd Rather Be with Me, Dutch Charts. Retrieved May 19, 2016
20. The Turtles – She'd Rather Be with Me, Media Markt Top 40. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
21. "NZ Listener charts", Flavour of New Zealand. Accessed May 20, 2016
22. "The Turtles Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
23. The Turtles – She'd Rather Be with Me, norwegiancharts.com. Accessed May 19, 2016
24. The RPM 100 Top Singles of 1967, RPM Weekly. p. 5. Volume 8, No. 19, January 6, 1968. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
25. "Top Records of 1967 (Based on Billboard Charts)" (PDF). Billboard. December 30, 1967. p. 42. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
26. "Top 100 Chart Hits of 1967" (PDF). Cash Box. December 23, 1967. p. 16. Retrieved March 30, 2018.