Help Me Make It Through the Night
Encyclopedia
"Help Me Make It Through the Night" is a country music
ballad composed by Kris Kristofferson
and released on his 1970 album Kristofferson
.
Kristofferson said that he got the inspiration for the song from an Esquire
magazine interview with Frank Sinatra
. When asked what he believed in, Frank replied, "Booze, broads, or a bible...whatever helps me make it through the night."
Kristofferson wrote the song while staying long term as a struggling songwriter with Dottie West and her husband, Bill at their home on Shy's Hill Road in Nashville's Green Hills neighborhood. When he offered Dottie the song, she claimed it was "too suggestive" for her. Later, she said that not recording it was the greatest regret of her career. Though it was also recorded in 1971 by Elvis Presley
, three others recorded it in 1971 — Bryan Ferry
for his album, Another Time, Another Place
(October 1971), Jerry Lee Lewis
who did a bluesy version for his album "Touching Home" and country
singer Sammi Smith
, whose recording of the song is the most commercially successful and most well-known version. Smith's recording ranks among the most successful country singles of all time in terms of sales, popularity and radio airplay. Her recording topped the country singles chart, and was also a crossover hit, reaching number eight on the U.S. pop singles chart. Other American singers would record the song throughout the 1970s and early 1980s. The most successful version after Smith's was recorded by Gladys Knight & the Pips
in 1972 (this version was later sampled extensively to create Huff and Puff's 1996 dance track Help me make it).
The song was used as the score of the John Huston
film Fat City
, released in 1972, with Kristofferson performing the song at the beginning and end.
Johnny Cash
and his wife, June Carter Cash
, have also covered this song in a duet. The recording is found on the 2006 compilation June Carter and Johnny Cash: Duets
, released by Sony BMG. In this version, Johnny Cash inserts "June" before the line tonight I need a friend as a sign of affection for his wife.
Kristofferson's original lyrics speak of a man's yearning for sexual intimacy, yet they were controversial in 1971 because they were sung by a woman: I don't care what's right or wrong, I don't try to understand / Let the devil take tomorrow, Lord tonight I need a friend.
Cover versions of the song appeared in early 1970s albums by Lynn Anderson
, Loretta Lynn
, Skeeter Davis
, Tammy Wynette
, and Dottie West
, who was reportedly first offered the song. Ray Price recorded the song on his For The Good Times which was released slightly before Sammi Smith's single release.
Sammi Smith's recording would reach no. 1 on the U.S. country charts. On February 20, 1971, it reached no. 8 on Billboard
s U.S. pop
singles chart, and also enjoyed success in Canada
, Great Britain
, and Germany
. Adult-Contemporary stations took to the song, and it peaked at #3 on Billboard's Easy Listening chart. In 1972, the Gladys Knight & the Pips' version reached #33 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #13 on the Hot Soul Singles chart.
Smith's version won a Grammy Award for Best Country Music Female performance.
Later in 1971, Joan Baez
also recorded the song, including it on her Blessed Are...
album. (In her 1987 memoir, Baez disclosed that she'd had an affair with Kristofferson around this same time.) Peggy Lee
also recorded the song that year for her album Where Did They Go
.
In 1974, John Holt
covered the song on his album 1000 Volts of Holt. That year, his cut of "Help Me Make It Through the Night" from the album made it into the UK Top Ten.
Later in 1974, late child star/performer Lena Zavaroni
covered it and she performed it live on numerous shows and it was taken from her Ma! album, she performed it again in 1989, despite this time singing it live at her own wedding. In 1976 Sergio Franchi
recorded his tenor/crossover version on the 1976 DynaHouse album 20 Magnificent Songs.
In 1990, country novelty
musician Ray Stevens
produced a comedic version of the song, not only playing the song to a more upbeat "hillbilly" bluegrass
tempo but interspersing each line with mocking jokes of those lines (i.e., the first line, "Take the ribbon from your hair," is followed by a ripping sound followed by a woman yelling, Spike Jones
-style). Another parody
was called "Help Me Make It Through the Yard" by Pinkard & Bowden
, in which the lyrics are altered to tell about the plight of a man coming home drunk: Take the rosebush from my hair, / Lord, it has a lot of thorns, / What's the sprinkler doing on / At this hour of the morn? ...
In Austria
, a well-known German language
version of the song was recorded by STS
. Its title in German was "Gö, Du Bleibst Heut Nacht Bei Mir". The song was also covered by UK singer Charlie Landsborough
on his 2009 album 'Nothing Lasts Forever'.
In 2009, Jason C. Miller
, Lead singer of Godhead (band)
, uploaded a video of himself doing an acoustic cover for his "Covers on the Roof" YouTube video series.
In 2010, Mariah Carey
's cover version leaked on the Internet. The song was originally intended for the Tennessee
soundtrack.
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
ballad composed by Kris Kristofferson
Kris Kristofferson
Kristoffer "Kris" Kristofferson is an American musician, actor, and writer. He is known for hits such as "Me and Bobby McGee", "For the Good Times", "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and "Help Me Make It Through the Night"...
and released on his 1970 album Kristofferson
Kristofferson (album)
Kristofferson is the first album by Kris Kristofferson, released in 1970 on Monument Records.Many of the songs on the album were already hits when covered by other artists...
.
Kristofferson said that he got the inspiration for the song from an Esquire
Esquire (magazine)
Esquire is a men's magazine, published in the U.S. by the Hearst Corporation. Founded in 1932, it flourished during the Great Depression under the guidance of founder and editor Arnold Gingrich.-History:...
magazine interview with Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
. When asked what he believed in, Frank replied, "Booze, broads, or a bible...whatever helps me make it through the night."
Kristofferson wrote the song while staying long term as a struggling songwriter with Dottie West and her husband, Bill at their home on Shy's Hill Road in Nashville's Green Hills neighborhood. When he offered Dottie the song, she claimed it was "too suggestive" for her. Later, she said that not recording it was the greatest regret of her career. Though it was also recorded in 1971 by Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
, three others recorded it in 1971 — Bryan Ferry
Bryan Ferry
Bryan Ferry, CBE is an English singer, musician, and songwriter. Ferry came to public prominence in the early 1970s as lead vocalist and principal songwriter with the band Roxy Music, who enjoyed a highly successful career with three number one albums and ten singles entering the top ten charts in...
for his album, Another Time, Another Place
Another Time, Another Place
"Another Time, Another Place" may refer to:*Another Time Another Place, an album by Matt Bianco*Another Time, Another Place , a film starring Lana Turner and Sean Connery...
(October 1971), Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis is an American rock and roll and country music singer-songwriter and pianist. An early pioneer of rock and roll music, Lewis's career faltered after he married his young cousin, and he afterwards made a career extension to country and western music. He is known by the nickname 'The...
who did a bluesy version for his album "Touching Home" and country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
singer Sammi Smith
Sammi Smith
Sammi Smith was an American country music singer and songwriter. Born Jewel Faye Smith, she is best known for her 1971 country/pop crossover hit, "Help Me Make It Through the Night", which was written by Kris Kristofferson...
, whose recording of the song is the most commercially successful and most well-known version. Smith's recording ranks among the most successful country singles of all time in terms of sales, popularity and radio airplay. Her recording topped the country singles chart, and was also a crossover hit, reaching number eight on the U.S. pop singles chart. Other American singers would record the song throughout the 1970s and early 1980s. The most successful version after Smith's was recorded by Gladys Knight & the Pips
Gladys Knight & the Pips
Gladys Knight & The Pips were an R&B/soul family musical act from Atlanta, Georgia, active from 1953 to 1989. The group was best known for their string of hit singles on Motown's "Soul" record label and Buddah Records from 1967 to 1975, including "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" and "Midnight...
in 1972 (this version was later sampled extensively to create Huff and Puff's 1996 dance track Help me make it).
The song was used as the score of the John Huston
John Huston
John Marcellus Huston was an American film director, screenwriter and actor. He wrote most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered classics: The Maltese Falcon , The Treasure of the Sierra Madre , Key Largo , The Asphalt Jungle , The African Queen , Moulin Rouge...
film Fat City
Fat City (film)
Fat City is an American neo-noir boxing drama film directed by John Huston. The picture stars Stacy Keach, Jeff Bridges, and Susan Tyrrell....
, released in 1972, with Kristofferson performing the song at the beginning and end.
Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
and his wife, June Carter Cash
June Carter Cash
Valerie June Carter Cash was an American singer, dancer, songwriter, actress, comedienne and author who was a member of the Carter Family and the second wife of singer Johnny Cash...
, have also covered this song in a duet. The recording is found on the 2006 compilation June Carter and Johnny Cash: Duets
June Carter and Johnny Cash: Duets
Duets is an album made by the famous country music singer Johnny Cash and his wife June Carter Cash, released in 2006.The album is made of duets by the singers mentioned before with song that Cash had previously released....
, released by Sony BMG. In this version, Johnny Cash inserts "June" before the line tonight I need a friend as a sign of affection for his wife.
Kristofferson's original lyrics speak of a man's yearning for sexual intimacy, yet they were controversial in 1971 because they were sung by a woman: I don't care what's right or wrong, I don't try to understand / Let the devil take tomorrow, Lord tonight I need a friend.
Cover versions of the song appeared in early 1970s albums by Lynn Anderson
Lynn Anderson
Lynn Rene Anderson is an American country music singer and equestrian known for a string of hits throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, most notably her Grammy Award-winning, worldwide mega-hit, " Rose Garden." Helped by her regular exposure on national television, Anderson was one of the most...
, Loretta Lynn
Loretta Lynn
Loretta Lynn is an American country music singer-songwriter, author and philanthropist. Born in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky to a coal miner father, Lynn married at 13 years old, was a mother soon after, and moved to Washington with her husband, Oliver Lynn. Their marriage was sometimes tumultuous; he...
, Skeeter Davis
Skeeter Davis
Mary Frances Penick , better known as Skeeter Davis, was an American country music singer best known for crossover pop music songs of the early 1960s. She started out as part of The Davis Sisters as a teenager in the late 1940s, eventually landing on RCA Records. In the late '50s, she became a solo...
, Tammy Wynette
Tammy Wynette
Virginia Wynette Pugh, known professionally as Tammy Wynette , was an American country music singer-songwriter and one of the genre's best-known artists and biggest-selling female vocalists....
, and Dottie West
Dottie West
Dottie West was an American country music singer and songwriter. Along with her friends and co-recording artists Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn, she is considered one of the genre's most influential and groundbreaking female artists...
, who was reportedly first offered the song. Ray Price recorded the song on his For The Good Times which was released slightly before Sammi Smith's single release.
Sammi Smith's recording would reach no. 1 on the U.S. country charts. On February 20, 1971, it reached no. 8 on Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
s U.S. pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
singles chart, and also enjoyed success in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Adult-Contemporary stations took to the song, and it peaked at #3 on Billboard's Easy Listening chart. In 1972, the Gladys Knight & the Pips' version reached #33 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #13 on the Hot Soul Singles chart.
Smith's version won a Grammy Award for Best Country Music Female performance.
Later in 1971, Joan Baez
Joan Baez
Joan Chandos Baez is an American folk singer, songwriter, musician and a prominent activist in the fields of human rights, peace and environmental justice....
also recorded the song, including it on her Blessed Are...
Blessed Are...
Blessed Are... was a 1971 album by Joan Baez, and her last with Vanguard Records. It included her hit cover of The Band's "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down", and work by Kris Kristofferson, the Beatles, Jesse Winchester and The Rolling Stones, as well as a significant number of Baez' own...
album. (In her 1987 memoir, Baez disclosed that she'd had an affair with Kristofferson around this same time.) Peggy Lee
Peggy Lee
Peggy Lee was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress in a career spanning six decades. From her beginning as a vocalist on local radio to singing with Benny Goodman's big band, she forged a sophisticated persona, evolving into a multi-faceted artist and...
also recorded the song that year for her album Where Did They Go
Where Did They Go (Peggy Lee album)
Where Did They Go is a 1971 album by Peggy Lee. It was arranged and conducted by Don Sebesky and Al Capps.-Track listing:...
.
In 1974, John Holt
John Holt (singer)
John Holt is a reggae singer and songwriter.-Biography:Holt was born in Kingston in 1947. By the age of 12, he was a regular entrant in talent contests run at Jamaican theatres by Vere Johns...
covered the song on his album 1000 Volts of Holt. That year, his cut of "Help Me Make It Through the Night" from the album made it into the UK Top Ten.
Later in 1974, late child star/performer Lena Zavaroni
Lena Zavaroni
Lena Hilda Zavaroni was a Scottish child singer and a television show host. With her album Ma! He's Making Eyes At Me at ten years of age, she is the youngest person in history to have an album in the UK album chart top ten. Later in life she hosted TV shows and appeared on stage...
covered it and she performed it live on numerous shows and it was taken from her Ma! album, she performed it again in 1989, despite this time singing it live at her own wedding. In 1976 Sergio Franchi
Sergio Franchi
Sergio Franchi was an Italian tenor.Franchi was born in Cremona, Italy. His father wanted him to become an electrical engineer, so he studied both music and engineering simultaneously. The family moved to South Africa in 1952, where Sergio worked part-time as a draftsman, while continuing to study...
recorded his tenor/crossover version on the 1976 DynaHouse album 20 Magnificent Songs.
In 1990, country novelty
Novelty song
A novelty song is a comical or nonsensical song, performed principally for its comical effect. Humorous songs, or those containing humorous elements, are not necessarily novelty songs. The term arose in Tin Pan Alley to describe one of the major divisions of popular music. The other two divisions...
musician Ray Stevens
Ray Stevens
Ray Stevens is an American country music, pop singer-songwriter who has become known for his novelty songs.-Early career:...
produced a comedic version of the song, not only playing the song to a more upbeat "hillbilly" bluegrass
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
tempo but interspersing each line with mocking jokes of those lines (i.e., the first line, "Take the ribbon from your hair," is followed by a ripping sound followed by a woman yelling, Spike Jones
Spike Jones
Mel Blanc, the voice of Bugs Bunny and other Warner Brothers cartoon characters, performed a drunken, hiccuping verse for 1942's "Clink! Clink! Another Drink"...
-style). Another parody
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
was called "Help Me Make It Through the Yard" by Pinkard & Bowden
Pinkard & Bowden
Pinkard & Bowden is an American country music duo composed of singer-songwriters James "Sandy" Pinkard and Richard Bowden, who also play guitar and bass guitar. The duo's music comprises a mix of musical parody and original comedy songs. Pinkard has also written hit singles for Mel Tillis, Anne...
, in which the lyrics are altered to tell about the plight of a man coming home drunk: Take the rosebush from my hair, / Lord, it has a lot of thorns, / What's the sprinkler doing on / At this hour of the morn? ...
In Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, a well-known German language
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
version of the song was recorded by STS
STS
-Science, medicine, meteorology and technology:*Science and technology studies*Superior temporal sulcus*Socio-technical systems*Severe tropical storm*Scanning tunneling spectroscopy, a spectroscopy technique based on Scanning Tunneling Microscopy...
. Its title in German was "Gö, Du Bleibst Heut Nacht Bei Mir". The song was also covered by UK singer Charlie Landsborough
Charlie Landsborough
Charlie Landsborough, is a British country and folk musician and singer-songwriter. He started singing professionally in the 1970s, and is now one of the UK's top country acts. He is also popular in Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.-Life:Born in Wrexham, Wales, Landsborough was the youngest...
on his 2009 album 'Nothing Lasts Forever'.
In 2009, Jason C. Miller
Jason C. Miller
Jason Charles Miller is the lead vocalist and guitarist of the industrial rock band Godhead. He is also an actor in various anime and movies.-Biography:Miller was born in Cheverly, Maryland...
, Lead singer of Godhead (band)
Godhead (band)
Godhead, occasionally typeset as gODHEAD, is an American alternative rock/metal band from Washington, D.C.. They are most often credited with being the only band signed to musician Marilyn Manson's short-lived vanity label, Posthuman Records.-History:...
, uploaded a video of himself doing an acoustic cover for his "Covers on the Roof" YouTube video series.
In 2010, Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...
's cover version leaked on the Internet. The song was originally intended for the Tennessee
Tennessee (film)
Tennessee is a 2008 American drama film produced by Lee Daniels. V V S Films has acquired all Canadian rights for the movie, while the U.S. rights are owned by Lee Daniels Entertainment.Vivendi Entertainment has acquired all U.S...
soundtrack.
Sammi Smith
| Chart (1971) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 8 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks | 3 |
| Canadian RPM Country Tracks | 1 |
| Canadian RPM Top Singles | 4 |
Willie Nelson
| Chart (1980) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles | 4 |
| Canadian RPM Country Tracks | 1 |