Hold an Old Friend's Hand (song) explained

Hold an Old Friend's Hand
Cover:Tiffany - Hold an Old Friend's Hand single.jpg
Type:single
Artist:Tiffany
Album:Hold an Old Friend's Hand
B-Side:Ruthless
Released:April 1989
Recorded:1988
Genre:Electronic rock[1] [2]
Length:4:24
Label:MCA
Producer:George Tobin
Prev Title:Radio Romance
Prev Year:1989
Next Title:It's the Lover (Not the Love)
Next Year:1989

"Hold an Old Friend's Hand" is a song recorded by American pop music artist Tiffany. It is the title track to her second studio album Hold an Old Friend's Hand (1988). It was released as the third single from the album in April 1989 and was released exclusively to the United States, Australia and Japan. In Japan, the song was titled simply . The song was written by Donna Weiss and was originally recorded by Brenda Patterson in 1973.

The song peaked at number 161 on the ARIA Singles Chart and number 37 on the US Adult Contemporary chart.

Critical reception

Barry Walters of The San Francisco Examiner said the song conjured "images of pedophilia" due to Tiffany's age at the time.[3] John Milward of The Scranton Times-Tribune said the music production was reminiscent of music by the Eagles and defined Tiffany's new sound.[4]

Track listings and formats

7" and cassette single[5]

  1. "Hold an Old Friend's Hand" – 4:24
  2. "Ruthless" – 3:40

Commercial performance

"Hold an Old Friend's Hand" debuted on the US Adult Contemporary chart the week of May 20, 1989 at number 48. It reached a peak of number 37 on the chart on June 10, 1989; it spent one week in the position. It spent 8 weeks in total and was Tiffany's last single to enter a Billboard chart until "Higher" off of her Dust Off and Dance album (2005) peaked at number 19 on the US Dance Club Songs in 2007.

Personnel

Taken from the Hold an Old Friend's Hand booklet.[6]

Charts

Chart (1989)Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[7] 161
US Adult Contemporary (Gavin Report)[8] 35
US Adult Contemporary (Radio & Records)[9] 25

Notes and References

  1. News: Henderson . Bill . January 29, 1989 . Tiffany . 252 . . October 28, 2023.
  2. News: Milward . John . January 22, 1989 . Tiffany and Debbie Reach Pivotal Stage: Are They Just Teen Idols or Enduring Stars? . 26 . . October 29, 2023.
  3. News: Walters . Barry . January 5, 1989 . Tiffany: immaterial girl . October 29, 2023 . . 33.
  4. News: Milward . John . January 22, 1989 . Tiffany and Debbie Reach Pivotal Stage: Are They Just Teen Idols or Enduring Stars? . October 29, 2023 . . 26.
  5. Hold an Old Friend's Hand . US vinyl single sleeve . Tiffany . MCA Records . 1989 . 53612.
  6. Hold an Old Friend's Hand . album liner notes . Tiffany . MCA Records . 1988 . MCAD-6267.
  7. Web site: Response from ARIA re: chart inquiry, received 24 May 2016. imgur.com. 3 June 2016.
  8. the Gavin Report: Adult Contemporary. Gavin Report. 32. June 9, 1989. 1760.
  9. The Back Page: Adult Contemporary. Radio & Records. 96. June 2, 1989. 791.