Let Me Be There Explained

Let Me Be There
Cover:	Let Me Be There - Olivia Newton-John.jpg
Type:	single
Artist:	Olivia Newton-John
Album:	Let Me Be There
Released:	September 1973
Recorded:	August 8 1973
Genre:	Country, pop
Length:	3:02
Label:	Festival
Producer:	Bruce Welch, John Farrar
Prev Title:	Take Me Home, Country Roads
Prev Year:	1973
Next Title:	Long Live Love
Next Year:	1974

"Let Me Be There" is a popular song written by John Rostill. It was first recorded by Olivia Newton-John and released in September 1973 as the second single from her studio album of the same name. The country-influenced song was Newton-John's first Top 10 single in the US, peaking at No. 6, and also won her a Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocalist. Mike Sammes sings a bass vocal harmony on the song.^[1]

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Chart (1973–1974)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report)^[2]	11
New Zealand (Listener)^[3]	11
US Cashbox^[4]	4

Chart (2022)	Peak position
Canada Digital Song Sales (Billboard)^[5]	30
U.S. Digital Song Sales (Billboard)^[6]	31

Year-end charts

Chart (1974)	Rank
Australia (Kent Music Report)^[7]	53
Canada Top Singles^[8]	71
US Cashbox^[9]	22
US Billboard Hot 100^[10]	26

Cover versions

"Let Me Be There" was recorded live by Elvis Presley, and sung at many concerts until his death in 1977. Probably the most noted Elvis rendition was recorded on 20 March 1974 live at a concert in Memphis, Tennessee. Most of that concert was released on 7 July 1974 as the album Elvis Recorded Live on Stage in Memphis. The cover of "Let Me Be There" from that show was also released as track 5 on the Moody Blue album on 19 July 1977.
Ike & Tina Turner for their 1974 album Sweet Rhode Island Red.
Tanya Tucker for her gold album Would You Lay with Me (In a Field of Stone) in 1974 and included on several greatest hits compilations.
Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn on their 1975 LP Feelins'.
Melinda Schneider and Beccy Cole on their album Great Women of Country (2014).
Delta Goodrem in the mini-series , and the accompanying soundtrack album, I Honestly Love You where she did "Let Me Be There" with Newton-John herself.

Notes and References

Book: Morse. Ann. Keely. John. Olivia Newton-John. registration. 1 March 1976. Creative Education. 9780871914750.
Book: Kent, David. Australian Chart Book 1970 - 1992. David Kent (historian). Australian Chart Book. St Ives, NSW. 1993. 0-646-11917-6. 217.
Web site: flavour of new zealand - search listener . Flavourofnz.co.nz . 8 October 2016 . 12 March 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220312034707/http://www.flavourofnz.co.nz/index.php?qpageID=search%20listener&qartistid=837#n_view_location . dead .
Book: Whitburn, Joel. Cash Box Pop Hits 1952-1996. Sheridan Books, Inc.. 2014. 978-0-89820-209-0.
Canadian Digital Song Sales: Week of August 20, 2022. subscription. Billboard. 16 August 2022.
CU.S Digital Song Sales: Week of August 20, 2022. subscription. Billboard. 16 August 2022.
Web site: National Top 100 Singles for 1974. . 29 . . 30 December 1974 . 15 January 2022 .
Web site: Image : RPM Weekly - Library and Archives Canada . Bac-lac.gc.ca . 17 July 2013. 8 October 2016.
Web site: The CashBox Year End Charts:1974 . 25 March 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120725004901/http://cashboxmagazine.com/archives/70s_files/1974YESP.html . 25 July 2012 . dead.
Web site: Top 100 Hits of 1974/Top 100 Songs of 1974 . Musicoutfitters.com . 8 October 2016.