Take Me Down Explained

Take Me Down
Cover:	Take Me Down Alabama.jpg
Type:	single
Artist:	Alabama
Album:	Mountain Music
B-Side:	Lovin' You Is Killin' Me
Released:	May 6, 1982 (U.S.)
Recorded:	1981
Genre:	Country rock^[1]
Length:	3:43 (single edit) 4:53 (album version)
Label:	RCA Nashville 13210
Producer:	Harold Shedd and Alabama
Prev Title:	Mountain Music
Prev Year:	1982
Next Title:	Close Enough to Perfect
Next Year:	1982

"Take Me Down" is a song recorded by American country music band Alabama. It was released in May 1982 as the second single from Alabama's album Mountain Music.^[2]

Written by Exile band members Mark Gray and J.P. Pennington, the song was originally recorded by Exile in 1980. The Exile version was released as a single, but failed to become a major hit, although it reached number 102 on the US Bubbling Under chart^[3] and number 11 in South Africa.^[4]

However, it was not until Alabama released the song that it was the group's seventh number one on the country chart.^[5] In addition to its success on the country charts, the song fared modestly well on pop radio, reaching No. 18 on the Billboard Hot 100.^[6]

Single and album edits

The single edit to "Take Me Down," released for retail sale and radio airplay, is about 1:10 shorter than the full-length album version. Excised from the single version:

• The second refrain; the song immediately proceeds from the second verse into the bridge.
• An earlier fade during the ending harmony part (about 30 seconds earlier than the album version).

"B" side

The B-side to "Take Me Down" is a song titled "Lovin' You Is Killin' Me," a re-recording of one of Alabama's earliest songs. "Lovin' You Is Killin' Me" originally appeared as the B-side to the band's first charted single, 1977's "I Wanna Be With You Tonight."

Charts

Exile

Chart (1980)	Peak position
South Africa (Springbok)^[7]	11
US Billboard Bubbling Under the Hot 100^[8]	102

Alabama

Chart (1982)	Peak position
Canada RPM Country Tracks	1
Canada RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks	1

Year-end charts

Chart (1982)	Position
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)^[9]	18
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)^[10]	32

Cover version

The song was covered in by soul singer Johnny Bristol the same year and released as the first single off his Free to Be Me album.http://www.discogs.com/Johnny-Bristol-Take-Me-Down-Rosebud/release/953486

References

Works cited

• Morris, Edward, "Alabama," Contemporary Books Inc., Chicago, 1985

Notes and References

1. Web site: 10 Alabama Essentials. Patton, Alli. American Songwriter. December 13, 2022. May 17, 2024.
2. Roland, Tom, "The Billboard Book of Number One Country Hits" (Billboard Books, Watson-Guptill Publications, New York, 1991
3. Joel Whitburn's Bubbling Under the Billboard Hot 100 1959-2004
4. Web site: SA Charts 1965–March 1989. November 26, 2020.
5. Book: Whitburn, Joel . The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Joel Whitburn . 2004 . Record Research . 18.
6. Book: Whitburn, Joel . The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits: Eighth Edition . Joel Whitburn . 2004 . Record Research . 22.
7. Web site: SA Charts 1965–March 1989. 21 June 1980. November 26, 2020.
8. Joel Whitburn's Bubbling Under the Billboard Hot 100 1959-2004
9. Web site: Adult Contemporary Songs – Year-End 1982. Billboard. June 22, 2021.
10. Web site: Hot Country Songs – Year-End 1982. Billboard. June 22, 2021.