Come a Little Bit Closer
| "Come a Little Bit Closer" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Jay and the Americans | ||||
| from the album Come a Little Bit Closer | ||||
| B-side | "Goodbye Boys, Goodbye" | |||
| Released | 1964 | |||
| Genre | Rock, pop | |||
| Length | 2:49 | |||
| Label | United Artists | |||
| Songwriters | Tommy Boyce, Bobby Hart, Wes Farrell | |||
| Producer | Artie Ripp | |||
| Jay and the Americans singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| "Come a Little Bit Closer" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Johnny Duncan and Janie Fricke | ||||
| from the album Come a Little Bit Closer | ||||
| B-side | "Loneliness (Can Break a Man's Heart)" (Duncan only) | |||
| Released | October 1977 | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Songwriters | Tommy Boyce, Bobby Hart, Wes Farrell | |||
| Producer | Billy Sherrill | |||
| Johnny Duncan singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Janie Fricke singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Come a Little Bit Closer" is a song by the 1960s rock and roll band Jay and the Americans. It reached number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 on November 21, 1964, making it the band's highest-charting single.[1] It also peaked at number 4 on the Cashbox chart and at number 1 on RPM's singles chart, whilst in Australia it peaked at 37 on the Kent Music Report. The song was their first top 5 recording in two years, since 1962's "She Cried."[2] On the New Zealand Lever Hit Parade it peaked at #4.[3]
It was written by songwriters Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, as well as Wes Farrell, and became Boyce and Hart's first top 10 hit.[4]
Jay and the Americans also recorded a Spanish version of the song.[5]
A cover version by American country music artists Johnny Duncan and Janie Fricke was released in 1977 and peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in January 1978.[6]
Content
The singer/narrator visits a café in Mexico near the U.S. border and is charmed by a young temptress - while she is known as the girlfriend of "bad man José," she invites him to dance. Her invitation serves as the song's refrain.
Come a little bit closer, you're my kind of man, so big and so strong.
Come a little bit closer, I'm all alone and the night is so long.
The singer dances with her and steals a kiss, continuing to dance despite the guitarist's warning that José would arrive soon. Eventually, José confronts the singer, who drops his drink and runs - as he is leaving, he hears the woman repeat the refrain, but this time to José.
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI)[7] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
|
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
In other media
The song is featured in the 2017 film Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.[8]
References
- ^ "Jay & the Americans | Biography, Albums, Streaming Links". AllMusic. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
- ^ Billboard. September 12, 1964.
{{cite magazine}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20210208152851/http://www.flavourofnz.co.nz/index.php?qpageID=Lever%20hit%20parades&qyear=1964&qmonth=Dec&qweek=03-Dec-1964#n_view_location
- ^ Songfacts. "Come A Little Bit Closer by Jay & the Americans - Songfacts". www.songfacts.com. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
- ^ "Come a Little Bit Closer (Spanish Version)". YouTube. July 4, 2015.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. ISBN 978-0-89820-177-2.
- ^ "British single certifications – Jay & The Americans – Come a Little Bit Closer". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
- ^ Shepard, Jack (April 19, 2017). "Tracklist for Guardians of the Galaxy's Awesome Mixtape Vol. 2 revealed". The Independent. Retrieved August 27, 2017.