Take Me Home Tonight by Eddie Money

Album: Can't Hold Back (1986)

Charted: 4

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Songfacts®:

This song is based on The Ronettes' 1963 hit "Be My Baby," and features their lead singer, Ronnie Spector, on the chorus performing her famous line, "Be my little baby."

The song was reworked by the songwriters Michael Leeson and Peter Vale, whose other songs include "Would I Lie To You" by Charles & Eddie and "One Man Woman" by Sheena Easton. The song is about a guy who is in lust with a girl and is trying to convince her to take him home. >>>
Suggestion credit:
Bertrand - Paris, France
With this song, Ronnie Spector returned to the spotlight for the first time in two decades. A groundbreaking artist, Spector was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with The Ronettes in 2007, but by 1986 she was long out of the spotlight.

Spector's last Top 40 hit with The Ronettes was "Walking in the Rain" in 1964; in 1971 she made #77 with a song written by George Harrison called "Try Some, Buy Some," but that would be her last chart entry until "Take Me Home Tonight."

The song not only introduced Spector to a new generation, but also got her on MTV for her first time, as the clip got ample airtime on the network. Spector released a solo album the following year called "Unfinished Business," but she never scored another hit.
Ronnie Spector appeared in the video, mostly in silhouette form, but a financial dispute nearly kept her out of it. The video was directed by Nick Morris, who helmed popular clips for Europe ("The Final Countdown") and Paul Young ("Everytime You Go Away").

According to Morris, Spector's boyfriend/manager told her not to be filmed until they received a payment he felt they were owed, so Morris said they would just use his wife, Fiona O'Mahoney, who was also the producer on the shoot, in place of Spector, which conceivably could work because most of Spector's scenes were shot in shadows.

In our interview with Morris, he explained: "We put Fiona in the dress that Ronnie was going to wear, we put a wig on her, and we started doing a camera test where Ronnie and her manager could see it. Her manager was going, 'They're just bluffing, Ronnie, they're not going to do it. They're not really going to do it, Ronnie.' And Ronnie was like, 'They are going to do it and I'm not going to be in the video!'

In the end, she saw sense, and she performed it. The whole crew applauded. But that was a wild and wacky thing to do, and maybe a bit cruel to do, but we were English in Los Angeles making our third or fourth music video, and if we'd come away having paid Ronnie extra money, that would have crashed our budget. But my producer didn't get to be in the video."
At first, this was going to be a duet with Martha Davis, lead singer of The Motels. Money wanted Spector ("the real thing") on the song, so he called her to ask, telling her, "This is a tribute to you. The song is all about you."

According to Spector, she got on board as soon as she heard the lyric, "Listen honey, just like Ronnie sang... be my little baby."

"When they said that, I was sold," she told Entertainment Weekly.

Spector says Money was very excited when she showed up to record it. "He was a crazy person - freaking out in the studio, going, 'I've got the real Ronnie Spector singing 'Be My Baby' on my record!,'" she said.
This song is extremely catchy, with two chorus hooks and a come-hither lead-in. The pre-chorus starts things off:

I can feel you breathe
I can feel your heart beat faster

Then Money sings the first chorus section:

Take me home tonight
I don't want to let you go till you see the light...

When it gets to Spector's part, it's another musical shift to the tried and true chorus from her 1963 hit:

Be my little baby
Oh, oh, oh

Comments: 16

Bella7447mami from New York CityI love her. RIP Ronnie Spector. So cute, in the video Take me home tonight, was barely a pre-teen hearing it, and i love her so much, but i know GOD has her at peace. Shall smile each time i play it, or see the video. RIP
Kimberly from Bloomington IndianaI was 12 in 1977. Still love this song
Amiramie from Dallas, TxRoberta Elkins from Arlington, Tx-you may have been 20 and beautiful in 1977 but, unless you had a time machine, you did not hear this song on a camping trip with your boyfriend “Ed.” Maybe it was another kind of trip you were on. This song didn’t come out until 1986-9 years later!
Mark V from Puerto RicoMy 15 year old son told me he heard this song on the radio and it reminded him of me. I told myself I wouldn't cry.
Roberta Elkins from Arlington Texas In 1977 I was 20, beautiful and my boyfriend took me on our first camping trip. "Take Me Home Tonight" was playing. My intro to Eddie Money. All these years later I think of the Eddie I was dating in 77'. Excellent Song, happy memories. RIP to Both Eddie's
Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn November 22, 1986, Eddie Money, with Ronnie Spector, performed "Take Me Home Tonight" on the Dick Clark ABC-TV Saturday-afternoon program, 'American Bandstand'...
At the time the song was at #5 on Billboard's Top 100 chart, the week before it had peak at #4 {for 1 week} and it spent twenty weeks on the Top 100...
Earlier in 1982 on September 14th it had reached #1 {for 2 weeks} on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart...
Between 1978 and 1992 he had twenty-three records on the Top 100 chart, two* made the Top 10, besides "Take Me Home Tonight", his other Top 10 record was "Walk On Water", it peaked at #9 {for 1 week} on December 18th, 1988...
Eddie Money, born Edward Joseph Mahoney, will celebrate his 69th birthday come next March 21st {2018}...
* He just missed having two more Top 10 records when both "Baby Hold On" {1978} and "Peace In Our Time" {1990} peaked at #11...
And from the 'For What It's Worth' department, also in 1986 there was another 'Take Me Home' record that made the Top 10, Phil Collins' "Take Me Home" peaked at #7 {for 3 weeks} on May 4th.
Rae from NjGreat song! One of Eddie Money's best! He really sang his heart out on it! Love it!
Tim from Northfield, MnSo that's who he was referring to with the "just like Ronnie sang" line. That has always interested me as to who Ronnie was and why that was done like it was.
Jessica from Alvin , TxLove the song.
Bill from Pensacola, FlRonnie Spector was married to Phil Spector, who is considered quite important inthe history of pop music production. (for you new folks) Some of his ideas of sound come through here of course.
Ronnie Spector has a great voice, inspiring countless female singers after her.
Brian from Richmond , VaThis song is a timeless clasic that many in the younger generation are becoming hip to.

When Ronnie Spector was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with her band the Ronettes, she gave props to Eddie Money. I thought that was way cool.

I love Eddie Money's voice. This may be his best song.
Ed from Incognito, IlMy band opened for Eddie a few times. Cool guy. Doesn't drink anymore, but he still gets "out there" (wink, wink, nudge, nudge).
Don from San Antonio, TxI was a hardcore punk and I had to keep it secret that I liked this so much. The echo-ey vocals and the keys it was in was just haunting to me. I liked it so much I even bought Ronnie's album "Unfinished Business" at the same time this came out. The hit was "Who Can Sleep?" which was similar to this. I didn't like the rest of her album though, and I was sure I would. I never even heard the Eddie Money album in it's entirety, how is it? Ever heard "Trinidad"? That is beautiful.
Marilynn from Milwaukee, WiOops...correction...it was the Bradley Center, not the Riverside Theatre. M Mee
Marilynn from Milwaukee, WiWhen Eddie Money performed that song in concert in Milwaukee, WI in 2003 at the Riverside Theatre, he arranged (through the Classic Rock radio station) to have a local singer named Anjl Rodee get up on stage to sing Ronnie's part. It almost didn't happen because when Anjl went to climb on stage at the appointed time, a security guard tried to stop her, thinking she was just an over-zealous fan! - Marilynn Mee, Milwaukee, WI
Chris from Chicago, IlI like this one and Ronnie Spector is a cool chick!

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