Stay With Me by Lorraine Ellison

Album: Stay With Me: The Best of Lorraine Ellison (1966)

Charted: 64

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Songfacts®:

What do you do when you've given every bit of yourself to someone, only to have that person leave you? If you're strong enough, you wish them good riddance and put them behind you, but in this "Stay With Me," Lorraine Ellison just can't let him go. She pleads with him, asking him to stay, reminding him that he said he was always going to need her.
When Frank Sinatra canceled a session in the studio due to sickness, his 60-piece orchestra found themselves free. Gerry Raganovy stayed up all night to readapt this song, which he wrote with George David Weiss, for an orchestra. The result was a symphonic soul classic that even though it was only a minor hit at the time, is recognized today as one of the classic '60s songs.
Singer-songwriter Lorraine Ellison grew up singing gospel, having led a family group out of her home in North Philadelphia. Between 1966 and 1973, she recorded three albums and few other tracks for Loma Records, the soul division of Warner Brothers, but she never achieved the fame her talents deserved. She died of ovarian cancer in 1985.
This song attracted fans across waves of genres. The singer Jon Anderson, known for his tenure as the frontman of the progressive rock band Yes, cites it as one of his favorites, and even performed it with the band. "In the early part of Yes, there was a song by Lorraine Ellison called 'Stay With Me Baby,'" he told Songfacts. "It's a tragic love song, and the way she sings it, it's heartbreaking. I used to sing it with Yes in the first year - it was one of the songs I wanted to perform. It's just an incredible song."

Comments: 2

Jon from Long Island, NyI first heard this song by Bette Midler in "The Rose", and I loved it. But that was 10 years before I heard Ms. Ellison's EXPLOSIVE version from 14 years before. It's a wonder that this woman didn't achieve the fame her talents indicate she should have (file her along with Linda Jones), but such is the record business. More people need to hear this volcanic performance.
Sam from Sherman OaksWow! I can't believe nobody has commented on this record yet. It's Unbelievably Amazing. her voice is so powerful that I was completely blown away the first time I discovered this record. It's a shame this completely missed the Top 40, and since it only made it up to No. 64, it's completely ignored by most Oldies radio stations today. which is a shame because it's such an incredible song. I didn't even hear this song until a few months ago when I was scrolling through Songfacts articles on songs that were released in the year 1966. that's how I originally came across this record. I"m really surprised that this record didn't even make it into the Top 40. the chorus is so explosive and powerful that it easily could have been a much bigger hit and money maker for it's writers (Jerry Ragovoy and George David Weiss). I really hope this record gets more Airplay on most Oldies Radio stations because this phenomenal song needs to be heard more by the people who grew on this type of music, but never got the chance to hear it because of it's unfortunate chart position. I rest my case.

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