Tighter, Tighter - Alive and Kicking (cover-live by Bill Sharkey)

Tighter, Tighter (Alive 'N Kickin', 1970). Live cover performance by Bill Sharkey, Home Studio, Hawaii Kai, HI. 2024-05-21. "Keeping the Oldies & Classics Alive"

"Tighter, Tighter," written by Tommy James and Bob King, was Alive and Kicking's first release and only top 40 hit, rising to the no. 7 position on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1970 (Whitburn, 2013). The band was produced by Tommy James (of the Shondells fame). The group was officially a one hit wonder. During an interview with songfacts, James recalled: "I was dying to get back in the studio, and I had written a song called 'Tighter, Tighter.' It was going to be my single. And right about that time, my wife's friend was managing a group called Alive 'N Kickin' from Brooklyn. And they were a good group, a really good group. I went out to see them a couple of times in different places, and I was going to produce them at some point . . . I went in and I laid down a track of this song . . . and I just didn't like the way it was coming out, it just wasn't right. . . . I just miscalculated the vocal, and I didn't like the way I sounded on it. I really believed the song was a hit . . . I remembered this group. They had a male and a female lead singer that would switch off leads. So I re-wrote the song as a duet. I called them up and said, 'You guys, can you come down here and add your players on top of what we've already done, and I think you've got a hit with this.' So they came in and that's just what we did. We put their guitar player on, we put their keyboard player on, we added some horns, and Pepe [Cardona] and Sandy [Toder] sang the lead, and then Pepe, Sandy and I did backgrounds. And it came out beautiful" (S. Ortega, songfacts, Sept. 15, 2009). As an aside, the band's organist Bruce Sudano married Donna Summer in 1980 and became a member the band Brooklyn Dreams (Whitburn, 2013).

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Lyrics:

You know I got to show you
Nobody else before you
Ever gave me such a beautiful feelin'

Oh woman you touched a-my soul now
Honey don't a-let go now
Hold on baby just a little bit tighter

Hold on a-just a little bit tighter now baby
I love you so much and I can't let go no, no, no
Hold on a-just a little bit tighter now baby

Love is so surprising
Opened up my eyes and you
Reached out and took my hand

Baby you touched a-my soul now
Woman don't let go now
Hold on baby just a little bit tighter

Hold on a-just a little bit tighter now baby
I love yo so much and I can't let go