Eddie Holland of Holland-Dozier-Holland made the original recording of "Take Me in Your Arms" in 1964: the version was not released commercially until 2005.
Holland-Dozier-Holland had Kim Weston record the song in 1965 her version being released that September to reach #5 on the R&B chart in Billboard crossing-over to #50 on the Hot 100.
In 1967 Holland-Dozier-Holland had the Isley Brothers remake the song: their version released in March 1968 reached #22 R&B.
The Isley Brothers came to Motown in late 1965, their first hit was "This Old Heart Of Mine", In 1968 Holland-Dozier-Holland left Motown, and The Isley Brothers version of "Take Me in Your Arms" was the last H-D-H single for Motown Records The Doobie Brothers remade "Take Me in Your Arms" for their 1975 Stampede album: Tom Johnston who was then the Doobies frontman would later recall: "I had been a fan of that song since it came out somewhere in the '60s.
I just loved that song. So somewhere around '72 I started lobbying to get the band to do a cover of that. And I didn't get anywhere until '75. Then finally in 1975 we actually did it."
Doobies members Jeff Baxter said of the Doobies recording of "Take Me in Your Arms": "That song was like a dream come true for us. Every musician I've ever known has at some point wanted to achieve Motown's technically slick soul sound - it's so dynamic.
We sat down to try to duplicate it, and to see if our version could emerge as a successful single." According to Doobies member Patrick Simmons: "At first the band sounded like the Grateful Dead doing the Four Tops, but gradually it came together quite accurately." Motown veteran Paul Riser was enlisted to arrange the track.
