Touch Me In the Morning

___________________________________

Touch Me In the Morning (Michael Masser, Ronald Miller)

The song was first recorded by Diana Ross, featuring an arrangement by Tom Baird and Gene Page, produced by Michael Masser and Tom Baird. Issued on 3 May 1973, the single Motown 1239F, b/w “I Won’t Last a Day Without You,” climbed to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart (1 week, 18 August), and remained on the chart for 21 weeks. It also topped the Adult Contemporary chart, and became a #5 R&B hit. A somewhat shorter version appeared as the first track of the 1973 Diana Ross album Touch Me in the Morning, Motown MKK 1008, released on 22 June 1973.

From Wikipedia:

It was conceived by then-unproven songwriter and producer Michael Masser. He had been recruited by Motown CEO Berry Gordy and A&R chief Suzanne de Passe. Masser teamed up with the proven ballad lyricist Ron Miller to write it.

According to Masser, in a video documentary about Ross, she “always tried to push hard to get the vocals right for this particular song”, calling it a “draining experience” that resulted in several near-emotional breakdowns when she wasn’t up to her abilities. It was recorded in the early morning hours, as was her custom after she began raising her children. In a Barbara Walters Mother’s Day interview special, her second-oldest daughter, Tracee Ellis Ross, said Diana would put them to bed and record all night, in order to wake her children and send them to school the next morning.

Diana Ross

single Motown 1239F, b/w “I Won’t Last a Day Without You,” issued on 3 May 1973 — At 3:51, the single is 25 seconds longer than the album track

MFSB — from the 1973 LP Love Is the Message, Philadelphia International Records KZ 32707; also issued as the B-side of the 1974 single TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia) in some countries, including Germany, Italy, and Portugal

Billy Green and the Love Machine — instrumental from the 1974 LP Satin Soul, EMI (Brazil) EMI Records EMCB 7007

John O’Banion — from the John O’Banion Show (TV), May 1974

John Holt — from the album 2000 Volts of Holt, Trojan Records TRLS 134, released in 1976

Marlena Shaw — 12″ 33 1/3 rpm promo disc, Columbia ‎ AS 67, released in 1979; a shorter version appeared on her 1979 album Take a Bite, on the cover of which she appears braless in a see-through blouse