| "Indiana Wants Me" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by R. Dean Taylor | ||||
| B-side | "Love's Your Name" | |||
| Released | 1970 | |||
| Format | 7" | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Label | Rare Earth 5013 | |||
| Writer(s) | R. Dean Taylor | |||
| Producer | R. Dean Taylor | |||
| R. Dean Taylor singles chronology | ||||
|
||||
"Indiana Wants Me" is a song written and originally recorded by Canadian singer-songwriter R. Dean Taylor. It was released on the Rare Earth label, a subsidiary of Motown Records, in 1970, and was a top ten hit in both the US and UK.
The song is written from the viewpoint of someone who has murdered a man who insulted his woman; he is missing his family and hiding from the Indiana police, who eventually catch up with him. Taylor wrote the song after watching the movie Bonnie and Clyde.[1] The record was produced by Taylor, and arranged by him with David Van De Pitte. It was released on the Rare Earth label, formed by Motown in an attempt to establish itself in the rock music market. The police siren sounds at the start of the record were removed from some copies supplied to radio stations, after complaints that drivers hearing the song on the radio had mistakenly pulled over thinking that they were real.[1]
The record became Taylor's first and biggest hit as a performer in the US, where it rose to no. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in late 1970.[2] Taylor appeared on the TV show American Bandstand to promote the record.[1] In the UK, where Taylor had had an earlier hit with "Gotta See Jane", it also became his biggest hit, reaching no. 2 on the UK singles chart in spring 1971.[3]