| "Reach out of the Darkness" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Friend & Lover | ||||
| from the album Reach out of the Darkness | ||||
| B-side | "Time on Your Side (You're Only 15 Years Old)" | |||
| Released | 1967 | |||
| Format | 7" | |||
| Recorded | 1967, Nashville, Tennessee | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 2:59 | |||
| Label | Verve Forecast | |||
| Writer(s) | Jim Post | |||
| Producer | Bill Lowery, Joe South | |||
| Friend & Lover singles chronology | ||||
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"Reach out of the Darkness" is a song by American folk duo Friend and Lover. Peaking at #10 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, it was the duo's most successful single, and they are often regarded as a one-hit wonder for the track[1] because the duo's only other Hot 100 entry ("If Love Is In Your Heart") stalled at #86 a few months later. Curiously the title never appears as such in the recording, though the nine mentions of "reach out in the darkness" come close.
The song was written by James "Jim" Post, who together with his then-wife Catherine "Cathy" Post nee Conn comprised the duo Friend and Lover. It was recorded in Nashville for the Verve Forecast label. Ray Stevens played keyboards and arranged the strings, with Joe South and Bill Lowery producing.[2] The Verve Records Discography has a completely different account of the song being recorded in New York City on 23 August 1967, with the sides reversed.[3] The 1969 follow-up album, also titled Reach Out of the Darkness, was recorded in Atlanta and produced by Buddy Buie.
The song was featured in a 1999 television commercial by Milton Bradley for their Get-Together Games and can also be heard in both the 1988 film 1969 and episode six of the TV series Night Stalker as well as in the "The Time Has Come Today" episode of Beverly Hills, 90210 (season 4, episode 25).[4].
Krush sampled the song for their song "Let's Get Together (So Groovy Now)", from the soundtrack to the comedy film Mo' Money, starring Damon Wayans and Stacey Dash[5].