Give Me an Inch
{{Short description|1976 single by Robert Palmer}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Give Me an Inch
| cover = Robert Palmer Give Me An Inch 1976 Single Cover.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Robert Palmer
| album = Pressure Drop
| B-side = Pressure Drop
| released = 30 January 1976{{cite web|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1976/Music-Week-1976-01-31.pdf|title=Music Week|page=32}}
| recorded =
| studio =
| venue =
| genre =
| length = 3:17
| label = Island
| writer = Robert Palmer
| producer = Steve Smith
| prev_title = Which of Us is the Fool
| prev_year = 1975
| next_title = Man Smart, Woman Smarter
| next_year = 1976
| misc = {{External music video|{{YouTube|yHT_S3LWEjY|"Give Me an Inch"}}|header=Audio video}}
}}
"Give Me an Inch" (or "Give Me an Inch Girl" on some releases{{Discogs master|428470|Give Me an Inch|type=single}}) is a song by English singer Robert Palmer, which was released in 1976 as the second single from his second studio album Pressure Drop (1975).{{cite web|author=David Jeffries |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/pressure-drop-mw0000651092 |title=Pressure Drop - Robert Palmer | Songs, Reviews, Credits |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=2019-02-10}} The song was written by Palmer and produced by Steve Smith.{{cite web|url=http://www.45cat.com/record/nc121332us |title=Robert Palmer - Give Me An Inch Girl / Pressure Drop - Island - USA - IS 049 |publisher=45cat |access-date=2019-02-10}} "Give Me an Inch" reached No. 6 on the US Billboard Bubbling Under the Hot 100 chart[https://top40weekly.com/bubbling-under/ US Hot 100 Bubbling Under] at Top40Weekly.com. Retrieved 20 October 2024. and No. 88 on the Cash Box Top 100 Singles chart.Billboard magazine - Bubbling Under the Hot 100 - 17 January 1976 - page 23Cash Box magazine - Cash Box Top 100 Singles - 13 March 1976 - page 4
Critical reception
Upon release, Cash Box commented: "Fine, fine lyrics and a boiling production full of soaring strings, steady drums and sultry bass, flutes in the background. Palmer's voice personifies the storyline which intimates that he's ready for the love that's finally crossed his path."Cash Box magazine - Singles Reviews: Picks of the Week - January 24, 1976 - page 19 In a review of Pressure Drop, Billboard listed the song as one of the album's "best cuts".{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=exEEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22robert+palmer%22+%22give+me+an+inch%22+billboard&pg=PA70 |title=Billboard - Google Books |date=1975-11-15 |access-date=2019-02-10}} In a retrospective review of the album, David Jeffries of AllMusic commented: "...the soft songs are well written and convincing, especially the opening "Give Me an Inch"."
Track listing
;7" single
- "Give Me an Inch" – 3:17
- "Pressure Drop" – 5:28
Charts
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |
| Chart (1976)
!Peak |
|---|
| scope="row"|US Billboard Bubbling Under the Hot 100
|6 |
| scope="row"|US Cash Box Top 100 Singles
|88 |
Ian Matthews version
{{Infobox song
| name = Give Me an Inch
| cover =
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Ian Matthews
| album = Stealin' Home
| B-side = Man in the Station
| released = 2 February 1979
| recorded = 1978
| studio = Chipping Norton Recording Studios
| venue =
| genre = Soft rock{{cite web|first= Eric |last= Shea |url= http://www.rhapsody.com/artist/iain-matthews/album/orphans-and-outcasts-a-collection-of-demos |title= Orphans & Outcasts: A Collection of Demos by Iain Matthews |publisher= Rhapsody |archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20140505131056/http://www.rhapsody.com/artist/iain-matthews/album/orphans-and-outcasts-a-collection-of-demos |archivedate= 5 May 2014}}
| length =
- 4:19 (album version)
- 3:32 (single version)
| label = Rockburgh/Mushroom
| writer = Robert Palmer
| producer =
- Sandy Robertson
- Ian Matthews
| prev_title = Shake It
| prev_year = 1978
| next_title = Don't Hang Up Your Dancing Shoes
| next_year = 1978
}}
In 1978, British singer-songwriter Iain Matthews recorded "Give Me an Inch" for his ninth studio album Stealin' Home. Matthews told The Huffington Post in 2014, "I was a peripheral Robert [Palmer] fan. I knew him when I lived in England and had followed his musical development. I heard the song and wanted to interpret it."{{cite web|last=Ragogna |first=Mike |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ragogna/solo-concerts-stealin-hom_b_5734150.html |title=Solo Concerts, Stealin' Home and Similar Skin: Chats with Bruce Hornsby, Iain Matthews and Umphrey's McGee...Plus! | HuffPost |date=29 August 2014 |publisher=Huffingtonpost.com |access-date=2019-02-10}} Reviewing Stealin' Home for Rolling Stone{{'}}s syndicated record review column, Stephen Holden assessed Matthews' version as "more compelling" than the original preferring "Matthews' rock treatment [with its] eschewing [of] the pretentious string arrangements that mar much of Palmer's music."Regina Leader Post 9 December 1978 Rolling Stone by Stephen Holden p.83 Released as the followup single to the Top 20 hit "Shake It", "Give Me an Inch" afforded Matthews a final Billboard Hot 100 entry, peaking at No. 67 in April 1979.{{cite web|author=Billboard |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/ian-matthews/chart-history/hsi/ |title=Ian Matthews Give Me An Inch Chart History |publisher=Billboard |access-date=2019-02-10}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Robert Palmer}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Island Records singles