| Open Arms (journey Song) |
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"Open Arms" is a song originally recorded by American Rock band Journey and written by Steve Perry and Jonathan Cain , two of the band's members. It is a Ballad depicting the struggle of lovers who are trying to reconcile by starting anew with "open arms". It was Cover ed by American Pop / R&B singer Mariah Carey . JOURNEY VERSION Journey recorded "Open Arms" for their seventh studio album, '' Escape '', which was produced by Kevin Elson and Mike Stone . Jonathan Cain had begun writing the song while he was still a member of the rock group The Babys , but Babys vocalist John Waite turned down the melody as "too syrupy". Cain eventually finished the song with Steve Perry during the writing sessions for ''Escape'', but it was almost left off the album; Journey's guitarist Neal Schon reportedly "hated" the song, and the other members of the band were against performing ballads. Steve Perry later recalled of the song's recording: "I had to keep my head down on the console when "Open Arms" was on. There is one line in the song that I always wanted to be a certain way. I have ideals about certain things. The line "wanting you near" — I just wanted that line to go up and soar. I wanted it to be heartfelt. Every time it would come by I would just have to keep my head down and try to swallow the lump in my throat. I felt so proud of the song".[http://www.classicrockrevisited.com/Interviews05/steveperry05.htm "Open Arms" was used on the soundtrack to the animated Canadian film '' Heavy Metal '' (released to theatres in August 1981), and it was released as the third Single from ''Escape'' in January 1982 (see 1982 In Music ) in the United States . It became one of Journey's biggest singles there, and the most successful of the five singles released from ''Escape'' (only one other, "Who's Crying Now", reached the top five). Although it never reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, it stayed at number two for six weeks, and it was also a top ten hit on Billboard's Adult Contemporary Chart . The single was less successful on the Mainstream Rock Chart , only reaching the top forty. The song and its status as a '' (1992) and the compilation album '' The Essential Journey '' (2001). In 2003 '' and Trey Parker , the creators of the animated television comedy '' South Park '', frequently reference and parody Journey and their music in their work. In Episode 909 of ''South Park'', entitled " Erection Day " (2005), a little girl playing piano in a talent competition begins to sing the opening to "Open Arms" ("Lying beside you, here in the dark...") before the scene ends. MARIAH CAREY VERSION
Mariah Carey co-produced her cover of the song with played drums on many of her earlier singles, and its bassist for a short period in the mid-1980s, Randy Jackson , has worked with her for a long time. It was released as the album's third single in 1996 (see 1996 In Music ) in most markets outside the United States, and performed moderately. It became a top five hit in the United Kingdom and was also popular in the Philippines, where it competed directly with Carey and Boyz II Men 's " One Sweet Day " (the preceding single from ''Daydream'') and both songs topped the charts of numerous radio stations. However, it did not reach the top ten elsewhere. The single's Video , directed by Larry Jordan , is a live performance of the song by Carey at Madison Square Garden . The video for the Spanish version of the song, "El Amor Que Soñé", is also a live performance from the same night. A UK CD Single for "Open Arms" included the ''Daydream'' track "I Am Free" and live versions of " Fantasy " and " Vision Of Love " (1990). Another version of the CD single was comprised of the album cuts of " Hero " (1993) and " Without You " (1994), as well as a radio edit of " I'll Be There " (1992). CHARTS Journey version Mariah Carey version NOTES REFERENCES
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