Help Me Make It Through the Night
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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"Help Me Make It Through the Night" is a country music ballad composed by Kris Kristofferson and released on his 1970 album Kristofferson.
Though it was also recorded in 1971 by Elvis Presley, too recorded in 1971 by Engelbert Humperdinck - album Another time, another place (october 1971), country singer Sammi Smith's 1971 recording of the song is the most commercially successful and best known version; Smith's recording ranks among the most successful country singles of all time in terms of sales, popularity and radio airplay. Smith's recording topped the country singles charts, and was also a crossover hit, reaching #8 on the U.S. pop singles chart. Many other American singers would record the song throughout the 1970s and early 1980s: The most successful version after Smith's was recorded by Gladys Knight & the Pips in 1972.
The song was used as the score of the John Huston film Fat City, released in 1972, with Kristofferson performing the song at the beginning and end.
Johnny Cash and his wife, June Carter Cash, have also covered this song in a duet. The recording is found on the 2006 compilation Duets, released by Sony BMG. In this version, Johnny Cash inserts "June" before the line tonight I need a friend as a sign of affection for his wife.
Kristofferson's original lyrics speak of a man's yearning for sexual intimacy, yet they were controversial in 1971 because they were sung by a woman: I don't care what's right or wrong, I don't try to understand / Let the devil take tomorrow, Lord tonight I need a friend.
In 1971, Lynn Anderson performed a copy of Help Me Make it through the Night on her album: You're My Man and has released her first two albums as a compilations CD entitled Golden Classics.
Sammi Smith's recording would reach no. 1 on the U.S. country charts. On February 20, 1971, it reached no. 8 on Billboard's U.S. pop singles chart, and also enjoyed success in Canada, Great Britain, and Germany. Adult-Contemporary stations took to the song, and it peaked at #3 on Billboard's Easy Listening chart. In 1972, the Gladys Knight & the Pips' version reached #33 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #13 on the Hot Soul Singles chart.
Later in 1971, Joan Baez also recorded the song, including it on her Blessed Are... album. (In her 1987 memoir, Baez disclosed that she'd had an affair with Kristofferson around this same time.) Peggy Lee also recorded the song that year for her album Where Did They Go.
In 1974, John Holt covered the song on his album 1000 Volts of Holt. That year, his cut of "Help Me Make It Through the Night" from the album made it into the UK Top Ten.
In 1990, country novelty musician Ray Stevens produced a parody of the song, not only playing the song to a more upbeat tempo but interspersing each line with mocking jokes of those lines (i.e., the first line, "Take the ribbon from your hair," is followed by a ripping sound followed by a woman yelling).
In Austria, a well-known German language version of the song was recorded by STS. Its title in German was "Gö, du bleibst heit nocht bei mir".
