Get Here

"Get Here" is a pop ballad written by American singer and songwriter Brenda Russell. The title track of her fourth studio album Get Here (1988), it became a moderate hit on the Billboard R&B chart on the heels of the album's massive first hit, "Piano in the Dark". American vocalist Oleta Adams recorded the song in 1990, making it a major international hit that reached the top 5 in both the US and the UK.[1][2] Adams's version of "Get Here", co-produced by Roland Orzabal from the band Tears for Fears (for whom she had performed the female vocals on the hit single "Woman in Chains" a year earlier), became her signature song.

For the album, see Get Here (album).
"Get Here"
Single by Brenda Russell
from the album Get Here
B-side"Le Restaurant"
ReleasedSeptember 13, 1988
Recorded1985–87
Genre
Length4:06
LabelA&M
Songwriter(s)Brenda Russell
Producer(s)André Fischer, Brenda Russell, Peter O. Ekberg
Brenda Russell singles chronology
"Gravity"
(1988)		 "Get Here"
(1988)		 "Kiss Me with the Wind"
(1990)

Composition and first release

Brenda Russell had written the song while staying at a penthouse in Stockholm: the tune came to her as she viewed some hot air balloons floating over the city, a sight Russell recalls set her "really tripping on how many ways you can get to a person" (the eventual song's lyrics include the line: "You can make it in a big balloon but you'd better make it soon"). Although Russell did not pursue the musical ideas that came to her as her current record label saw her as a dance artist and she thought would not be interested in a song such as the one which became "Get Here", the song was still in the singer's mind when she woke up the next day: "I don't read or write music [so] it's extraordinary if a song is still in my head that I haven't jotted down or recorded. So if it's still in my head overnight, I think that’s something extra special, it's like somebody trying to tell me something."[3] Russell recorded the song as the title cut of her 1988 album from which it was issued as a single - the album's third - reaching #37 on the Billboard R&B chart.[4]

Oleta Adams version
"Get Here"
Single by Oleta Adams
from the album Circle of One
B-side"I've Got to Sing My Song"
ReleasedJanuary 1991
Recorded1990
Genre
Length4:37
LabelFontana
Songwriter(s)Brenda Russell
Producer(s)
Oleta Adams singles chronology
"Circle of One"
(1990)		 "Get Here"
(1991)		 "You've Got to Give Me Room"
(1991)
Music video
"Get Here" on YouTube

In 1990, American singer Oleta Adams released her cover of "Get Here", which was taken from her 1990 album, Circle of One. It was while Adams was visiting Stockholm, Sweden that she heard Russell's song playing in a record store and was sufficiently impressed with the song to record it for her album.[3] Adams's version of "Get Here" was issued as a single in early 1991. World events at this time gave the song a resonance as an anthem for the US troops in the Gulf War—underscored by the lyrics "You can reach me by caravan / Cross the desert like an Arab man"—which sent Adams's single into the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 in the spring of 1991.

Critical reception

"Get Here" received favorable reviews from most music critics. In his review of the Circle of One album, AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine described the song as a "gospel-tinged belter".[5] Larry Flick from Billboard stated that "delicate instrumental arrangement contrasts with Adams' powerful reading of a lovely Brenda Russell composition."[6] The Commercial Appeal picked the song as a "standout" track from the album and described it as "magnificent".[7] Karla Peterson from Copley News Service called it "warmhearted".[8] The Daily Telegraph said it is "the Single of the week, the year, the decade..."[9] Ellen Fagg from The Deseret News wrote that it's a "stunning love song-cum-transportation commercial". She noted that the lyrics "are creative and witty and plaintively passionate, a difficult triple combination to score. But the words are great because they're underlined by the rich power of Adams' big voice."[10] James Bernard from Entertainment Weekly wrote that "Get Here" is "an unrushed call to her lover" and noted that the singer's voice "can soar with intensity, hanging onto notes for dear life, or suddenly drop into hushed intimacy."[11] Los Angeles Times said it's "one of the year's most satisfying hit singles." Stephen Holden from New York Times noted it as a "ballad of separation and longing",[12] while Philadelphia Daily News noted it as "that come-home-safe song widely connected to our troops in the gulf war."[13] Caroline Sullivan from Smash Hits labeled it as a "wistful souly ballad" from the former Tears For Fears backing singer.[14] Tonya Pendleton from Vibe called it "anthemic".[15]

Chart performance

"Get Here" was a major hit in both Europe and the US, reaching the Top 5 in Ireland, the United Kingdom and the US. In the UK, the single peaked at number 4 on February 17, 1991 after 7 weeks on the UK Singles Chart. Additionally, it also reached the Top 20 in Poland and Top 30 in the Netherlands. On the Eurochart Hot 100, "Get Here" peaked at number 9 in March. Outside Europe, it went to number 27 in Canada and number 5 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

Music video

The music video for "Get Here" begins outside a red wall with a blue door and window. After a while, Adams is seen in front, before she is seen sitting and playing by a piano. As she begins to sing, she is back in front of the wall. Other scenes show the singer singing in a blue-green room with a white window. In some scenes she also stands in a corner. Later in the video, Adams is seen in front of the red wall, now apparently inside and in front of one window. The video concludes with a close-up of Adams against the blue-green wall as she sings the last lines of the song.[16] The video was uploaded to YouTube in July 2014. By August 2020, it had more than 3,5 million views.

Track listing
7" single, Europe (1990)
No.TitleLength
1."Get Here"4:34
2."I've Got To Sing My Song (Live)"4:30
12" single, UK (1990)
No.TitleLength
1."Get Here"4:36
2."I've Got To Sing My Song (Live)"4:32
3."Birdland"3:13
CD single, Europe (1990)
No.TitleLength
1."Get Here"4:36
2."I've Got To Sing My Song (Live)"4:32
3."Birdland"3:13

Charts

Release history
Country Release date
United Kingdom January 1, 1991
Canada January 1991
Sweden February 11, 1991
United States March 15, 1991

Other versions

The Beautiful South's album Gaze included a song with the same title and, partially, similar lyrics - but reversed the theme, with Paul Heaton protesting his unwillingness to travel any distance at all for his lover. (Sample lyric: "You can get here by helicopter"/"I can barely make Blackpool sands").

References
  1. "Oleta Adams - Full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  2. Peak Position noted, Billboard.com
  3. "Songfacts". Retrieved 2 February 2011.
  4. "Get Here" album, Allmusic.com
  5. "Oleta Adams - Circle of One". AllMusic. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  6. "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. 27 October 1990. p. 81. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  7. "Playbook". The Commercial Appeal. 24 August 1990. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  8. "Oleta Adams offers antidote to the blues". Oxnard Press-Courier. 22 January 1994. p. 15. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  9. "A name you will remember" (PDF). Billboard. 1991. p. 2. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  10. "Oleta Adams belts out witty, soulful, lasting music". The Deseret News. 22 June 1991. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  11. "Circle of One". Entertainment Weekly. 12 April 1991. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
  12. "Twenty-year struggle yields a hit for Adams". Lawrence Journal-World. 5 March 1991. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  13. "LOUNGE ACT TO OPENING ACT, ADAMS SHINES SUCCESSFUL LP, TOUR HAVEN'T CHANGED THIS MODEST SINGER". Philadelphia Daily News. 15 August 1991. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  14. "Review: Singles". Smash Hits. No. 316. 9 January 1991. p. 49. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  15. "Oleta Adams - Moving On". Vibe. 1 December 1995. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
  16. "Oleta Adams - Get Here (Official Video)". YouTube. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  17. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 1468." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  18. "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 1465." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  19. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 8 no. 10. March 9, 1991. p. 45. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  20. "Offiziellecharts.de – Oleta Adams – Get Here". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  21. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Get Here". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  22. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 2, 1991" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  23. "Dutchcharts.nl – Oleta Adams – Get Here" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  24. "Charts.nz – Oleta Adams – Get Here". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  25. "Notowanie nr484" (in Polish). LP3. May 31, 1991. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
  26. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  27. "Top 60 Dance Singles" (PDF). Music Week. January 12, 1991. p. xii. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  28. "Oleta Adams Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  29. "Oleta Adams Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  30. "Oleta Adams Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  31. "RPM 100 Adult Contemporary Tracks of 1991". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
  32. "1991 Top 100 Singles". Music Week. London, England: Spotlight Publications. January 11, 1992. p. 20.
  33. Nielsen Business Media, Inc (December 21, 1991). "1991 The Year in Music & Video: Top Pop Singles". Billboard. Vol. 103 no. 51. p. YE-14.
  34. http://www.masterworksbroadway.com/music/patti-lupone-live
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