Put Your Hand in the Hand

"Put Your Hand in the Hand" is a gospel pop song composed by Gene MacLellan and first recorded by Canadian singer Anne Murray from her third studio album Honey, Wheat and Laughter.

"Put Your Hand in the Hand"
Single by Ocean
from the album Put Your Hand in the Hand
B-side"Tear Down the Fences"
ReleasedFebruary 1971[1]
Recorded1970
GenrePop, gospel
Length2:52 – Single Edit
3:53 – Album Cut
LabelKama Sutra
Songwriter(s)Gene MacLellan
Producer(s)Greg Brown, Ocean
Ocean singles chronology
"Put Your Hand in the Hand"
(1971)		 "Deep Enough for Me"
(1970)
Audio
"Put Your Hand in the Hand" (single edit) on YouTube

It became a hit single for the Canadian band Ocean, released as the title track to their debut album. The single peaked at No. 2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, kept from No. 1 by "Joy to the World" by Three Dog Night.[2] The song also reached No. 4 on the Adult Contemporary chart.[3] The single version omitted the instrumental, that occurs between the second chorus and the second verse, as well as the repeat of the chorus and the final instrumentalist chorus, that ends without the fade. It went on to become 22nd best-seller of 1971.

After MacLellan's suicide in 1995, his friend and fellow Atlantic Canadian musician Ron Hynes wrote the song "Godspeed" as a tribute, the lyrics for which reference the title of this song.[4]

The song was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2006.[5]

Track listing

7" single

A1 "Put Your Hand in the Hand" – 2:52
A2 "Tear Down the Fences" – 2:53

Chart history

Weekly charts
Ocean

Cover versions

The song was covered in the 1970s by a number of other performers, including Elvis Presley (who also covered MacLellan's "Snowbird"), Randy Stonehill, Frankie Laine, Donny Hathaway, Joan Baez, Dutch group Himalaya, the Les Humphries Singers, a German-language version ("Ich fand eine Hand") [I Found a Hand] by Cindy & Bert, a French-language version ("Prends ma main") by Canadian singer Renée Martel, and recorded by Bing Crosby for his 1972 album Bing 'n' Basie. It was also covered, and often sung in concert, by Anita Bryant.

Evangelist Garner Ted Armstrong rendered his take on the song in a January 1976 episode of Hee Haw. Country acts Sandy Posey, Lynn Anderson, Loretta Lynn, and The Oak Ridge Boys also recorded the song.

South African singer Ray Dylan recorded it on his 2009 album Goeie Ou Country - Op Aanvraag.[18]

Later uses
  • In a 1991 episode of the sitcom Family Matters titled "Choir Trouble", the cast was singing the song in their church as part of their Gospel Fest.
  • In the 2013 film Prisoners.
  • In a 2017 episode of US television series Last Man Standing titled “Take Me to Church”

References
  1. http://www.45cat.com/record/ka519
  2. https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/1971-05-01
  3. Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 178.
  4. "Godspeed (Ron Hynes) tabs, videos". Wtv-zone.com. Retrieved 2016-10-05.
  5. "Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame: Put Your Hand in the Hand". Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  6. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970-1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  7. Flavour of New Zealand, 19 July 1971
  8. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  9. Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 178.
  10. Cash Box Top 100 Singles, May 8, 1971
  11. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970-1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  12. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". collectionscanada.gc.ca.
  13. Musicoutfitters.com
  14. Billboard, December 25, 1971.
  15. Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 25, 1971
  16. "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  17. "Top 20 Hit Singles of 1971". Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  18. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-06-06. Retrieved 2014-03-28.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)


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