Many one-hit wonders fail to follow through with another big smash in their career for various reasons that have nothing to do with talent. Generally, circumstances have to be just right for a song to gain that kind of success.
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Anyone who heard Mel Carter belting his way through the classic 1965 single “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me” likely thought, at the time, that he was due for a massive career. Even though that song turned out to be far and away his biggest success, Carter left nothing behind in that bravura performance.
On “Hold”
The song that Mel Carter took to the stratosphere was partially well-worn by the time he reached it. A songwriter named Harry Noble wrote “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me”. Karen Chandler scored a solid hit with it in 1952.
From there, several artists took a shot at it before it made its way to Carter. Doo-wop stars Sonny Til and The Orioles recorded a version just a year after Chandler scored her hit. Connie Francis sang a version of it at the height of her popularity in 1959.
Later on down the line, Shirley Bassey and Bobby Vinton both recorded their takes on the track. Most notably, Gloria Estefan did a version that she released to great success in 1994 in overseas markets. But they all struggled to meet the standard that Mel Carter set with it.
Carter Provides the “Thrill”
Carter had been bouncing around to different labels in the late 50s and early 60s in search of his breakthrough. At one point, he was in a stable of artists overseen by Quincy Jones. Sam Cooke also signed Carter to his record company, which fell apart not long after Cooke’s death in 1964.
Finally, Carter found his way to Imperial Records. By that time, he had established a sound more along the lines of other balladeers like Johnny Mathis. It was in this vein that he delivered “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me”.
Carter enjoyed a No. 8 hit with the song in 1965, no small feat for an easy listening-style song in what was a boom time for rock and roll. Following that, even though he continued to record for many years, he never again made it higher than No. 32 on the pop charts.
Behind the Lyrics of “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me”
The song comes from the perspective of a paramour desperate to be as close as possible to his special someone. “Hold me, hold me,” Carter beckons. “And never let me go until you’ve told me, told me/What I want to know.” “Walk me down the lane where shadows will be,” he later asks.
In the final verse, he naturally moves onto his pleas for kisses. He ends each of the verses by asking, “Make me tell you I’m in love with you”. Perhaps the song’s finest line comes in the middle eight. After hearing others tell him to use his judgment in moving ahead with this romance, he rejoinders, “But they never stood in the dark with you, love.”
The performance captures all the desire and urgency that courses through the narrator. A one-hit wonder perhaps, but Mel Carter made “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me” absolutely legendary.
Photo by Michael Ochs Archive/Getty Images
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