Hold On!

1966 soundtrack album by Herman`s Hermits

Hold On! by Herman`s Hermits is the band`s fourth album in the U.S. It was not released in the United Kingdom but an EP was released by EMI/Columbia (catalogue number SEG 8503.) featuring 6 tracks.

It is the soundtrack album to a 1966 film featuring Herman`s Hermits and Shelley Fabares, Hold On![2]

Background

The film`s producers had recruited Fred Karger, a Hollywood composer who had served as music director of the group`s previous movie, When the Boys Meet the Girls, to write the songs for the movie. In an interview on a television documentary on The British Invasion, Peter Noone recalled that the original title of the film was There`s No Place Like Space, for which Karger had written the theme song. However, the group and their manager Mickie Most agreed that the song wasn`t right for them and, instead, asked co-star Shelley Fabares` then-husband, record producer Lou Adler, for help. Adler recommended songwriter P.F. Sloan to compose the title track for the film. Sloan`s recollection was that the film was to be renamed A Must to Avoid, and he wrote a song for that title, with some contributions from his writing partner Steve Barri.[3] When the studio vetoed that title, the film was then retitled Hold On! after another one of Sloan`s songs.

Ultimately, the ten-song US soundtrack album included five songs written by Karger, including the lone song sung by Fabares, four songs written by Sloan/Barri, and one Hermits cover of a 1937 British music hall song. The six-song UK EP used all four Sloan/Barri songs and just two of the Karger songs.

"A Must to Avoid" and a re-recorded version of "Leaning on a Lamp Post" both reached the Billboard Top 10 as singles in the US; a re-recorded "Hold On!" was the B-side of the latter. "A Must to Avoid" was also a top 10 hit in the UK.

Track listing

US LP version

Side 1

1. "Hold On!" (Steve Barri, P.F. Sloan) – 2:06
2. "The George and Dragon" (Fred Karger, Sid Wayne, Ben Weisman) – 2:09
3. "Got a Feeling" (Karger, Wayne, Weisman) – 2:08
4. "Wild Love" (Karger, Wayne, Weisman) – 2:24
5. "Leaning on a Lamp Post" (Noel Gay) – 2:34

Side 2

1. "Where Were You When I Needed You?" (Barri, Sloan) – 2:48
2. "All the Things I Do for You Baby" (Barri, Sloan) – 2:18
3. "Gotta Get Away" (Karger, Wayne, Weisman) – 1:55
4. "Make Me Happy" (Karger, Wayne, Weisman) (Sung by Shelley Fabares) – 2:14
5. "A Must to Avoid" (Barri, Sloan) – 2:18

UK EP version

Side 1

1. "Where Were You When I Needed You?"
2. "Hold On!"
3. "The George and Dragon"

Side 2

1. "All the Things I Do for You Baby"
2. "Wild Love"
3. "A Must to Avoid"