Today’s classic song of the day was a one-hit wonder for singer Robin McNamara in 1970. The song is “Lay a Little Lovin’ On Me” and it went all the way to #11 on the Billboard Hot 100.
“Lay a Little Lovin’ On Me” was a piece of pop perfection written by old pro Jeff Barry, producer Jim Cretecos, and Robin McNamara himself. Barry, of course, was the songwriter (or co-songwriter) behind such hits as the Ronette’s “Be My Baby” and “Baby, I Love You,” Darlene Love’s “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home),” the Dixie Cups’ “Chapel of Love” and “People Say,” Leslie Gore’s “Look of Love,” Ike and Tina Turner’s “River Deep, Mountain High,” the Archies’ “Sugar, Sugar” and “Jingle Jangle,” and Bobby Bloom’s “Montego Bay.” Cretecos was a producer who wrangled songwriting credit on a few tunes, including this one and the Partridge Family’s “Doesn’t Somebody Want to Be Wanted” and “I Can Feel Your Heartbeat.”
Robin McNamara was a singer who made his name in the Broadway production of Hair, where he played the lead role of “Claude” from 1969 to 1971. That led to him getting a recording contract and releasing the single “Lay a Little Lovin’ On Me.” He released one other single (“Got to Believe in Love”) that barely broke into the Hot 100, but nothing else after that, save from performing from time to time on the oldies circuit. He passed away in 2021, age 74.
Today’s daily bonus video of the day, then, is Robin McNamara lip synching “Lay a Little Lovin’ On Me” on some television show in 1970. Honey doggone, he depends upon it…
