"Take" That! Top Ten: Take a Letter, Maria (#9)

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Here's another song from my current series of "take" songs, or songs that have "take" or a variation in the title. I hope you enjoy it. Take, for instance, this next song on the list! #9: Take a Letter, Maria - R.B. Greaves Ronald Bertram Greaves' big hit. He wrote this and took it to #2 on the Billboard pop charts in 1969. And, here's some real trivia for you: remember that 1983 Naked Eyes song, "Always Something There to Remind Me"? R.B. Greaves' follow-up to "Take a Letter, Maria" was that song, in 1970! (And, no, he wasn't the first person to do that song, either.) Greaves, who died in 2012, had a really smooth, clear R&B voice, perfect for the late 60s and early 70s. And you have to hand it to him as a songwriter: this song is so cleverly written that you really don't know if he was having an affair with his secretary (which prompted the wife to find solace "in the arms of another man")! The clues are everywhere, though: "was I wrong to work nights?," "you've been many things, but most of all a good secretary to me," and "it just so happens I'm free tonight, would you like to have dinner with me?" are, to me, come-on lines (as in "let's date," not "come on, are you serious?"). You may never have looked at this song that way. Whatever way you do look at it, I hope you look at it as a great classic from the late 60s. Take a Letter, Maria Written by R.B. Greaves Recorded by R.B. Greaves From R.B. Greaves, 1969 There was a woman I thought I knew: