"Bring It Home to Me" was written while Cooke was on tour for Henry Wynn. The song was initially offered to fellow singer Dee Clark, who turned it down. While in Atlanta, Cooke called co-producer Luigi Creatore and pitched both numbers; he was sold and booked an immediate recording session in Los Angeles scheduled for two weeks later. The session's mood "matched the title" of the song, according to biographer Peter Guralnick, as many friends had been invited. It featured background vocals by Lou Rawls, who does the call-and-response with Cooke. "It was a very happy session," recalled engineer Al Schmitt. "Everybody was just having a ball. We were getting people out there , and it retains the gospel flavor and call-and-response format; the song differs significantly in that its refrain ("Bring it to me, bring your sweet lovin', bring it on home to me") is overtly secular. The song was the first serious nod to his gospel roots (", Eddie Floyd's version went to US #17 in 1968, and Mickey Gilley had a #1 Country Hit with the song in 1976.
"Bring It Home to Me" was written while Cooke was on tour for Henry Wynn. The song was initially offered to fellow singer Dee Clark, who turned it down. While in Atlanta, Cooke called co-producer Luigi Creatore and pitched both numbers; he was sold and booked an immediate recording session in Los Angeles scheduled for two weeks later. The session's mood "matched the title" of the song, according to biographer Peter Guralnick, as many friends had been invited. It featured background vocals by Lou Rawls, who does the call-and-response with Cooke. "It was a very happy session," recalled engineer Al Schmitt. "Everybody was just having a ball. We were getting people out there [on the floor], and some of the outtakes were hilarious, there was so much ad lib that went on." René Hall assembled an eighteen-piece backing group, "composed of six violins, two violas, two cellos, and a sax, plus a seven-piece rhythm section that included two percussionists, two bassists, two guitars, and a piano."
The song is a significant reworking of Charles Brown's 1959 single ["I Want to Go Home"](https://www.hooktube.com/watch?v=KFaNWqk_tWU), and it retains the gospel flavor and call-and-response format; the song differs significantly in that its refrain ("Bring it to me, bring your sweet lovin', bring it on home to me") is overtly secular. The song was the first serious nod to his gospel roots ("[He] felt that he needed more weight, that that light shit wouldn't sustain him," said J.W. Alexander). The song was aiming for a sound similar to Cooke’s former group, the Soul Stirrers. The original, unreleased first take includes vocals from Lou Rawls, J.W. Alexander, Fred Smith (former assistant A&R rep at Keen Records), and "probably" the Sims Twins. A second, final take leaves Lou Rawls as the only echoing voice.
This has been recorded in many different styles by a variety of artists. Rawls released his own version in 1970, [The Animals made it a UK hit 1965](https://www.hooktube.com/watch?v=8fvDybUFYPc), Eddie Floyd's version went to US #17 in 1968, and Mickey Gilley had a #1 Country Hit with the song in 1976.
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