"Baby Come Back" is a song by 1970s group Player from their
self-titled second album of the same name. The song was their
biggest single, hitting number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and
number 10 on the soul charts, in 1978. It was the breakthrough
single for the band, gaining them mainstream success, and the
only number-one hit of their career.
The song, whose key and structure are reminiscent of Hall
& Oates' "She's Gone", is notable for its infectious riffs,
and its memorable hook of "baby come back" during the chorus.
The bass player is Ronn Moss, who has been appearing since 1987
on the daytime soap
The Bold and the Beautiful(as Ridge Forrester).
The song was used for humor in the episode "Homer Alone" of
The Simpsons. When Homer calls the lost baby hotline to
report that Maggie is missing, he gets put on hold to the tune
of "Baby Come Back".
The song also appeared in the episode "Church Hopping" of
King of the Hill. When Hank decides to try Lucky's
method of worshipping, they both get drunk at a bar and begin
singing the tune, which plays on the jukebox.
In the early 1990s, the now-defunct Chemical Bank used the
song in a commercial.
In 1999, "Baby Come Back" was featured in the little known
Charlie Sheen and Christopher McDonald movie titled "Five
Aces". Chris Martin (played by Charlie Sheen) announces to his
four best friends that he is engaged to be married and one
evening in the bar the "Five Aces" (played by Sheen and his
friends) sing the song during Karaoke.
The song was also in the 2005 movie
Roll Bounce, starring Bow Wow, Chi McBride, Jurnee
Smollett, Mike Epps, Wesley Jonathan, Meagan Good, and Nick
Cannon.
In the 2006 romantic comedy
Date Movie, the song was used by Grant after Julia had
caught him kissing his ex-fiance. The song is also featured in
the film
A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints(2006).
In 2006, the song's hook was sampled by Vanessa Hudgens in
her single "Come Back to Me".
In 2007, the song was used in the film
Transformers, in a scene where Bumblebee purposely
stalled to a nice romantic location so that the protagonist of
the movie, Sam Witwicky (played by Shia LaBeouf), could have
some time with his crush, Mikaela Banes (played by Megan Fox).
When Mikaela was about to leave, Bumblebee eventually restarted
and played this song.
In the TV series,
Total Drama Island, Geoff sings the song with altered
lyrics.
In 2008 and 2009, the song was used in ad campaigns for
Swiffer's line of cleaning products.
In 2008, the song was sampled on Lil Rob's single "Let Me
Come Back".
The season finale of
The Gameis titled "Baby Come Back" where Melanie
confesses her love for Derwin on May 18, 2008.