I Wanna Be With You by The Raspberries (1972)
August 1, 2026
If I asked you to name the biggest hit by “The Raspberries,” you might remember their “Great Song of ’72:” “Go All the Way,”
“I Wanna Be With You, was the follow-up to The Raspberries’ first big hit “Go All the Way,” and was either a Top 10 hit…or not…depending on which trade magazine you followed.
For several years, there were 3 competing magazines that posted charts: Billboard, Cashbox, and Record World. Each had their own way of determining chart positions, and although Billboard was the magazine of choice for most of the music industry, the other two were quite valid and influential as well. Unfortunately, they almost never agreed on anything…so for consistency, I usually quote Billboard chart positions.
In the case of “I Wanna Be With You,” however, Record World said it peaked at #7, Cashbox had it at #10, and Billboard had it down at #16.
To give you an idea on how differently each magazine looked at the song, Cashbox called it “Beatle-esque.” (which is Accurate… Billboard called it a “strong rock ballad,” with no mention of the Fab Four, (Also Accurate…and Record World said nothing, but rated it higher than the other two.
But ultimately, it didn’t really matter which magazine did or said what…”People loved I Wanna Be with You”…and made it a “”Raspberry Flavored” Great Song of 1972.”
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