Now that i've backtracked and covered the six or seven songs I missed, I guess i'll post the next song that came after Aretha Franklin's "Share Your Love With Me", and that song is: Oh, What A Night - The Dells Man did they rework this! They updated it and gave it a fresh new modern sound and production. And, it's burning with soul! Gotta love that soulful ad-lib near the end "I wanna make love to you woman!" augmented with blaring staccato horns. Makes you wanna groove all night! They had a few more hits in the 70s, but none of them ever attained the popularity of this, and "Stay In My Corner" did. Again, this song represented another sign of the 70s.
And frankly, I always preferred this updated version to their 1956 original. The combo of producer Bobby Miller and arranger Charles Stepney, together with the backing musicians, were working on all cylinders with this one. I might add that while Ter-Mar Studios (named after two sons of one of the Chess brothers) cut all lacquers for this one, Columbia's pressings added on their own custom numbers:
I can take or leave this one. Fact is, if I'm gonna listen to a Dells record it's gonna be this one even if it shares a sameness to the Delfonic's sublime When You Get Right Down To It from a year earlier.
I've never seen a copy of The Dells' "There Is" with those fonts, otherwise I'd have long ago had that too. But CP's of some Chess, Cadet and even Checker 45's exist, it's where to look.
Later covered by Jerry Butler and Brenda Lee Eager (which - and whom - we may or may not get to as this goes along). Got the 45 of their version.
Sadly, there will be no official discussion of that duo for the purposes of this thread but don't let that stop you!
I'll throw the next one out there: I Can't Get Next To You - The Temptations Sure, it's great! They lyrics are sly, and I like it, but everybody acts like it's the best thing since sliced bread, and, i'm also sick of hearing it. In a way, this song as a sort of a comeback for the group after a string of love ballads, standards, and a buncha slow duets with Diana Ross & The Supremes that got old fast. This song sparked a new run of hits for them, so it did the trick.
Yeah, this one woke me up after a couple of snooze filled years but alas, I fell asleep again for another year or so.
It also returned them to #1 on the pop Hot 100. In fact, there they preceded Elvis' last-ever chart-topper, "Suspicious Minds."
#1 from October 4th - November 1st, 1969. Another great Temps hit, which also scaled to the top of the pop charts and was the #3 single of the year I believe.
Wonder who handled the "I can make the seasons change/Just by the wave of my hand" section - certainly that vocal differs in its timbre from Messrs. Kendricks, P. Williams, Edwards and Franklin.
Yeah, I'm wondering. I would've thought, but for the inflections, it would've been Otis Williams' only solo on the record . . .
Next: Baby, I'm For Real - The Originals The originals were Marvin Gaye's production project. They use his exact vocal phrasings and inflictions. he must have instructed them to do it that way. This song does absolutely nothing for me whatsoever, but it is a big hit on the east L.A. soul circuit, which, BTW, was a musical movement that started in the late 60s. The songs I like by The Originals would come a few months later.
First-pressings of the 45 credited Richard Morris as producer. But Marvin's work behind the scenes was one of those "triggers" that prefigured his own push for his artistic independence. I've certainly sworn by this, for sure . . .
"to the old an to the new" this works both sides pretty effectively but I still prefer the original, on the other hand I do prefer the elongated remake of "Stay In My Corner" ti its original...so?
Anyone else notice (or care?) that "I Can't Get Next to You" is basically the same story as the old standard "I Can't Get Started" - I can do x and I can do y, but I just can't do u?!
