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#4 R&B , #35 Pop
Otis created the song “Respect” as he recorded it for what was his third LP “Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul”. This was just one of the many hits on this classic 1965 set that went #1 R&B the year of release and reached #75 on the Billboard Top 200 in 1966.
This month is all about Stax — Great Wax from Stax! But Stax music, like Motown music, became a part of the music culture and I would be remiss if I did not mention, as you all know, that Aretha went on to cover this song and it would become one of her trademark cuts.
#1 R&B, #1 Pop
Turnabout is fair play and the smash “Otis Blue” set includes the cover Otis made of The Rolling Stones’ “Satisfaction,” which became one of Redding’s trademark performances as well. Check out this awesome live performance on the OSML sister blog EOINA.
You may read a bit more about Aretha’s cover version in this earlier post here at OSML and listen to Aretha”s Studio version.
Now which performer do you think rocked “Respect” the best in the Sixties? Share your thoughts in a comment below.
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Probably one of the most under-rated pop singers of my generation is Dionne Warwick.
Brought up in the gospel world in a musical extended family, Dionne formed the “Gospelaires” singing group with her sister Dee Dee and her aunt Cissy Houston ( later the mother of Whitney Houston). Dionne and her group did vocal session work in New York on weekends while she studied music on scholarship in college during the week.
The story goes that Dionne was asked to provide vocals for some demos written by the songwriting-producing team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David, while in the studio working on the backing vocal for the Drifter’s song “Mexican Divorce.”
When the composing duo pitched the demo(s) to Scepter Records, the head of the label (Florence Greenberg) liked what she heard and signed Dionne to a recording contract.
Bacharach and David wrote her first song for recording and the rest is legend!
Dionne sang her first and all subsequent Bacharach and David unusually complicated songs with ease, grace and smoothness. Her voice is just so mellow yet expressive and her singing sounds effortless. I recall playing with my Barbie doll in her black evening gown, microphone and pink scarf singing nothing but Dionne Warwick songs because even as a youngster she epitomized class to me!
Warwick charted high continuously from 1963 up until 1980 before her recording career began to slow down a bit.
This 1967 the single, “I Say A Little Prayer,” charted #8 R&B and #4 on the Billboard Top 100. The song appeared on Dionne’s LP of the same year “The Windows of the World” pictured above.
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Aretha obviously loved the song too because only a year later she put her spin on the tune and released her cover of Dionne’s hit. Naturally The Queen of Soul’s version was a hit too! Charting #3 R&B and #10 Pop in 1968. The song appeared on her 1968 certified Gold classic LP “Aretha Now” pictured above.
Over the years, Aretha’s hit cover of Marie Dionne Warwick’s original hit has become the definitive version of the song. Don’t think so? Then check this out -- my most favorite part of the movie “My Best Friend’s Wedding” is this clip: this is why I love YouTube
Of course I want to know which of these two renditions of the Bachrach/David classic YOU like best so please vote.
And here are a few more related videos to enjoy while they last on YouTube.
Dionne and Boy George “Say A Little Prayer” together live in the 80s
Aretha Says a Little Prayer live in 1970
Trivia: The Gospelaire’s are thought to have provided backing vocals for Ben E. King’s “Spanish Harlem” and “Stand By Me.”
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Another hit written and produced by Ashford and Simpson from the Marvin Gaye & Tammy Terrell LP of the same name — “You’re All I need to get By” was one of the biggest hits of Marvin & Tammi’s career as a duo. It charted #1 on the R&B charts and remained there for 5 weeks! The song charted #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 during the summer of 1968 as well. This is one of my favorites by the singing duo!
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Aretha covered the Marvin & Tammi smash hit in 1971 for her “Aretha’s Greatest Hits” LP. This cover did not earn her the Grammy, as did her second cover from the same LP did (“Ain’t Nothing Like The Real Thing” ) in 1974, but the single did chart #3 R&B and #19 Pop and remained at #19 on the British singles charts for an amazing 19 weeks!
Sometimes I wonder about the Grammy voters: personally this cover seems more Grammy worthy than “Real Thing” cover did — but that’s just my opinion.
Ashford & Simpson
One awesome song sung in two different styles! Although covered and sampled by many other artists -- these two renditions presented today are my favorites. I can’t really pick one over the other. Can you?
[Audio clip: view full post to listen] Just about every song Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell performed together was a smash hit for Motown. There is not a single song they recorded that I don’t adore. I don’t think anyone could surpass what those two put on wax together! “Ain’t Nothing Like The Real Thing,” [...]
[Audio clip: view full post to listen] But King’s labelmate, Aretha, dipped into King’s Songbook in 1970 and covered his hit and bested him by taking it all the way to the top of the the charts: her single went #1 R&B and #11 on the Billboard Top 100. This tune also earned Aretha the [...]
[Audio clip: view full post to listen] “Spanish Harlem” was the first hit in the solo career of Benjamin E. Nelson: it was also the name of his first solo LP pictured above. The fantastic Latin-flavored song (why don’t they make them like this anymore?) composed by Jerry Lieber and Phil Spector, took Nelson to [...]
The successful Sixties pop duo, Simon & Garfunkel, continued on into the Seventies with this number #1 Adult Contemporary and #1 Billboard Hot 100 song written by Paul Simon. It appeared on the duo’s last LP, of the same name, that also topped the charts at #1 Paul supposedly wrote this ballad, in the summer [...]
