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#5 R&B, #28 Pop
Earlier this summer Philadephia celebrated the 50th anniversary of the sixties dance craze “The Twist.” The Twist was a worldwide phenomenon that was danced by young, old and in between!
With that in mind there is a new month on the calendar and a new musical post theme here at OSML … “Dance To The Music” with the operative word being DANCE!
There were so many dances in the sixties and very early seventies other than the Twist, and I am not sure which came first, the dances or the songs (LOL). But we shall take a look at some of these awesome hit tunes honoring the dances of the boomer era during the month of September here at OSML.
I shall begin with another Stax artist that was beloved by one and all — Mr. Rufus Thomas.
Thomas began creating his own dances and songs in 1963 with “Walking The Dog.” He also made up dances and songs for: “The Breakdown”, “The Push & Pull”, “The Funky Penguin” and my favorite to watch performed “The Funky Chicken”.
I bet Mr. Thomas was quite a hoot in person and that his daughter Carla has super fond memories of this composer , musician, and performer that she was lucky enough to call Dad.
Prior to being the Crown Prince of Rock & Soul, Thomas was a successful Memphis DJ at one of the few black-owned stations of the era.
Here is a partial video of Thomas performing “Do The Funky Chicken” on a TV program. It is followed by a complete live performance of the song. Enjoy dancing to the music.
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#8 R&B USA, #27 Pop USA, #22 UK
Hailing from Birmingham, Alabama, singer-songwriter Frederick Knight was with a few other record labels before he came to Stax.
“I’ve Been Lonely For So Long” was his first of two hit singles while with the Stax label. Composed by Knight and Weaver, the song also appeared on Knight’s Stax Album of the same name. Released in 1973, the LP charted #58 in 1974.
TRIVIA: Frederick Knight’s “I’ve Been Lonely For So Long” LP contained a cover of “Someday We’ll Be Together,” the one and the same Johnny Bristol, Jackey Beavers and Harvey Fuqua penned song, that was the last Supremes 1969 hit recorded by Diana Ross.
After a second hit, Stax folded and Knight started his own record label Juana Records, where singer Anita Bell had a 1979 #1 Pop and R&B hit with the Knight penned song “Ring My Bell” here in the USA and across the pond in the UK.
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#10 R&B, #45 Pop, #31 UK
Composed by singer songwriter William Bell and musician Booker T. Jones, this classic soul ballad had been covered and sampled over and over again by artists from many different genres: reggae, pop, hip hop and back to soul. But of course the original is the best IMHO. And here it is for those of you who only know one of those many covers and not the classic original.
Jamaican singer George Faith remade the song in 1977 as “To Be a Lover (Have Some Mercy)”.
Here is a remake into a U.S. Top 10 pop hit by Billy Idol in 1986 as “To Be a Lover.”
The song is sampled by Ludacris on his song “Growing Pains” from “Word of Mouf” in 2001.
Last, but not least, Jaheim sings “Put That Woman First” from 2002′s “Still Ghetto” and brought the song back fill circle to it’s soulful roots.
I would love to hear what you think of all of the covers in relation to original.
Were you familiar with the original? Had you heard any or all of these hit covers?
“I Forgot To Be Your Lover” has also been covered by other artists, including but not limited to, Chuck Strong, The Mad Lads, Tommy Tate and Robert Tillman. Do you know any of those covers?
[Audio clip: view full post to listen] #16 R&B USA, #86 Pop USA, #31 U.K. When preparing for this month’s post I came across this song that I hadn’t heard in a few decades! I had digitized it a while back to my hard drive and forgot all about it since for some reason it [...]
[Audio clip: view full post to listen] Once again I had to go with another Stax classic from the “King of Soul” — “Try A Little Tenderness.” Many have covered it but no one can replicate Otis’ rendition. “Try a Little Tenderness” appeared on this last LP issued , “Live In Europe,” that Otis got [...]
[Audio clip: view full post to listen] #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 [...]
[Audio clip: view full post to listen] Joe Cocker covered a Beatles Pop tune and took it to #1 in the UK as a Blues/Rock soulful lament that is, IMHO, the definitive version of the Lennon-McCartney song! For some reason it only went to #68 Pop in the States. “With A Little Help From My [...]
