Last night, I said I was having a hard time finding a song I hadn’t already played, and as he sometimes does, our friend David came to the rescue with a few suggestions. One of the suggestions was To Love Somebody by Michael Bolton. I well remembered the song, but when I listened, it didn’t sound quite like I remembered it. Still, I recognized it and it was one I’ve always liked, so I turned to my favourite resource for music trivia, SongFacts, and they had the song, but … by the Bee Gees, not Michael Bolton. When I listened to the Bee Gees version, it was the one I remembered most.
So, I will offer both tonight, but first a bit of background …
Legend has it that this song was written for Otis Redding, who died before he had the chance to record it. While this is a chance Redding would have recorded the song, that’s not who the Bee Gees had in mind when they recorded it. Barry and Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees wrote the song for their manager, Australian-born impresario and entertainment entrepreneur Robert Stigwood, who was an influential part of London’s gay showbiz establishment. According to Barry Gibb …
“It was for Robert. I say that unabashedly. He asked me to write a song for him, personally. It was written in New York and played to Otis but, personally, it was for Robert. He meant a great deal to me. I don’t think it was a homosexual affection but a tremendous admiration for this man’s abilities and gifts.”
The Animals, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Nina Simone (who had a big hit with it in the UK), Janis Joplin, Michael Bolton, Roberta Flack, Rod Stewart, Michael Bublé, and Tom Jones, among others, have recorded this song. Wait … “The Flying Burrito Brothers”??? There’s really such a group? Ay ay ay!
The Bee Gees version charted at #17 in the U.S., #9 in Canada, and #41 in the UK, and Michael Bolton’s version at #11 in the U.S., #2 in Canada, and #16 in the UK.
To Love Somebody
Michael Bolton/Bee Gees
There’s a light
A certain kind of light
That never shone on me
I want my life to be lived with you
Lived with you
There’s a way everybody say
To do each and every little thing
But what does it bring
If I ain’t got you, ain’t got?
You don’t know what it’s like, baby
You don’t know what it’s like
To love somebody
To love somebody
The way I love you
In my brain
I see your face again
I know my frame of mind
You ain’t got to be so blind
And I’m blind, so, so, so blind
I’m a man
Can’t you see what I am?
I live and I breathe for you
But what good does it do
If I ain’t got you, ain’t got?
You don’t know what it’s like, baby
You don’t know what it’s like
To love somebody
To love somebody
The way I love you
You don’t know what it’s like, baby
You don’t know what it’s like
To love somebody
To love somebody
The way I love you
You don’t know what it’s like, baby
You don’t know what it’s like
To love somebody
Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Robin Hugh Gibb / Barry Alan Gibb
To Love Somebody lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group