Tag Archives: Motown

♫ Neither One Of Us ♫

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, History, music

I last played this one in 2020 … it’s one of those songs that you can’t NOT love!

Released on December 26, 1972 on Motown’s Soul Records, it became one of the biggest hit singles to date for Gladys Knight and the Pips, and was also the last single the group released prior to them leaving Motown for Buddah Records in February 1973.  They had been with Motown for six-and-a-half years, but according to Ms. Knight, she and the group were regarded as a second-string act and that “Diana (Ross) & The Supremes, The Temptations and Marvin Gaye were given all the hits, while we took the leftovers”.

On March 2, 1974, at the Grammy Awards ceremony, Gladys Knight & The Pips won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group for Neither One of Us. Previously that same night, they had won their first Grammy for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group for Midnight Train to Georgia.  In 1996, the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

I did not know that Gladys Knight made her singing debut at the age of 4, and three years later, she won a $2000 first prize singing Nat “King” Cole’s Too Young on Ted Mack’s Original Amateur Hour.  Pretty impressive, eh?

Neither One Of Us (Wants To Be The First To Say Goodbye)
Gladys Knight

It’s sad to think
We’re not gonna make it
And it’s gotten to the point
Where we just can’t fake it

For some ungodly reason
Just won’t let it die
I guess neither one of us
Wants to be the first to say goodbye

I keep wondering
What I’m gonna do without you?
And I guess you must be
Wondering the same thing too

So we go on
Go on together living a lie
Because neither one of us
Wants to be the first to say goodbye

Every time I find the nerve
Every time I find the nerve to say, I’m leaving
Memories, those old memories
Get in my way

Lord knows it’s only me
Only know it’s only me that I’m deceiving
When it comes to saying goodbye
That a simple word that I just cannot say

There can be no way, there can be no way
This can have a happy ending, no, no
So we just go on hurting and pretending
And convincing ourselves to give it just one more try

Because neither one of us
Wants to be the first to say
Neither one of us
Wants to be the first to say
Neither one of us
Wants to be the first to say

Farewell my love
Goodbye

Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: James D. Weatherly
Neither One Of Us (Wants To Be The First To Say Goodbye) lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

♫ Standing In The Shadows Of Love ♫ (Redux)

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, History, music

I have several recent requests on my list, including but not limited to Barry Manilow and Joni Mitchell.  And so … {drumroll} tonight I bring you … {‘nother drumroll, please} … MOTOWN!!!  Yeah, yeah … I know … but I’m really in a mood tonight and needed me some Motown before going to bed, so … live with it!  Barry and Joni will happen soon … I promise!

The Four Tops released this song as a direct follow-up to their #1 hit Reach Out I’ll Be There and it features a similar musical arrangement. Despite the likeness to its chart-topping predecessor, the record was still a big hit, easily reaching the Top 10 in both the UK and US. Both songs were written by the Motown songwriting team of Eddie Holland, Lamont Dozier and Brian Holland (Holland-Dozier-Holland), and while the instrumentation is similar, the lyrics are very different.

This song was recorded by the Four Tops during the first ever session at Berry Gordy’s newly acquired Golden World Detroit studio, later dubbed Studio B.

The song has been covered by everybody and their brother from the Jackson 5 to Barry White to Rod Stewart to Joe Stubbs (the younger brother of The Four Tops’ lead vocalist Levi Stubbs).

Standing In The Shadows Of Love
Four Tops

Standing in the shadows of love
I’m getting ready for the heartaches to come
Can’t you see me standing in the shadows of love
I’m getting ready for the heartaches to come

I want to run but there’s nowhere to go
‘Cause heartaches will follow me, I know
Without your love, the love I need
It’s the beginning of the end for me
‘Cause you’re taking away all my reasons for livin’
When you pushed aside all the love I been givin’
Now wait a minute

Didn’t I treat you right, now baby, didn’t I?
Didn’t I do the best I could now, didn’t I?

So don’t you leave me
Standing in the shadows of love
I’m getting ready for the heartaches to come
Don’t you see me standing in the shadows of love
Trying my best to get ready for the heartaches to come

All alone
I’m destined to be, with misery my only company
It may come today, it might come tomorrow
But it’s for sure I ain’t got nothing but sorrow
Now don’t your conscience kind of bother you
How can you watch me cry after all I done for you
Hold on a minute

Gave you all the love I had now, didn’t I?
When you needed me I was always there now, wasn’t I?

I’m trying hard not to cry out loud
You know crying it ain’t gonna help me now
What did I do to cause all this grief?
Now what’d I say to make you want to leave
Now wait a minute

Gave my heart and soul to you now, didn’t I?
And didn’t I always treat you good, now didn’t I?

I’m standing in the shadows of love
I’m getting ready for the heartaches to come
Don’t you see me standing in the shadows of love
Trying my best to get ready for the heartaches to come
Oh I’m standing in the shadows of love

Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Jr. / Brian Holland / Edward Holland / Edward / Jr. Holland / Lamont Dozier / Lamont Herbert Dozier
Standing In The Shadows Of Love lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

♫ I Can’t Help Myself ♫ (Redux)

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, History, music

I last played this one in 2020, so I figured it was time to pull it out of mothballs and … play it again, Sam!!!

This song was written by the successful Motown team of Lamont Dozier, Brian Holland and Eddie Holland, who wrote most of The Supremes hits. The melody of this song is very similar to Where Did Our Love Go, which Holland-Dozier-Holland wrote for The Supremes. According to Lamont Dozier, the title came about because he couldn’t help himself from working with the same tune.

The story behind the song …

“I stayed with my grandmother when I was a kid. She owned her own home beauty shop, and when the women would come up the walkway to get their hair done, my grandfather would be pedaling around in the garden. He was a bit of a flirt, and would say, ‘How you doin’, sugar pie? Good morning, honey bunch.’ He was one of those types of guys. My grandmother had a big bay window to the front of the house. She’d say, ‘Look at that old codger – he thinks I don’t see. I know what he’s doing.’ He was just flirting with his big smile. I’m sitting there on the porch watching this – I’m probably 11 or 12. I was like a sponge, soaking it up.

Years later, at Motown, I’m sitting at the piano. I’d take these mind trips back to my childhood, and I’m trying to see what this piano part is telling me. Sure enough, there my grandfather is, pedaling in the garden. That memory comes to my mind’s eye, and I know where the song is supposed to go. I hear him saying, ‘Good morning, sugar pie. How you doin’, honey bunch?’ That’s what started it.”

This was the first US #1 (#10 in the UK) hit for The Four Tops, and it was a big one, topping the Hot 100 for two weeks and the R&B chart for an amazing nine. The group had paid their dues: they formed in 1953 and didn’t get a Motown deal until 10 years later. Their first Motown single, Baby I Need Your Loving,  did very well, but this one established them as one of the top acts in the company.

I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)
Four Tops

Sugar pie, honey bunch
You know that I love you
I can’t help myself
I love you and nobody else
In and out my life
You come and you go
Leaving just your picture behind
And I kissed it a thousand times
When you snap your finger or wink your eye
I come a-running to you
I’m tied to your apron strings
And there’s nothing that I can do
I can’t help myself
No, I can’t help myself
Sugar pie, honey bunch
I’m weaker than a man should be
I can’t help myself
I’m a fool in love, you see
Want to tell you I don’t love you
Tell you that we’re through
And I’ve tried
But ev’ry time I see your face
I get all choked up inside
When I call your name
Girl, it starts the flame
(Burning in my heart
Tearing it all apart)
No matter how I try
My love I cannot hide
‘Cause sugar pie, honey bunch
You know that I’m weak for you
I can’t help myself
I love you and nobody else
Sugar pie, honey bunch
Do anything you ask me to
I can’t help myself
I want you and nobody else
Sugar pie, honey bunch
You know that I love you
I can’t help myself
I love you and nobody else

Songwriters: Edward Jr. Holland / Lamont Dozier / Brian Holland
I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch) lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

♫ Ain’t No Sunshine ♫ (Redux)

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, History, music

I was in the mood for this tonight … dunno why, don’t care why … just wanted to hear/play it!

Bill Withers was 31 years old, working at a factory making toilet seats for 747s in 1971 when he wrote Ain’t No Sunshine. Casey Kasem reported that when the song went gold, the record company presented Withers with a golden toilet, marking the start of his new career.

Withers was inspired to write this song after watching the 1962 movie Days of Wine and Roses. He explained, in reference to the characters played by Lee Remick and Jack Lemmon, “They were both alcoholics who were alternately weak and strong. It’s like going back for seconds on rat poison. Sometimes you miss things that weren’t particularly good for you. It’s just something that crossed my mind from watching that movie, and probably something else that happened in my life that I’m not aware of.”

For the song’s third verse, Withers had intended to write more lyrics instead of repeating the phrase “I know” 26 times, but then followed the advice of Booker T. Jones, who would later become the front-man for Booker T. and the M.G.s, he left it alone.  Graham Nash and Stephen Stills, both of Crosby, Stills and Nash fame, concurred, so …

“I wasn’t going to do that, then Booker T. said, ‘No, leave it like that.’ I was going to write something there, but there was a general consensus in the studio. It was an interesting thing because I’ve got all these guys that were already established, and I was working in the factory at the time. Graham Nash was sitting right in front of me, just offering his support. Stephen Stills was playing and there was Booker T. and Al Jackson and Donald Dunn – all of the MGs except Steve Cropper. They were all these people with all this experience and all these reputations, and I was this factory worker just sort of puttering around. So when their general feeling was, ‘Leave it like that,’ I left it like that.”

Besides Michael Jackson, this has been covered by many artists in a wide range of styles. Paul McCartney, Isaac Hayes, Lionel Hampton, Prince, Sting, Kenny Rogers, Tom Jones and Lighthouse Family have all recorded it.  I cannot recall having heard any of the others, and will someday manage to check out at least the McCartney and Rogers versions, but for tonight, I am tired and longing for my bed.

I debated between playing this song or Just The Two Of Us … I love them both, but this one came to mind first, as I found myself in the kitchen, singing … “I know, I know, I know, I know …” 

Ain’t No Sunshine
Bill Withers

Ain’t no sunshine when she’s gone
It’s not warm when she’s away
Ain’t no sunshine when she’s gone
And she’s always gone too long
Anytime she goes away

Wonder this time where she’s gone
Wonder if she’s gone to stay
Ain’t no sunshine when she’s gone
And this house just ain’t no home
Anytime she goes away

And I know, I know, I know, I know,
I know, I know, I know, I know, I know
I know, I know, I know, I know, I know
I know, I know, I know, I know, I know
I know, I know, I know, I know, I know
I know, I know,
Hey, I oughtta leave young thing alone
But ain’t no sunshine when she’s gone

Ain’t no sunshine when she’s gone
Only darkness every day
Ain’t no sunshine when she’s gone
And this house just ain’t no home
Anytime she goes away
Anytime she goes away
Anytime she goes away
Anytime she goes away

Songwriters: Bill Withers
Ain’t No Sunshine – Single Version lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, BMG Rights Management

♫ You Keep Me Hangin’ On ♫

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, History, music

Tonight, having just finished writing a bit of a rant, I found myself in need of some good ol’ Motown!  Sometimes it’s the only thing that will calm an agitated mind, y’know?  I dug through my 7 pages worth of Motown posts and came up with only two that I haven’t played in the last two years … this was one of the two!  So, sit back and listen to the Supremes sing some of that awesome Holland-Dozier-Holland music!  Oh, and rawgod — I made a bit of an addition for your listening pleasure.

Holland-Dozier-Holland

Holland-Dozier-Holland

As is the case with much Motown music, this one was written by the songwriting team of Holland-Dozier-Holland who deliberately set out to write a rock song for the Supremes. Eddie Holland, Lamont Dozier and Brian Holland were a big part of the Motown Sound. They not only wrote most of the hits for The Supremes, The Four Tops, and many other acts on the label, but they also produced and arranged the sessions, giving them nearly complete control of the product.

According to Lamont Dozier …

“I’ve often broken up with a girlfriend for a week just to be able to get that real feeling of hurt so that I can write what I write from experience! I should add that I always make sure we patch up again after the week’s over. But I’m constantly working at the piano – that’s my source of release, like a tranquilizer for me.”

This was the Supremes’ eighth US #1 hit.  Although it never won a Grammy, this song (along with Where Did Our Love Go, which never won a Grammy either) was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.  The song charted at #1 in the U.S., #3 in Canada, and #8 in the UK.

Vanilla Fudge recorded a cover version that hit #6 in the US in 1968, and #18 in the UK.  I do not care for it … at all!  It almost seems like a … well, I won’t say what … I’ll be nice this time.  But, I have included it for our friend rawgod, who I remember from last time I played this song in 2019, likes it best.

You Keep Me Hangin’ On
The Supremes

Set me free why don’t cha babe
Get out my life why don’t cha babe
‘Cause you don’t really love me
You just keep me hangin’ on

Set me free why don’t cha babe
Get out my life why don’t cha babe (ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh)
‘Cause you don’t really need me
But you keep me hangin’ on

Why do you keep a comin’ around playing with my heart?
Why don’t cha get out of my life and let me make a brand new start?
Let me get over you the way you gotten over me, yeah, yeah

Set me free why don’t cha babe
Get out my life why don’t cha babe (ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh)
‘Cause you don’t really love me
You just keep me hangin’ on
No, you don’t really need me
You just keep me hangin’ on

You say although we broke up you still just wanna be friends
But how can we still be friends when seeing you only breaks my heart again
(And there ain’t nothing I can do about it)

Whoa, ooh, whoa, ooh, whoa
Whoa, ooh, whoa, ooh, whoa, whoa
Whoa, ooh, whoa, ooh, whoa, whoa
Whoa, ooh, whoa, ooh, whoa,
Yeah, yeah

Get out, get out of my life
And let me sleep at night
‘Cause you don’t really love me
You just keep me hangin’ on

You say you still care for me but your heart and soul needs to be free
And now that you’ve got your freedom you wanna still hold on to me
You don’t want me for yourself so let me find somebody else

Set me free why don’t cha babe
Get out my life why don’t cha babe (ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh)
‘Cause you don’t really love me
You just keep me hangin’ on

Why don’t cha be a man about it and set me free (ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh)
Now you don’t care a thing about me
You’re just using me, hey, abusing me

Get out, get out of my life
And let me sleep at night (ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh)
‘Cause you don’t really love me
You just keep me hangin’ on (ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh)

Songwriters: Edward Holland Jr. / Lamont Dozier / Brian Holland
You Keep Me Hangin’ On lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

♫ Never Can Say Goodbye ♫ (Redux)

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, History, music

Never Can Say Goodbye is a song written by Clifton Davis and originally recorded by The Jackson 5. The song was originally written and intended for the Supremes; however Motown decided it would be better for the Jackson 5. It was the first single released from the group’s 1971 album Maybe Tomorrow, and was one of the group’s most successful records. It has been covered numerous times, most notably in 1974 by Gloria Gaynor and in 1987 by British pop group The Communards.

The recording features 12-year-old Michael Jackson singing a serious song about a love, with accompaniment from his brothers. Although such a record was unusual for a teenage group, Never Can Say Goodbye was a number-two hit for three consecutive weeks on the Billboard Pop Singles chart, stuck behind Three Dog Night’s Joy to the World.   The Jackson Five version only reached #33 in the UK and #14 in Canada, while the Gloria Gaynor version made it to #3 in Canada and #2 in the UK.

I offer both versions for your listening pleasure …

Oh, alright … lest I be accused of being biased toward U.S. artists, here is The Communards’ version, too …

Never Can Say Goodbye
The Jackson 5/Gloria Gaynor/The Communards

I never can say goodbye, no, no, no, no, now
Never can say goodbye

Even though the pain and heartache
Seem to follow me wherever I go
Though I try and try to hide my feelings
They always seem to show,

Then you try to say you’re leaving me
And I always have to say no
Tell me why is it so

That I never can say goodbye, no, no, no, no, now
Never can say goodbye

Every time I think I’ve had enough
And start heading for the door
There’s a very strange vibration
Piercing me right through the core
It says, turn around, you fool
You know you love him more and more
Tell me why is it so

Don’t wanna let you go
I never can say goodbye girl
Ooh ooh baby (don’t wanna let you go girl)
I never can say goodbye, no no no, no no no
Ooh, oh I never can say goodbye girl
Ooh ooh ooh (don’t wanna let you go girl)
I never can say goodbye, no no no, no no no, ooh

Never can say goodbye, no, no, no, no, now
Never can say goodbye

I keep thinking that our problems
Soon are all gonna work out
But there’s that same unhappy feeling
There’s that anguish, there’s that doubt
It’s the same old dizzy hangup
Can’t do with you or without
Tell me why is it so
Don’t wanna let you go

I never can say goodbye girl
Ooh ooh baby (hey baby)
I never can say goodbye, no no no, no no no
Ooh, oh I never can say goodbye girl
Ooh oh (hey baby)
I never can say goodbye, no no no, no no no, ooh
I never can say goodbye girl
Ooh ooh baby (hey baby)
I never can say goodbye, no no no, no no no
Ooh, oh I never can say goodbye girl
Ooh oh (hey baby)

Songwriters: Clifton Davis
Never Can Say Goodbye lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

♫ Ain’t Too Proud To Beg ♫ (Redux)

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, History, music

Interestingly, the one other time I played this was on April 20, 2020 … almost three years ago to the day!  Tonight I was in the mood for me some Motown and nothing else was gonna do!  If you read my earlier rant, you’ll understand why I needed some of that Motown Magic before heading to bed!

Sometimes there is just nothing that will do but the Motown Sound.

This was written by Motown writers Norman Whitfield and Eddie Holland. Holland, who was part of the Holland/Dozier/Holland writing team, wrote the lyrics.  Smokey Robinson was The Temptations’ main writer at the time. Motown decided to release his Get Ready instead of this song, which drove Whitfield nuts. After Get Ready didn’t meet expectations, Ain’t Too Proud To Beg was released as The Temptations next single. From there, Whitfield became the regular producer of the Temptations.

Whitfield went on to write other Motown classics, including Heard It Through The Grapevine and (I Know) I’m Losing You. He became the chief songwriter for The Temptations.

Whitfield also produced this song. He had Temptations singer David Ruffin sing slightly higher than his normal range, resulting in the pained vocal that went with the lyrics. Whitfield had Marvin Gaye do the same thing on Heard It Through The Grapevine.  This was a hit for The Rolling Stones when they covered it in 1974, taking it to #17 in America. Other notable covers of this song include Phil Collins.  Who knew?  🤷‍♀️  I love Phil Collins, but this song, in my book, belongs to The Temptations.

Ain’t Too Proud to Beg
The Temptations

I know you wanna leave me,
But I refuse to let you go,
If I have to beg, plead for your sympathy,
I don’t mind ’cause you mean that much to me.

Ain’t too proud to beg and you know it,
Please don’t leave me girl,
Don’t you go,
Ain’t too proud to plead, baby, baby,
Please don’t leave me, girl,
Don’t you go.

Now I’ve heard a cryin’ man
Is half a man with no sense of pride,
But if I have to cry to keep you,
I don’t mind weepin’ if it’ll keep you by my side.

Ain’t too proud to beg and you know it,
Please don’t leave me girl,
Don’t you go,
Ain’t too proud to plead, baby, baby,
Please don’t leave me, girl,
Don’t you go.

If I have to sleep on your doorstep all night and day
Just to keep you from walking away,
Let your friends laugh, even this I can stand,
’cause I wanna keep you any way I can.

Ain’t too proud to beg and you know it,
Please don’t leave me girl,
Don’t you go,
Ain’t too proud to plead, baby, baby,
Please don’t leave me, girl,
Don’t you go.

Now I’ve got a love so deep in the pit of my heart,
And each day it grows more and more,
I’m not ashamed to call and plead to you, baby,
If pleading keeps you from walking out that door.

Ain’t too proud to beg and you know it,
Please don’t leave me girl,
Don’t you go,
Ain’t too proud to plead, baby, baby,
Please don’t leave me, girl,
Don’t you go.

Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Norman Whitfield / Edward Jr. Holland
Ain’t Too Proud to Beg lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

♫ True ♫ (Redux)

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, History, music

I know I just played this one back in August, and I know Clive didn’t much care for it (although he did have a kind word or two for it), but … last night, I was sad.  I didn’t feel well and was saddened by a number of things happening over which I have no control, both around the world and in my own life, so it was in that mode that I went searching for just the right song.  When this one popped up in my notes, I decided I’d like to hear it, and as soon as the first notes were heard, I knew I would play this one again tonight.  I offer no apologies, for it brought me at least a few inches up out of the doldrums, and for that I was grateful.  Beautiful music …

True was composed by group leader Gary Kemp, who wrote the song at his parents’ house while living there. It is a song that in part pays tribute to the Motown artist Marvin Gaye, who is mentioned in the lyrics, and the sound he helped to establish. According to Kemp …

“I think I wanted to write a song that was a bit like a Marvin Gaye, Al Green song, a blue-eyed soul song. It was at a time when it was me concentrating on melody first rather than the sort of riff and the groove. ‘True’ became a song about writing a love song. Why ‘Why do I find it hard to write the next line? I want the truth to be said?’ Because I didn’t want to write it down—because there’s nothing more embarrassing.”

The song was partly about Kemp’s platonic relationship (and unrequited love) with Altered Images singer Clare Grogan …

“I was infatuated with Clare Grogan. I met her on Top of the Pops and, at one point, travelled up to Scotland to have tea with her and her mum and dad. Although my feelings were unrequited and the relationship was platonic, it was enough to trigger a song.”

Some phrases in the lyrics were adapted from the novel Lolita, a copy of which Clare Grogan had given Gary Kemp.

“The lyrics are full of coded messages to Clare.  I’m still berated for the line ‘Take your seaside arms’ but it’s straight out of Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov, which she had given me as a present – although in the book, it’s ‘seaside limbs.’ The line ‘With a thrill in my head and a pill on my tongue’ is also a bastardisation of Nabokov.”

Kemp did an interview with The Guardian back in 2014 that you might find interesting:  Spandau Ballet: We wanted to design the next decade’s pop culture

Released in 1983, this is the only song by the British group to make the top ten in the U.S.  It hit #1 in Canada, Ireland and the UK, and #4 in the U.S.

True
Spandau Ballet

So true, funny how it seems
Always in time, but never in line for dreams
Head over heels when toe to toe
This is the sound of my soul
This is the sound

I bought a ticket to the world
But now I’ve come back again
Why do I find it hard to write the next line?
I want the truth to be said

I, I-I-I, I
I know this much is true
I, I-I-I, I
I know this much is true

With a thrill in my head and a pill on my tongue
Dissolve the nerves that have just begun
Listening to Marvin (all night long)
This is the sound of my soul
This is the sound

Always slipping from my hands
Sand’s a time of its own
Take your seaside arms and write the next line
I want the truth to be known

I, I-I-I, I
I know this much is true
I, I-I-I, I
Ooh, I know this much is true, I know this much is true

I bought a ticket to the world
But now I’ve come back again
Why do I find it hard to write the next line?
I want the truth to be, I want the truth to be said

I, I-I-I, I
I know this much is true
I, I-I-I, I
Ooh, I know this much is true, I know this much is true

This much is true

This much is true
This much is true
This much is true
This much is true
This much is true
This much is true

I, I-I-I, I, I
Know this much is true
I, I-I-I, I, I
Know this much is true
This much is true
This much is true
I know, I know, I know this much is true

This much is true
This much is true
This much is true (I, I-I-I, I, I)
This much is true
I know this much is true

This much is true (I, I-I-I, I, I)
This much is true
Know this much is true
This much is true (I, I-I-I, I, I)
This much is true
Know this much is true
I know, I know, I know this much is true

This much is true (I, I-I-I, I, I)
This much is true
I know this much is true
This much is true

Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Gary Kemp
True lyrics © Reformation Publishing Co Ltd

♫ How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) ♫

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, History, music

I last played this one in December 2020, and when I did, both Clive and David noted the version by Junior Walker and the All Stars … a version I was unfamiliar with, but when I listened to it, found it to be pretty darned good!  So, this time I am offering both the Marvin Gaye version and Junior Walker & the All Stars!  I hope you find one … or both … to your liking!

As is the case with so many great Motown tunes, this one was written by the songwriting team of Holland-Dozier-Holland.  It was inspired by the trademark line of Jackie Gleason, “How sweet it is!” as it was said on The Jackie Gleason Show. Gleason was one of the biggest TV stars of the time.

Lamont Dozier said the lyric was “wishful thinking.” He was …

“… sitting at the piano, fantasizing about how good it would be if the woman I had eyes for was madly in love with me. But the truth is she never gave me a second look. So I created this fantasy world where I was the object of all her affections, a bit of fiction that eventually came true due to my persistence and showering her with affection.”

This was the second of Gaye’s 13 Top-10 hits. His first was 1963’s Pride and Joy, which peaked at #10.  How Sweet It Is reached #6 in the U.S., but only #49 in the UK, and did not chart in Canada.

Eddie Holland came up with the title and hook for this song. The rest of it took a while to put together, and by the time Gaye recorded it, he had to read from lyric sheets because he had not had time to memorize them.  In 2001, ESPN took some heat in the press when they used this song as background music in a Father’s Day tribute featuring athletes and their fathers or kids. Gaye had been shot by his father in 1984.

James Taylor released his version of How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You) as the lead single from his album Gorilla (1975). Taylor’s 1975 single has been the most successful remake of the song to date, hitting number one on the Easy Listening chart and number five on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.  Now, while I am a huge fan of James Taylor, sorry but this song belongs to Marvin Gaye in my book.

How Sweet It Is
Marvin Gaye

How sweet it is to be loved by you
How sweet it is to be loved by you

I needed the shelter of someone’s arms
There you were
I needed someone to understand my ups and downs
There you were
With sweet love and devotion
Deeply touching my emotion
I want to stop and thank you, baby
I wanna stop and thank you, baby
Yes, I do

How sweet it is to be loved by you
Feels so fine
How sweet it is to be loved by you

I close my eyes at night
Wondering where would I be without you in my life
Everything I did was just a bore
Everywhere I went, seems I’d been there before
But you brighten up for me all of my days
With a love so sweet, so many ways
I wanna stop, thank you, baby
I just wanna stop and thank you, baby
Whoa, yes

How sweet it is to be loved by you
It’s just like sugar sometimes
How sweet it is to be loved by you
Whoa, yeah

You were better to me than I was to myself
For me, there’s you and there ain’t nobody else
I wanna stop and thank you, baby
I just wanna stop and thank you, baby
Oh yes

How sweet it is to be loved by you
How sweet it is to be loved by you
Oh now, how sweet it is to be loved by you
It’s like jelly baby
Oh, yeah
How sweet it is to be loved by you
Just like honey to the bees, baby
Yeah, now

How sweet it is to be loved by you
How sweet it is to be loved by you

Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Joey Cooper / Harry Tobias

♫ My Cherie Amour ♫ (Redux)

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, History, music

When I’m a bit ‘under the weather’, there is one musician who can always make me feel better, even if only for a few minutes.  Those of you who have followed my music posts for a while know that one person is none other than Stevie Wonder!!!

The title is French for “My Dearest Love.”  Stevie wrote this song in 1967 when he was a student at Michigan School for the Blind, recording a rough version and putting into his trusty “tape box,” where he kept his song ideas. He wrote the song for his girlfriend at the time, Marcia, and the song was originally titled “Oh My Marcia.”

By the time he recorded the song, Marcia was out of the picture, so Wonder changed the title to My Cherie Amour.  Motown songwriter/producers Henry Cosby and Sylvia Moy wrote this with Wonder, who was 19 at the time. Wonder was recording at age 12, and was writing songs in his teenage years. On his later hits, Wonder did almost all of the writing and production himself, but early on, he had a lot of help from the Motown staff.

My Cherie Amour
Stevie Wonder

La la la la la la
La la la la la la

My Cherie Amour, lovely as a summer’s day
My Cherie Amour, distant as the Milky Way
My Cherie Amour, pretty little one that I adore
You’re the only girl my heart beats for
How I wish that you were mine

In a cafe or sometimes on a crowded street
I’ve been near you, but you never notice me
My Cherie Amour, won’t you tell me how could you ignore
That behind that little smile I wore
How I wish that you were mine

Maybe someday you’ll see my face among the crowd
Maybe someday I’ll share your little distant cloud
Oh, Cherie Amour, pretty little one that I adore
You’re the only girl my heart beats for
How I wish that you were mine

La la la la la la
La la la la la la

Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Wonder Stevie / Cosby Henry / Moy Sylvia Rose
My Cherie Amour lyrics © Black Bull Music, Stone Agate Music, Sawandi Music, Johanan Vigoda Admin. Acct. Stevie Wonder Catalogue, Jobete Music Co Inc, Stone Agate Music Corp, Black Bull Music Inc, Jobete Music Co., Inc.