Make no mistake: this series will continue in the future. But how could I have forgotten “This Old Heart of Mine,” by the Isley Brothers? How much sweat I exuded dancing to this one!
This 1966 hit, the Isley Brothers’ only success with Motown, was written (naturally) by Holland/Dozier/Holland, along with Sylvia Moy.
If you’re a Motown aficionado, you’ll recognize the song in the first few instrumental bars. That’s the genius of the Funk Brothers, who gave every song a unique opening imprimatur.
There’s a passable (but far inferior) cover by Rod Stewart and Ronald Isley (1989).
Thank you for that! Difficult to sit still while listening….also brings back memories!
The sweetness is palpable. Yay that this series will continue!
I remember liking that song, but never knew
the title or who did it. Yet another enjoyable entry in this series. Keep ’em coming!!!
Your week of Soul music inspired me to pull
out two of my more neglected cd’s (“The Hi Records Story” and “Top of the Stax, Vol. 2), and THAT prompted memories of even more
great Soul records, specifically ones that came out of Chicago. Since Detroit has been
well represented with Motown, how ’bout a Chicago Soul series? I’d propose (in no particular order):
Major Lance–“Um,Um,Um,Um,Um,Um”
Jerry “The Iceman” Butler (who later became an alderman!–“For You Precious Love”
The Staple Singers–“Respect Yourself”
(All of these are easily searchable on YouTube, but I won’t link, because I’m afraid I might embed them by mistake.)
That should be “For Your Precious Love” and
an end parenthesis after “alderman”.
All good choices Prof, but I was hoping to also see some Dells… maybe next time. Perhaps my all time favorite soul group: Oh what a night, Stay in my corner, There is, Higher and higher, Love is so simple, etc. etc. Any soul aficianados who are unaware of them, or have forgotten them, should look them up.
The Dells are great, but I always thought
of them as more doo-wop than soul. Doesn’t really matter though, because a lot of categories overlap and good music’s good music.
Dang–was I ever wrong on that one! Nic, I took your advice and looked up the Dells. I’d only been aware of them from the early VeeJay singles and had no idea that they had such a long career. I still like the early stuff the best, but am still impressed with the ongoing quality of their work!