60's soul.

1/12/17: The music of my week (60’s soul special)

With the turn of another month, I bring along the good news of another music round-up post. As promised, I shall be presenting a bunch of wonderful 60’s soul tracks I’ve found and been listening to (on repeat)…

“I Second That Emotion” by Smokey Robinson & The Miracles

“Maybe you’ll wanna give me kisses sweet
But only for one night with no repeat.
And maybe you’ll go away and never call,
And a taste of honey is worse that none at all.”

This 1967 hit by Smokey Robinson & The Miracles was inspired by a shopping mishap in Detroit. One day, Robinson was shopping for pearls for his wife with Al Cleveland, who said “I second that emotion” instead of “I second that motion” upon Smokey finding the pearls. After laughing at Al’s mistake, the two were inspired to write a song with the former as the title. With regards to the song, it is upbeat and Smokey’s voice is just delightful! The horns in the track is also really cool. There is also a later duet cover by Diana Ross & The Supremes and The Temptations, which you can check out here. There is also a bizarre cover by the synthpop band, Japan! Check out a short performance of “I Second That Emotion” by Smokey Robinson and The Miracles below. Cue the iconic look of everyone in the band wearing the same outfit and showing some groovy dance moves!

“L-O-V-E” by Nat King Cole

“Love is all that I can give to you
Love is more than just a game for two
Two in love can make it
Take my heart and please don’t break it
Love was made for me and you”

It’s December, so what better time to include Nat King Cole on the music round-up! This jazz classic is unbelievably sweet and simple. Its delicate nature really makes for wonderful and easy listening. A song that would be perfect for a cold evening in by the fire! For its international versions, Nat King Cole recorded “L-O-V-E” in Japanese, Italian, German, French and Spanish. Check out the song here.

“This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak For You)” by The Isley Brothers

“The way you treat me, leaves me incomplete
I’m here for the day, gone for a week
But if you leave me a hundred times
A hundred times I want you back.”

This heartfelt track by The Isley Brothers is the perfect soppy love song. It is both happy, dance-worthy and romantic. Another track by The Isley Brothers, “Footsteps in the Dark”,  is particularly cool due to it being sampled for Ice Cube’s “It Was a Good Day” – to be fair, it is the most iconic part of that track too! Check out the wonderful “This Old Heart of Mine” here.  Yes, I would recommend checking out more of the discography of The Isley Brothers. 😉 There is even a 1989 duet of the song between Ronald Isley and Rod Stewart! Oh the things you find on an eventual rainy evening…

“Bring It On Home to Me” by Sam Cooke

“I know I laughed when you left
But now I know I only hurt myself
Oh, oh, bring it to me
Bring your sweet loving
Bring it on home to me.”

For those who have seen Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2, this was the song played during the iconic slow dance scene between Peter Quill (aka Star-Lord) and Gamora. Also, it is a pretty good time to say that the soundtracks to both Guardians films are just amazing! Anyway, Sam Cooke is an absolute legend! He is known as the King of Soul and influenced many soul artists such as Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin and Marvin Gaye. His music is beautiful, and “Cupid” is another legendary Sam Cooke track – which is also my favourite of his. “Bring It On Home to Me” on the other hand is considered as one of the songs which shaped Rock ‘n’ Roll.

“Soul Man” by Sam & Dave

“Coming to you on a dusty road
Good loving, I got a truck load
And when you get it, you got something
So don’t worry, ’cause I’m coming!”

“Soul Man” is a great spirit-inducing song! It is the kind of song that you would have heard, but probably by other singers in covers. One would think of the performance by The Blues Brothers on SNL (cue remembrance of the 1980 film), or as I remember from my teenage years, the comical performance of the song by Drake Bell and Josh Peck in Drake & Josh! Seriously though, the SNL performance is very entertaining! The inspiration for the song came from the 1960’s Civil Rights Movement, where ‘soul’ would be written on houses as an expression of pride outside homes and businesses that were destroyed in riots. Hence, the horns aren’t the only iconic thing about the song. You know, da dada da dada da I’M A SOUL MAANNN daa daa daaa da da… (okay I’ll stop).

“Will You Love Me Tomorrow” by The Shirelles

“Tonight with words unspoken
You say that I’m the only one
But will my heart be broken
When the night meets the morning sun.”

Presenting my favourite track from the collection today, “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” is a heartfelt track on the uncertainty of love. In fact, this 1960 track is the first track by a black girl group to reach number 1 in the US. The Shirelles are considered as an integral band for helping to kick-start the girl-group movement in music. With such lovely songs as this, you start to understand why. The beautiful voice of Shirley Owens really shines through!

“Tonight the light of love is in your eyes
But will you love me tomorrow?”

Hope you enjoyed this week’s selection of 60’s soul! If you want to check out last week’s selection of music, click here.

Until next week,

From Sophia with Love x

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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One thought on “1/12/17: The music of my week (60’s soul special)

  1. 8/12/17: The music of my week - From Sophia with Love

    […] That’s it for this week! For last week’s post, click here. […]

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