During my recent travels, my son had this song on his playlist. I had forgotten about it for the longest. Treat Her Right has had a resurgence in popularity because of the movie Once Upon A Time in Hollywood. There is a groove to this that is irresistible. Tarantino, much like Scorsese, knows how to pick the right songs for the right scenes.
This song has that sixties cool that others didn’t have. It’s that R&B groove that separated it from others. I’m not a guy that dances but if I was…this would be high on my list.
The song was released in 1965 and it peaked at #2 on the Billboard 100, #8 in Canada, and #2 on the Billboard R&B Charts. Roy would have 3 more top 40 songs but none that reached the top 20 on the Billboard 100. The song was written by Roy Head and Gene Kurtz
Roy Head recorded for the small Back Beat record label. This was one of the few big hits it had. Back Beat records started in 1957 and ended in 1973 when ABC bought its parent label and discontinued Back Beat. Carl Carlington was about to release the hit Everlasting Love on the label but ABC decided just to issue it on their own label.
In 1974 Roy started to record country songs and released over 24 singles that charted in the top 100 but were not any major hits in the US. He did have two top 10 Canadian Country hits.
It’s been covered by Jimmy Page, Bruce Springsteen, Jerry Lee Lewis, Bon Jovi, Chris Farlowe (under the title “Treat Her Good”), and both Mae West and Barbara Mandrell under the title of “Treat Him Right”. Even Bob Dylan, Sammy Davis Jr., and Tom Jones had covered it live.
Head died of a heart attack on September 21, 2020, at the age of 79. His son Sundance Head has had some success in Country Music with 2 top twenty hits in 2016.
Bruce Springsteen: The song has magic in it…magic in it I tell you
Treat Her Right
I wanna tell you a story
Every man oughta know
If you want a little loving
You gotta start real slow
She’s gonna love you tonight now
If you just treat her right
Oh, squeeze her real gentle
Gotta make her feel good
Gotta tell her that you love her
Like you know you should
And if you don’t treat her right
She won’t love you tonight
Now if you practice my method
Oh, hard as you can
You’re gonna get a reputation
As a lovin’ man
And you’ll be glad every night
Now that you treated her right
Hey hey hey
Alright, hell yeah, every night, heck, alright, heck, hey, heck, heck
If you practice my method
I said as hard as you can
You’re gonna get a reputation
As a lovin’ man
And you’ll be glad every night
That you treated her right, hit me back
Hey hey hey
Alright, hell yeah, alright, heck, hey, heck, heck
…
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Your son is a chip off the old block Max. lol
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Lol… yep! those movie soundtracks are really getting these songs known.
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I never knew anything about this song. It’s timeless though. I couldn’t have even told you what decade it’s from. It’s perfect for those Once Upon a Time clips.
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These movies are exposing this music to a lot of people. I agree it’s timeless.
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Like Elvis, folks thought the man was black. I was fortunate to see him perform at Panther Hall in Fort Worth Texas around 1966. Crewcut, tight pants and a kick-ass band, the fellow was a beast using every inch of the stage as his dance floor. Also, he was a Texan and made us proud.
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I can see why they thought he was black. He had something really good going….his other stuff sounds good as well.
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Infectious groove! I didn’t recognize the title, but once I started listening to the clip, I was like, ‘yeah, of course, I know that!’ And, hey, hey, hey, all right, I definitely can imagine working it and dancing to it! 🙂 The tune has a great soul vibe that’s a perfect fit for Springsteen.
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Yea Springsteen did it well! I loved what he said about the song.
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Same as Christian said, I didn’t know the song by name or his name but I know the song; pretty catchy for sure. It sounds like one that was custom-made for Elvis…did he ever do it?
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That is a great question! I just checked and I cannot find it if he did…Tom Jones did….is that close enough? lol.
Songs like this…they had something the British Invasion couldn’t provide…I don’t know what to call it…maybe a cool factor? I can’t put my finger on it.
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Yeah, it’s got that ‘Thankyouverymuch’ sideburns, and gold and white jumpsuit Vegas comeback feel to it !
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I guess that it what I was looking for!
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I’ve seen bits and pieces of that movie. I have a lot of trouble with Tarantino films. I don’t recall this song at all but, the horns remind me of college football/basketball music, sped up. I think Ken as a Blue Devil in the house that has that same horn line sped up…or, at least, that is what it reminds me of…
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It very well could be the same or close to it. It’s a good R&B song
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There’s something about Tarantino movies (90% of them) that make me want to watch them over and over again. Once Upon A Time… is one of them. Glad Bailey is getting introduced to the old gold through cinema. I hope he plans on building soundtracks like Tarantino when he makes his movies.
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I hope so also Lisa…he has the passion for it for sure.
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