Sam and Dave – PowerPop… An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture

Aretha Franklin – Respect

Otis Redding (the writer of the song): “This girl has taken that song from me. Ain’t no longer my song. From now on, it belongs to her.”

Aretha Franklin and Janis Joplin are my two top female singers of all time. When they are singing a song…there is no question about who it is.

Otis Redding wrote this and originally recorded it in 1965, with his version peaking at #35 on the Billboard 100 and #5 on the R&B Charts.

It was Aretha’s idea to cover this song. She came up with the arrangement, added the “sock it to me” lines, and played piano on the track. Her sister Carolyn, who sang backup on the album, also helped work up the song. It was different than Redding’s version. His version consisted of only verses. Aretha borrowed King Curtis’s sax solo from Sam and Dave’s When Something is Wrong With My Baby and used that for the bridge.

Franklin’s version is certainly the best-known version but the song was important in Otis’s career also. It helped establish Redding on mainstream radio. Otis also performed the song at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967…this was a defining performance for the singer, who died in a plane crash six months later.

Aretha recorded this in New York City with the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section. This was one of their first and most famous recordings. They went on to work with Wilson Pickett, Paul Simon, Bob Seger, and The Staple Singers. It was produced by the legendary producer Jerry Wexler and engineered by Tom Dowd.

Another fun fact…the “ree, ree, ree, ree…” refrain is a nod to Franklin’s nickname, Ree (as in A-Ree-tha). The song peaked at #1 on the Billboard 100, #3 in Canada, and #10 in the UK in 1967.

Respect earned Franklin two Grammy Awards in 1968 for Best Rhythm & Blues Recording and Best Rhythm & Blues Solo Vocal Performance, Female. Franklin’s “Respect” was also inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1987. In 2002, the Library of Congress added Franklin’s version of the song to the National Recording Registry.

Tom Dowd: “I walked out into the studio and said, ‘What’s the next song?’ Aretha starts singing it to me, I said, ‘I know that song, I made it with Otis Redding like three years ago.’ The first time I recorded ‘Respect,’ was on the Otis Blue album, and she picked up on it. She and Carolyn were the ones who conceived of it coming from the woman’s point of view instead of the man’s point of view, and when it came to the middle, Carolyn said, ‘Take care, TCB.’ Aretha jumped on it and that was how we did ‘Respect.'”

Otis Redding: “That’s one of my favorite songs because it has a better groove than any of my records. It says something, too: ‘What you want, baby, you got it; what you need, baby, you got it; all I’m asking for is a little respect when I come home.’ The song lines are great. The band track is beautiful. It took me a whole day to write it and about twenty minutes to arrange it. We cut it once and that was it. Everybody wants respect, you know.”

Aretha Franklin: “Everyone wants to be respected.”

Respect

What you want (ho) baby I got it
What you need (ho) you know I got it
(Ho) all I’m asking (ho) is for a little respect
When you come home (just a little bit)
Hey baby (just little bit)
When you get home (just a little Bit) mister (just a little bit)

I ain’t gonna do you wrong while you’re gone
I ain’t gonna do you wrong ’cause I don’t wanna
All I’m asking is for a little respect when you come home (just a little bit)
Baby (just a little bit)
When you get home (just a little bit) yeah (just a little bit)

I’m about to give you all my money
And all I’m asking in return honey
Is to give me my propers when you get home (just a, just a, just a, just a)
Yeah, baby when you get home (just a little bit)
Yeah (just a little bit)

Ho your kisses (ho) sweeter than honey (ho) and guess what (ho) so is my money (ho)
All I want you to do for me is give it to me when you get home (re, re, re, re, re, respect)
Yeah baby whip it to me (just a little bit)
When you get home now (just a little bit)

R-E-S-P-E-C-T find out what it means to me
R-E-S-P-E-C-T, take care, T-C-B oh (Sock it to me)

A little respect oh yeah (just a little bit)
A little respect (just a little bit)
I get tired (just a little bit)
Keep on tryin’ (just a little bit)
You’re runnin’ out of fools (just a little bit)
And I ain’t lyin’ (just a little bit)
(Re, re, re, re) ‘spect
When you come home (re, re, re ,re)
Or you might walk in (respect, just a little bit)
And find out I’m gone (just a little bit)
I got to have (just a little bit)

ZZ Top – I Thank You

I love the sound of those earlier ZZ Top recordings.

I Thank You was a hit for Sam and Dave in 1968 and it peaked at #4 in the Billboard 100…It was also a hit for ZZ Top

Sam and Dave released this song on January 8, 1968. Stax would soon go through various business problems and their sound fell out of favor. “I Thank You” was the last big hit for Sam & Dave…none of their subsequent releases made the US Top 40.

This song was written and produced by the Stax Record Isaac Hayes and David Porter, who were Sam & Dave’s main songwriters.

ZZ Top decided to do the song when they found themselves recording at Ardent Studios in Memphis. Billy Gibbons had heard the song on his car radio and mentioned it. Turns out, the very same clavinet Isaac Hayes played on the original recording was in the studio, so they decided to give it a go.

ZZ Top covered this song on their 1979 album Deguello. Released as a single, it peaked to #34 in the Billboard 100 in 1980.

I Thank You

You didn’t have to love me like you did
But you did, but you did.
And I thank you.
You didn’t have to love me like you did
But you did, but you did.
And I thank you.
But you took your love to someone else
I wouldn’t know what it meant to be loved to death

You made me feel like I’ve never felt
Kisses so good I had to holler for help
You didn’t have to squeeze it but you did
But you did but you did
And I thank you.
You didn’t have to hold it but you did
But you did but you did
And I thank you.

Every day was something new,
You put on your bag and your fine to-do
You got me trying new things too
Just so I can keep up with you.

You didn’t have to shake it but you did
But you did but you did
And I thank you.
You didn’t have to make it like you did
but you did but you did
And I thank you.

All my life I’ve been shortchanged
Without your love baby it’s a crying shame
But now I know what the fellas talking about
Hear me say that they been turned out
I want to thank you
I want to thank you
I want to thank you
Yes, I want to thank you

…

Sam & Dave – Hold On, I’m Comin

I hope everyone had a great safe New Year holiday. Now the Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year holidays are over…we are back to normal…well as normal as it gets. I’ve been listening to a lot of Stax lately so here ya go with Sam and Dave.

This song was featured in the 1980 movie The Blues Brothers. It plays from a cassette in Jake and Elwood’s car during the first police car chase. John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd modeled their act on Sam & Dave.

On the album and on subsequent compilations, this song is listed as “Hold On, I’m Comin’.” On the single release, it was titled “Hold On! I’m A Comin'” in an effort to make it sound less lascivious.

The song peaked at #21 in the Billboard 100 and #1 in the R&B charts.

From Songfacts

While songwriter/producer David Porter was in the toilet, his songwriting partner Isaac Hayes (later a solo star with “Theme From Shaft”) yelled at him to hurry up so they could get back to work, as he was frustrated by the lack of progress they had made that day. Porter responded, “Hold on man, I’m coming.” The immediately inspired Porter quickly finished his business and excitedly told Hayes that “Hold On, I’m Coming” would be a great title for a song. Hayes has repeated this story in various interviews, including one with Reuters in 2005.

With a frothy delivery by Sam & Dave and a title that is something often heard in the bedroom, this song was deemed too prurient to air by many radio stations, and it stalled at #21 in the US. The lyrics are actually quite innocent, with the duo offering emotional support to help the lady through some tough times – what could be wrong with that?

Sam & Dave recorded for Stax Records, which was a popular soul music label in the ’60s and early ’70s. Isaac Hayes was also on the label, which created a very loose and comfortable atmosphere for their artists – at least until they had a financial meltdown in the mid-’70s. While Motown worked hard on the visual styles and choreography of their artists, Stax left most of that up to the singers, which meant that most of them just came out and sang. Sam & Dave were the exception, doing lots of crazy dancing and improvisation in their stage shows, which was always on display when they performed this song.

Aretha Franklin covered this for her 1981 album, Love All The Hurt Away and earned a Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance – her first Grammy win since her 1974 rendition of “Ain’t Nothing Like The Real Thing” won in the same category.

Hold On I’m Coming

Don’t you ever feel sad,
Lean on me when times are bad.
When the day comes and you’re down,
In a river of trouble and about to drown

Just hold on, I’m comin’,
Hold on, I’m comin’.

I’m goin’ my way, your lover.
If you get cold I’ll be your cover.
Don’t have to worry `cause I’m here,
No need to suffer baby, I’m here.

‘Cause hold on, I’m comin’
Hold on, I’m comin’
Hold on, I’m comin’
Hold on, I’m comin’

Reach out to me for satisfaction,
Call my name now for quick reaction.

Don’t you ever feel sad,
Lean on me when times are bad.
When the day comes and you’re down,
In a river of trouble and about to drown,

Just hold on, I’m comin’
Hold on, I’m comin’