"Anyone Who Knows What Love Is (Will Understand)" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Irma Thomas | ||||
B-side | "Time Is on My Side" | |||
Released | May 14, 1964 | |||
Recorded | April 1964 | |||
Genre | R&B | |||
Length | 2:58 | |||
Label | Imperial Records | |||
Songwriter(s) | Judith Arbuckle, Randy Newman, Jeannie Seely, Pat Sheeran | |||
Producer(s) | Eddie Ray | |||
Irma Thomas singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Audio | ||||
"Anyone Who Knows What Love Is (Will Understand)" by Irma Thomas on YouTube |
"Anyone Who Knows What Love Is (Will Understand)" is a 1964 R&B song written by Jeannie Seely, Randy Newman, Judith Arbuckle and Pat Sheeran. It was recorded by Irma Thomas and released as a single the same year, with "Time Is on My Side" as the B-side. The song is about a woman who stays in a relationship with a man despite his bad behavior.
"Time Is on My Side" soon gathered attention when a cover by the Rolling Stones became their first top ten single in the US, while "Anyone Who Knows What Love Is (Will Understand)" peaked at number 52 in the Billboard Top 100 chart.
The song was repopularised by its usage in the science fiction anthology series Black Mirror . First sung by a character for a talent show in "Fifteen Million Merits" (2011), it was used in five subsequent episodes, and began to appear in other films and television programs. In 2018, the song reached number two on Billboard 's Top TV Songs. In the 2010s, musicians to cover the song included Seal, Ruby Amanfu and Boyz II Men.
Irma Thomas, known as the "Soul Queen of New Orleans", was born in 1941. By the age of 17, she was in her second marriage with three children, and by 19 her first single—"(You Can Have My Husband But Please) Don't Mess with My Man" (1960)—had charted on Billboard's Hot R&B Sides. [1] [2] Thomas moved to Minit Records and grew in public profile, including after featuring in a Coca-Cola advertisement, though none of her Minit singles charted nationally. [1] [3] Her first single after the label were acquired by Imperial Records, "Wish Someone Would Care" (1963), was a top 20 hit, and she began touring America. [3] "Anyone Who Knows What Love Is (Will Understand)" was her next single. [4] In 2006, The Guardian said that Thomas appeared to be "on the brink of a major breakthrough" during her years at Imperial, but that no breakthrough materialized. Instead, she had "medium-sized hits" during the period. [4]
The song was co-written by Jeannie Seely and Randy Newman. Seely was a 23-year-old secretary at Liberty Records and conceived of the song while reading a pantyhose advert that said, "Anyone who knows what comfort is..." She stayed after work to use the label's piano, but struggled to play the chords and first verse as it sounded in her head. She asked for help from Newman, a 19-year-old songwriter. [5] It was one of only three collaborations during his songwriting career, though he would later write songs for Thomas again—"While the City Sleeps" (1964) and "Baby Don't Look Down" (1966). [5] [6] The arrangement was done by H. B. Barnum; [7] some of it is based on the Flamingos' cover of "I Only Have Eyes for You" (1959). [6] On behalf of Seely and Newman, the music producer Eddie Ray gave the song to Thomas, who did not write her own music. [8] [6]
Both Seely and Newman would go on to have lengthy careers in the music industry. [5] Seely said of the song in 2018, "I wrote the song when I was 23 ... I never thought I would still be getting royalties for it at 78". [5] Seely first recorded herself singing it for her 2017 album Written in Song , which consisted of music she had written for other artists. [5] [9] She later performed it on the Grand Ole Opry . [10]
The song was recorded by Thomas on April 16, 1964, with Barnum as the session director and conductor, Leon Russell on piano, and Jimmy Norman as the session singer. [7] [11] [12] The recording process under Imperial was more involved than that of Thomas's previous discography, with use of orchestras, vocal ensembles, timpani and overdubbing. [13] It was a few months later re-recorded in stereo for the Wish Someone Would Care album. [11] The mono original, regarded by soul expert Dave Godin as the superior version, was re-released in 1997 on the first volume of his Deep Soul Treasures anthologies, highly acclaimed in the United Kingdom, contributing to the enduring reputation of the song. [7]
The B-side, "Time Is on My Side", was recorded in the same session, as was "I've Been There Before" (1966). [7] "Time Is on My Side" was originally an orchestral jazz instrumental composed by Jerry Ragavoy and recorded by trombonist Kai Winding in 1963. [14] [15] Norman wrote the lyrics for Thomas's gospel version during the recording, after Barnum suggested the track. [16] [12] The Rolling Stones covered this version the same year, and it became their first top ten single in the U.S. [14] [15]
"Anyone Who Knows What Love Is (Will Understand)" is a rhythm and blues song with elements of Motown. [5] [17] It has an accompanying chorus and heavy backbeat. Cashbox described it as a "hauntingly slow beat-ballad affair", while Billboard called it a "soulful" ballad. [18] [19]
Newman biographer Kevin Courrier described the song as fitting the trope of "the sacrificial woman who stands by her no-good man", which is a longstanding theme in blues music. He contrasts this with the later song "While the City Sleeps", written by Newman and performed by Thomas, which "turns the tables" in describing a woman cheating on her male partner. [6] Academic Robert Grant Price analysed it as an "anti-love love song", wherein the protagonist "sings about love's worst moments to show its sacrificial nature": though she will stay with her partner after he cheats on her and insults her, she believes it is worthwhile. Though the listener may urge her to leave her partner, it is she who pities those who have not experienced—in her own words—"what happiness love can be". [20]
The song was first released as a single on May 14, 1964, by Imperial Records. [21] "Anyone Who Knows What Love Is (Will Understand)" was the third of Thomas's six charting singles in the 1960s. [22] While "Time Is on My Side" would appear on Thomas's debut album, Wish Someone Would Care (1964), "Anyone Who Knows What Love Is (Will Understand)" featured on her second album, Take a Look (1966). Both albums were also produced by Imperial. [23] [24]
On the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the US, the song peaked at number 52 in 1964. [25] After its use in Black Mirror, the song peaked at number 2 on Billboard 's Top TV Songs chart in 2018. [5]
"Anyone Who Knows What Love Is (Will Understand)" was repopularised by its appearance in the anthology science fiction series Black Mirror . [5] Creator Charlie Brooker chose it for "Fifteen Million Merits" (2011), as a symbol of a past era to juxtapose with the dystopian setting. Main character Bing (Daniel Kaluuya) encourages the character Abi (Jessica Brown Findlay) to enter the talent competition Hot Shot after he hears her singing the song in the bathroom. The judges are unimpressed by her rendition, but she is offered a career as a pornographic actress instead. [26] Brooker saw the song as one of "earnest beauty", which had "the sound of a timeless haunting classic" but would not be known by most viewers. [27] A reviewer, Paste 's Katherine Connell, wrote that the song's "authenticity" against the "artificiality" of the setting is what attracts Bing to Abi. [28]
Speaking to IndieWire in 2019, Findlay said that she was "terrified" when filming her character's performance on Hot Shot, vomiting from nervousness beforehand. The quivers in her singing voice are genuine. [29] When Newman watched the episode, he found the song "familiar", but it took him a while to place it as his own composition. [5] Brooker chose the song during his 2018 appearance on Desert Island Discs as one of eight recordings he would take to a desert island. [30]
The song was reused by the production throughout the series, as a way of "nesting all the episodes together in an artistic universe of sorts", according to executive producer Annabel Jones. [27] In the special "White Christmas" (2014), Beth (Janet Montgomery) sings it at a karaoke night; Raiman (Madeline Brewer) sings it while holding a person at gunpoint in "Men Against Fire" (2016); in "Crocodile" (2017), a man recalls the song playing at the scene where he was hit by a truck. Miley Cyrus' character Ashley O composes the song during a coma in "Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too" (2019), while the song plays in a restaurant as Joan meets her ex-boyfriend for dinner in "Joan Is Awful" (2023). [31] [32] [33] Price argued in Black Mirror and Philosophy that in each case, the song is thematically relevant as it is sung either by or to characters who "don't know what love is". [20]
Following its use in Black Mirror, the song began to appear more widely in film and television, for example in The Miseducation of Cameron Post (2018), [34] The Deuce 's "Inside the Pretend" (2018), [35] Dead to Me 's "I Can Handle It" (2019), [36] a trailer for the film Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018), [37] One Day (2024), [38] and A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder (2024). [39] also in Bad Sisters
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Anyone Who Knows What Love Is (Will Understand)" | 2:58 |
2. | "Time Is on My Side" | 2:50 |
The song has been covered a number of times, including by Seal and Ruby Amanfu. Boyz II Men covered the song for Under the Streetlight (2017), with Amber Riley featured on the track. [40] In 2018, Seely credited its use across multiple genres to "the haunting melody" and "the vulnerability of the lyrics". [5]
Seal performed the song in his cover album Standards (2017). In The Sydney Morning Herald , John Shand noted it as one of the obscure choices on the album, in contrast to other primarily "standard repertoire" material, but called it a "lame" choice. [41] Seal said that the song sounded like the music his mother listened to in his childhood in the 1960s, and could have been sung by Dionne Warwick or Tammy Wynette, or produced by Phil Spector. [42] Jay Cridlin of the Tampa Bay Times praised a live performance of the song with orchestral backing as a "stirring, starlit romance" with "wall-of-sound percussion". [43]
A cover of the song opens Ruby Amanfu's 2015 cover song album Standing Still. [44] Saeed Saeed, in The National , reviewed that Amanfu brings a "more sombre take" with her emphasis on particular lyrics, including the word "understand", which creates "an aged feel", as if Amanfu is recalling a past "romantic experience with an almost rueful smile". [17]
Marie Dionne Warwick ( dee-ONWOR-wik; is an American singer, actress, and television host. During her career, Warwick has won many awards, including six Grammy Awards. She has been inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Grammy Hall of Fame, the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Apollo Theater Walk of Fame. In 2019, Warwick won the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Three of her songs have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
Randall Stuart Newman is an American singer, songwriter, arranger, pianist, composer and conductor. He is known for his non-rhotic Southern-accented singing style, early Americana-influenced songs, and various film scores. His hits as a recording artist include "Short People" (1977), "I Love L.A." (1983), and "You've Got a Friend in Me" (1995) with Lyle Lovett, while other artists have enjoyed success with cover versions of his "Mama Told Me Not to Come" (1966), "I Think It's Going to Rain Today" (1968), and "You Can Leave Your Hat On" (1972).
Petula Clark CBE is a British singer, actress, and songwriter. She started her professional career as a child performer and has had the longest career of any British entertainer, spanning more than 85 years.
Nivea B. Hamilton, known mononymously as Nivea, is an American R&B singer. She has released three studio albums: her self-titled debut (2001), followed up by Complicated (2005), Animalistic (2006), and an independently released extended play Nivea: Undercover (2011). In 2019, she released her album Mirrors.
Jackie DeShannon is an American singer-songwriter and radio broadcaster with a string of hit song credits from the 1960s onwards, as both singer and composer. She was one of the first female singer-songwriters of the rock and roll period. She is best known as the singer of "What the World Needs Now Is Love" and "Put a Little Love in Your Heart", and as the writer of "When You Walk in the Room" and "Bette Davis Eyes", which became hits for The Searchers and Kim Carnes, respectively.
Marilyn Jeanne Seely is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, actress and author. Primarily identified with country music, Seely found success with the Grammy Award-winning song "Don't Touch Me" (1966). Her soul-inspired vocal delivery gave her the nickname of "Miss Country Soul". Seely has been a member of and performer on the Grand Ole Opry, having appeared more times on the program than any other performer.
"How Will I Know" is a song recorded by American singer Whitney Houston for her self-titled debut studio album. It was released on November 22, 1985, by Arista Records as the album's third single. Written and composed by George Merrill and Shannon Rubicam, it was originally intended for pop singer Janet Jackson, who passed on it. Houston then recorded the song with altered lyrics and production from Narada Michael Walden.
"I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and lyricist Hal David. The song was recorded by Dusty Springfield and it reached No. 3 on the UK chart in 1964.
Irma Thomas is an American singer from New Orleans. She is known as the "Soul Queen of New Orleans".
"Time Is on My Side" is a song written by Jerry Ragovoy. First recorded by jazz trombonist Kai Winding and his orchestra in 1963, it was covered by both soul singer Irma Thomas and then later the Rolling Stones in 1964.
"Walk On By" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David for singer Dionne Warwick in 1963. Warwick's recording of the song peaked at number 6 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 1 on the Cash Box Rhythm and Blues Chart In June 1964 and was nominated for a 1965 Grammy Award for the Best Rhythm and Blues Recording.
"Don't Touch Me" is a song written by Hank Cochran. It was originally written for and recorded by American country artist Jeannie Seely. The song was released as a single on Monument Records in March 1966 and became a major Billboard country hit. "Don't Touch Me" became Seely's signature song and her biggest hit as a solo artist. It would later appear on her debut studio album and be re-recorded by Seely in later years.
The discography of American country artist Jeannie Seely contains 17 studio albums, four compilation albums, one soundtrack album, four music videos, 17 album appearances and 36 singles. Her first singles were for the Challenge label before 1966's "Don't Touch Me". The latter reached number two on the US Billboard Hot Country Singles chart and her only single to reach the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 85. The song was included on her debut studio album titled The Seely Style (1966), which reached number eight on the US Billboard Top Country Albums chart.
"Some Things You Never Get Used To" is a song released in 1968 by Diana Ross & the Supremes on the Motown label. The single stalled for three weeks at number 30 on the U.S. Billboard pop chart in July 1968. It became the lowest-charting Supremes single since 1963 and became the catalyst for Berry Gordy to revamp songwriting for The Supremes since the loss of Motown's premier production team Holland–Dozier–Holland, which Gordy had assigned as the group's sole producers after the success of "When the Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes."
Ruby Amanfu is an American recording artist based in Nashville. Amanfu has released seven studio albums and multiple singles. She is known for being one half of the duo Sam & Ruby, whose album was named Associated Press Album of the Year in 2009. Amanfu is also known for her collaborations with Jack White in his all-female band, The Peacocks, and has widely appeared on his critically acclaimed solo albums, Blunderbuss and Lazaretto. In 2020 and 2022, Amanfu was nominated for the Grammy Award for Song of the Year for co-writing "Hard Place" by H.E.R. and "A Beautiful Noise" by Alicia Keys and Brandi Carlile, and was nominated for a Soul Train Music Award for The Ashford & Simpson Songwriter's Award.
The Seely Style is the debut studio album of American country artist Jeannie Seely. It was released in September 1966 by Monument Records and was produced by Fred Foster. The album consisted of 12 songs, many of which were covers of songs from the era including some written by Hank Cochran. The lead single, "Don't Touch Me" was also penned by Cochran and became Seely's first commercial success as a recording artist. The album itself reached the top ten on the US country chart. Both Billboard and Cash Box reviewed the album following its original release.
I'll Love You More is a studio album by American country artist Jeannie Seely. It was released by Monument Records in February 1968 and was the third studio album of her career. The project consisted of 11 tracks whose themes centered on heartbreak. Six of the songs were written by Hank Cochran, who helped launch Seely's recording career. Two of the songs were originally singles: "When It's Over" and the title track. The latter single reached the top ten on the US country songs chart in 1968. The album itself reached the top 40 of the US country albums chart following its release. It received reviews and ratings from Billboard, Cash Box and AllMusic.
Little Things is a studio album by American country artist Jeannie Seely. It was released in December 1968, by Monument Records and was co-produced by Fred Foster and Jim Malloy. The record was Seely's fourth studio album released in her career and included three singles issued prior to the LP: "Welcome Home to Nothing", "How Is He?" and the title track. Little Things placed inside the top 40 on the US country albums chart and received reviews from both Billboard and Cash Box magazines.
Two for the Show is a studio album by American country music artists Jack Greene and Jeannie Seely. It was released in January 1973, by Decca Records. It was pair's second studio album as a duet team. The album included two singles that reached the US and Canadian country songs top 20 between 1971 and 1973: "Much Oblige" and "What in the World Has Gone Wrong with Our Love". The latter was co-written by Hank Cochran, who contributed to four additional tracks on the album. Two for the Show also made the US country albums top 40.
Can I Sleep in Your Arms/Lucky Ladies is a studio album by American country artist Jeannie Seely. It was released by MCA Records in November 1973 and was her ninth studio project. It consisted of 11 tracks, four of which were written by songwriter Hank Cochran. Among the tracks were six songs originally released as singles: "Tell Me Again", "Alright I'll Sign the Papers", "Pride", "Farm in Pennsyltucky", "Can I Sleep in Your Arms" and "Lucky Ladies". Its highest-charting singles were the latter two releases, reaching the US country top ten and top 20 respectively. The album itself made the top 20 of the US country chart during the same period. The project received reviews from music publications following its original release.