"Everybody Needs Somebody to Love" | ||||
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Single by Solomon Burke | ||||
B-side | "Looking for My Baby" | |||
Released | July 1964 | |||
Recorded | May 28, 1964 | |||
Genre | ||||
Label | Atlantic (2241) | |||
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) | Bert Berns | |||
Solomon Burke singles chronology | ||||
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"Everybody Needs Somebody to Love" is a song written by Bert Berns, Solomon Burke, and Jerry Wexler, and originally recorded by Burke under the production of Berns at Atlantic Records in 1964. Burke's version charted in 1964, but missed the US top 40, peaking at number 58.
The song is ranked number 429 on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
On May 28, 1964, Burke recorded "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love" (Atlantic 2241), [1] written by Burke (but also credited to Bert Berns and Jerry Wexler), which was Burke's most prominent bid for an enduring soul standard. Burke claims he was the sole writer on the song but was talked into sharing credit by Wexler and Berns. [2]
In an interview Burke recalled the song's origins: "I used to do it in church when I was a kid and it was a march for the offering. We would play it with tubas, trombones and the big bass drum and it sounded really joyful. I played it to Jerry Wexler and Bert Berns, who thought that it was too fast, and had the wrong tempo." [3]
In August 2008, Burke recalled that he had hired musicians from Charlotte, North Carolina, to play at a gig on Long Island and he drafted them in to play the instrumental riff on "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love". Burke described the recording: "Got the band cooking, get a bit of echo, we went through it, came back out, said to Jerry [Wexler], 'Whaddya think?' He said, 'Too fast. Doesn't have any meaning.' (Engineer) Tommy (Dowd) says, 'What can we lose? His band's here, let's just cut it.'" [4] In this song, Burke employs the style of a black preacher, in "which he begins by delivering his message in a style of a sermon, and offering salvation". [5]
Dave Marsh explains that in this song, "the porcine, gilt-fingered lay preacher testifies from the top but what you ought to hear is writ large between the lines, especially in the stentorian opening sermon. That is, when Burke sings "[There's a song I sing, and I believe] If everybody was to sing this song, it could save the whole world." [6]
In 1997, Burke recalled: "When I did it for Jerry Wexler and Bert Burns (sic), they told me that song would never make it. I said, 'Well, I tell ya what—I'll give you a piece of it.' They said, 'That's the way we'll get the record played, so we'll take a piece of it.' In those days, they took a piece of your songs—a piece of the publishing—but in the end, you didn't have any pieces left. Even now, I'm still struggling to get the publishing, the royalties, and that'll never happen." [7]
Jerry Wexler maintained in 2002: "I know Solomon is upset about that, and I wrote him a long letter explaining how we wrote the song together and that he has always gotten his share of the royalties. I know that because I get royalty checks for the song. The whole process of making a record is a collaborative affair and the issue of who does just what on a song sometimes gets confusing, but not on that song. We wrote it in Bert's apartment. Bert had a guitar and we wrote it together." [8]
Burke's version, while later ranked #429 on the Rolling Stone magazine's 2004 list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, and ranked #447 in Dave Marsh's book, In The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made, [6] which was released in July 1964, and was in the US Pop Charts for 8 weeks, but only reached #58. [9]
Wilson Pickett recorded the most successful version and released a cover of the song on his 1966 album The Wicked Pickett. [10] This version (which explicitly mentions Solomon Burke in the opening section) made it to No. 29 pop, and No. 19 R&B in early 1967.
Chart (1967) | Peak position |
---|---|
US Billboard Hot 100 [11] | 29 |
US Billboard Top Selling R&B Singles [12] | 19 |
Burke made an appearance to sing the song during The Rolling Stones 2002-2003 tour, singing the song, which was included in the Stones' 2004 live album Live Licks .
It was also performed live by The Shadows of Knight, included on their LP The Shadows Of Knight – Live 1966. [13] [14] In addition, a live version was part of the soundtrack album for the 1980 Blues Brothers movie.
Many other artists have covered the song, among them:
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: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link), Rolling Stone 963 (December 9, 2004), seeSolomon Vincent McDonald Burke was an American singer who shaped the sound of rhythm and blues as one of the founding fathers of soul music in the 1960s. He has been called "a key transitional figure bridging R&B and soul", and was known for his "prodigious output".
Wilson Pickett was an American singer and songwriter.
Sam & Dave were an American soul and R&B duo who performed together from 1961 until 1981. The tenor (higher) voice was Sam Moore and the baritone/tenor (lower) voice was Dave Prater (1937–1988).
Bertrand Russell Berns, also known as Bert Russell and (occasionally) Russell Byrd, was an American songwriter and record producer of the 1960s. His songwriting credits include "Twist and Shout", "Piece of My Heart", "Here Comes the Night", "Hang on Sloopy", "Cry to Me" and "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love", and his productions include "Baby, Please Don't Go", "Brown Eyed Girl" and "Under the Boardwalk".
Out of Our Heads is the third studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released in two editions with different covers and track listings. In the US, London Records released it on 30 July 1965 as the band's fourth American album, while Decca Records released its UK edition on 24 September 1965 as the third British album.
Singles 1963–1965 is a box set compilation of the singles and EPs by The Rolling Stones spanning the years 1963 to 1965. Part of a series of repackages by ABKCO Records, who licence The Rolling Stones' 1963–1970 recorded works, Singles 1963–1965 is the first of three successive volumes to commemorate their non-LP releases during this era.
Singles 1968–1971 is a box set compilation of singles by the Rolling Stones spanning the years 1968 to 1971. Released in 2005 by ABKCO Records, who license the Rolling Stones' 1963–1970 recorded works, Singles 1968–1971 was the third of three successive volumes to commemorate their non-LP releases during this era.
Shining Star is the fourth live album, and fifth album overall, by the Jerry Garcia Band. A double CD, it was recorded at various concerts from 1989 to 1993. It was released on March 21, 2001.
Best of the Blues Brothers is the fourth and final Blues Brothers album released before John Belushi's death in 1982. It is the first compilation album by the band and it was released by Atlantic Records on November 30, 1981. Along with tracks from the first three albums, Briefcase Full of Blues, The Blues Brothers: Music from the Soundtrack and Made in America, it includes unreleased live versions of "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love", "Rubber Biscuit", and a new song, "Expressway to Your Heart". The album was remixed by Steve Jordan and Donald “Duck” Dunn. Belushi’s wife, Judith Jacklin, designed the sleeve.
Rock 'n' Rolling Stones is a compilation album by the Rolling Stones released in 1972. It reached number 41 in the UK Albums Chart.
"Cry to Me" is a song written by Bert Berns and first recorded by American soul singer Solomon Burke in 1961. Released in 1962, it was Burke's second single to appear in both Billboard magazine's Hot R&B Sides and Hot 100 singles charts. On March 20, 1962, Burke performed "Cry to Me" on American Bandstand.
Tami Lynn was an American soul singer. She scored a Top Ten hit on the UK Singles Chart in 1971 with the song "I'm Gonna Run Away From You".
Rock 'N Soul is a 1964 studio album by Grammy Award winning musician Solomon Burke. The album contained seven top 100 hits. Originally released on LP on Atlantic Records, #8096, in July 1964, it was subsequently reissued in March, 1997, on the Sequel Records imprint, #RSACD 861. The album was also reissued in 1998 on the Collectables Records label in conjunction with a June, 1963, Burke album as If You Need Me/Rock 'n' Soul.
Hemåt is a 1969 studio album by the Swedish psychedelic rock band Harvester.
The following list is the discography of the American soul musician Solomon Burke.
"Just Out of Reach " is a country song written by Virgil "Pappy" Stewart and originally recorded by his band, The Stewart Family, in 1951. It was a minor country hit for Faron Young in 1952, reaching #10 on the country charts and was also recorded by Patsy Cline and Percy Sledge and many others. The most successful version was recorded by singer Solomon Burke as his second single from Atlantic Records in 1961, becoming Burke's first hit single.
"If You Need Me" is a 1963 song co-written and originally recorded by Wilson Pickett. It was made into a bigger hit by Solomon Burke, who sent the song to #2 on the R&B charts that year.
What the World Needs Now Is Love is the third album by American recording gospel/soul female group the Sweet Inspirations released in 1968 on the label Atlantic Records. The album was produced by Tom Dowd and arranged by Arif Mardin. It features their cover versions of the classic songs; "Alfie", "Unchained Melody", "What the World Needs Now Is Love" and the Bee Gees' "To Love Somebody".
Raw 'n' Alive at the Cellar, Chicago 1966! is a live album by the American garage rock band the Shadows of Knight, and was released on Sundazed Records in 1992. The album consists of recordings from the band's appearance at the Cellar in Arlington Heights, Illinois in December 1966. Although the tapes were never anticipated to be released publicly, Raw 'n' Alive at the Cellar is commended for its good sound quality, and represents one of the better live concert recordings to emerge from the garage rock era.
Live at the Wiltern is a live album and a concert video by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. It was recorded on 4 November 2002 at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles. It was released on CD, LP, DVD, and Blu-ray on 8 March 2024.