Gonna Make You an Offer You Can't Refuse

Last updated
"Gonna Make You an Offer You Can't Refuse"
Single by Jimmy Helms
B-side "Words and Music" [1]
ReleasedFebruary 1973 [2]
Recorded1973
Genre Philadelphia soul [3]
Length3:37 [4]
Label Cube Records - BUG27
Songwriter(s) John Worth
Producer(s) John Worth

"Gonna Make You an Offer You Can't Refuse" is a song written in 1973 by John Worth, [4] a pseudonym used by John Worsley (also known as Les Vandyke). It was originally sung by the American soul singer Jimmy Helms, [5] and the track was arranged by Mike Moran. [1] The single was issued by Cube Records in the UK. [1]

Contents

The single first charted in February 1973, [6] and it peaked at No. 8 in the UK Singles Chart, spending ten weeks in that listing. [7] [6] The track is still played on BBC Radio 2, with three outings between August 2017 and February 2018. [8]

Between 1972 and 1975, Helms recorded prolifically for the Cube label, largely due to the success of this song. [9] However, he did not have another solo hit in the UK, [7] although Helms found further chart success in both the UK and US as part of Londonbeat in 1990s.

Cover versions

The song has also been recorded by Lisa Linn, [10] and The Gentle Rain (also in 1973). [2] Les McKeown also did a longer cover in his 1982 album, Heart Control. [11] [12]

Other information

The song has appeared on a number of compilation albums including Heart & Soul (1997), [4] Everlasting Love (1999), [13] and Helms's own earlier collection Gonna Make You An Offer... (1975). [9]

Related Research Articles

<i>Coda</i> (Led Zeppelin album) 1982 compilation album by Led Zeppelin

Coda is the first compilation album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. The album is a collection of rejected tracks from various sessions during Led Zeppelin's twelve-year career. It was released on 19 November 1982, almost two years after the group had officially disbanded following the death of drummer John Bonham. The word coda, meaning a passage that ends a musical piece following the main body, was therefore chosen as the title.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Al Green</span> American soul singer, songwriter and pastor (born 1946)

Albert Leornes Greene, known professionally as Al Green, is an American singer, songwriter, pastor and record producer best known for recording a series of soul hit singles in the early 1970s, including "Take Me to the River", "Tired of Being Alone", "I'm Still in Love with You", "Love and Happiness", and his signature song, "Let's Stay Together". After his girlfriend died by suicide, Green became an ordained pastor and turned to gospel music. He later returned to secular music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rick Astley</span> British singer (born 1966)

Richard Paul Astley is an English singer who has been active in music for several decades. He gained worldwide fame in the 1980s, having multiple hits, including his signature songs "Together Forever", "Whenever You Need Somebody" and especially "Never Gonna Give You Up". He returned to music full-time in the 2000s after a 6-year hiatus. Outside his music career, Astley has occasionally worked as a radio DJ and a podcaster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lisa Stansfield</span> British singer (born 1966)

Lisa Jane Stansfield is a British singer, songwriter, and actress. Her career began in 1980 when she won the singing competition Search for a Star. After appearances in various television shows and releasing her first singles, Stansfield, along with Ian Devaney and Andy Morris, formed Blue Zone in 1983. The band released several singles and one album, but after the success of Coldcut's "People Hold On" in 1989, on which Stansfield was featured, the focus was placed on her solo career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kiki Dee</span> English pop singer (born 1947)

Pauline Matthews, better known by her stage name Kiki Dee, is an English pop singer. Known for her blue-eyed soul vocals, she was the first female singer from the UK to sign with Motown's Tamla Records.

Thomas Randolph Bell was an American record producer, arranger and songwriter known as one of the creators of Philadelphia soul in the 1970s. He found success as a producer and songwriter for the Delfonics, Stylistics, and Spinners. In June 2006, Bell was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2016, Bell was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Gap Band</span> American R&B and funk band (1967–2010)

The Gap Band was an American R&B and funk band that rose to fame during the 1970s and 1980s. The band consisted of three brothers: Charlie, Ronnie, and Robert Wilson, along with other members; it was named after streets in the historic Greenwood neighborhood in the brothers' hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Cube Records was launched on 26 May 1972 by independent music publisher David Platz, and was based at his UK offices for Essex Music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madeline Bell</span> American soul singer

Madeline Bell is an American soul singer, who became famous as a performer in the UK during the 1960s and 1970s with pop group Blue Mink, having arrived from the United States in the gospel show Black Nativity in 1962, with the vocal group Bradford Singers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Londonbeat</span> British dance-pop band

Londonbeat are a British-American dance-pop band who scored a number of pop and dance hits in the early 1990s. They currently consist of vocalists Jimmy Helms, Jimmy Chambers, and Charles Pierre. Former members include multi-instrumentalist William Henshall, George Chandler, Marc Goldschmitz, and Myles Kayne. As of 2023, the band has released six studio albums and numerous compilations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I've Been Thinking About You</span> 1990 single by Londonbeat

"I've Been Thinking About You" is a song by British-American band Londonbeat, released as the lead single from their second studio album, In the Blood (1990). The song was produced by Martyn Phillips, and written by band members Jimmy Chambers, George Chandler, Jimmy Helms, and William Henshall. It became a major worldwide hit, reaching the number-one spot in more than 10 countries—including Australia, Canada, Germany and the United States—and peaking at number two on the UK Singles Chart.

Blue are a Scottish pop rock band, formed in Glasgow in 1973. The band currently consists of Hughie Nicholson, Ian MacMillan and David Nicholson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timmy Thomas</span> American R&B singer (1944–2022)

Timothy Earle Thomas was an American R&B singer, keyboardist, songwriter, and record producer, best known for the hit song, "Why Can't We Live Together".

John Worsley, more widely known under the pseudonyms Les Vandyke and Johnny Worth, was an English popular music songwriter from the 1950s to the 1980s, who started his career as a singer.

Small Faces were an English British beat band formed in 1965 by Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane, Kenney Jones, and Jimmy Winston. Heavily influenced by American rhythm and blues, they later evolved into a psychedelic act before disbanding in 1969.

Richard Buchanan Kerr was an English singer-songwriter and composer, who co-wrote "Mandy", "Looks Like We Made It", and "Somewhere in the Night" and "I'll Never Love This Way Again", for Dionne Warwick.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jimmy Helms</span> American singer-songwriter (born 1941)

James D. Helms is an American soul singer, known as a member of Londonbeat but who also had solo hits such as "Gonna Make You an Offer You Can't Refuse".

<i>In the Blood</i> (album) 1990 studio album by Londonbeat

In the Blood is the second album by British-American dance band Londonbeat, released in September 1990. It includes the single "I've Been Thinking About You", which reached number 2 in the UK Singles Chart in 1990 and number one on a number of world charts, including the US Billboard Hot 100 the following year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jimmy Radcliffe</span> American singer

James Radcliffe was an American soul singer, composer, arranger, conductor and record producer.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Jimmy Helms - Gonna Make You An Offer You Can't Refuse". Discogs . 1973. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  2. 1 2 "Cover versions of Gonna Make You an Offer You Can't Refuse by Jimmy Helms". Secondhandsongs.com. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  3. Breihan, Tom (November 17, 2021). "The Number Ones: Londonbeat's "I've Been Thinking About You". Stereogum . Retrieved December 21, 2023. ...Helms made one solo hit, an imitation Philly soul song called "Gonna Make You An Offer You Can't Refuse" that peaked at #8.
  4. 1 2 3 "Heart & Soul - Various Artists - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic . Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  5. "Gonna Make You an Offer You Can't Refuse - Jimmy Helms - Song Info - AllMusic". AllMusic . Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  6. 1 2 "gonna make you an offer you can't refuse - full Official Chart History - Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  7. 1 2 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 250. ISBN   1-904994-10-5.
  8. "Gonna Make You An Offer You Can't Refuse - Jimmy Helms Song - BBC Music". BBC. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  9. 1 2 "Gonna Make You An Offer..." Amazon.co.uk. 25 September 2015. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  10. "Gonna Make You an Offer You Can't Refuse - Jimmy Helms - Cover Songs - AllMusic". AllMusic . Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  11. "norwegiancharts.com - Leslie McKeown - Heart Control". Norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  12. "Leslie McKeown* - Heart Control". Discogs.com. 1982. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  13. "Everlasting Love [Crimson] - Various Artists - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic . Retrieved 1 July 2018.