Overview
The song was written by Wilson Pickett with two former members of the Satintones, Robert Bateman (who had also co-written "Please Mr. Postman") and Sonny Sanders. It was recorded originally by Pickett on March 15, 1963, [1] for Lloyd Price's Detroit-based Double L Records. [2] It had been rejected by Jerry Wexler (Atlantic), who nevertheless had purchased the publishing rights. According to Burke, Pickett gave the song to him on a tour bus: "Wilson sang the song for me in a bus on a tour. I loved it so much that I got Wilson to do it. Atlantic refused to sign him at that time, so we got Wilson to release the song on the Lloyd-Logan label. We were the best of friends. As a matter of fact, I promoted his record and he promoted mine." However, Pickett claims Wexler lifted it from demo tapes he had sent Atlantic. [3] Burke recalled in 2003: "I was furious when Wexler rejected Pickett", [4] and when radio personality the Magnificent Montague started spinning Pickett's original version, Wexler rushed out Burke's, with both in Billboard 's "Singles Review" column on April 13 [5] and both featured on Billboard's "Artists' Biographies" on May 4, 1963. [6] Although Burke ultimately won the chart war, Burke broke rank and supported his rival: "I would go to the radio stations and say, ‘Hi, I'm Solomon Burke, and I'm here promoting the new record “If You Need Me”…by Wilson Pickett.’" [4]
Solomon 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.
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".
Carla Venita Thomas is an American singer, who is often referred to as the Queen of Memphis Soul. She is best known for her 1960s recordings for Atlantic and Stax including the hits "Gee Whiz " (1960), "B-A-B-Y" (1966) and "Tramp" (1967), a duet with Otis Redding. She is the daughter of Rufus Thomas.
"In the Midnight Hour" is a song originally performed by Wilson Pickett in 1965 and released on his 1965 album of the same name, also appearing on the 1966 album The Exciting Wilson Pickett. The song was composed by Pickett and Steve Cropper at the historic Lorraine Motel in Memphis, later the site of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Pickett's first hit on Atlantic Records, it reached number one on the R&B charts and peaked at number 21 on the pop charts.
Eddie Lee Floyd is an American R&B and soul singer and songwriter, best known for his work on the Stax record label in the 1960s and 1970s, including the No. 1 R&B hit song "Knock on Wood".
The Sweet Inspirations are an American R&B girl group mostly known for their work as backup singers on studio recordings for other R&B and rock artists. A founding member of the group was Dionne Warwick, who was later replaced by her aunt, Cissy Houston.
Donald James Randolph, better known by the stage name Don Covay, was an American R&B, rock and roll, and soul singer-songwriter most active from the 1950s to the 1970s.
"Land of a Thousand Dances" is a song written and first recorded by American rhythm and blues singer Chris Kenner in 1962. It later became a bigger hit in versions by Cannibal & the Headhunters and Wilson Pickett. A version by Thee Midniters reached number 27 in Canada on March 22, 1965.
"Don't Knock My Love" is a hit song performed by R&B singer Wilson Pickett and written by Pickett with Brad Shapiro. Released in the spring of 1971 from the album of the same title, it spent a week at number-one on the Billboard Best Selling Soul Singles Chart and peaked at #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart. The song, which was produced under a funk tempo was Pickett's last number-one single and one of his last hits for Atlantic Records.
"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.
"Detroit City" is a song written by Danny Dill and Mel Tillis, made famous by Billy Grammer, country music singer Bobby Bare and Tom Jones. Bare's version was released in 1963. The song — sometimes known as "I Wanna Go Home" — was Bare's first Top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart that summer, and became a country music standard.
"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.
"634-5789 " is a soul song written by Eddie Floyd and Steve Cropper. It was first recorded by Wilson Pickett on December 20, 1965 and included on his 1966 Atlantic Records album The Exciting Wilson Pickett with backing vocals by Patti LaBelle and the Blue Belles. The single reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles chart and number 13 on the Hot 100 singles chart.
"Funky Broadway" is an early funk-style song written by Arlester "Dyke" Christian. In 1966, he recorded it with his band, Dyke & the Blazers. The small, Phoenix, Arizona-based, Artco Records first issued it as a two-part single; when it was unable to keep up with the demand, the distribution was picked up by the Original Sound label. The single performed well on both the Top Selling R&B Singles and Hot 100 charts compiled by Billboard magazine, reaching numbers 17 and 65 respectively.
"Got to Get You Off My Mind" is a 1965 soul single written and performed by Solomon Burke. The single was produced by Jerry Wexler, and was the most successful of Burke's long career, becoming his highest-charting single on both the R&B and pop singles charts. "Got to Get You Off My Mind" was number one on Billboard's R&B Singles chart for three weeks and made the Top 40 on the pop singles chart.
"You Got Me Hummin'" is a popular song written by Isaac Hayes and David Porter. It was first popularized by Sam & Dave, who had a Top 10 R&B hit with the song in 1966 on Stax Records. It was subsequently covered by Cold Blood who had greater success with the song on the American pop charts. Additionally, the song has been recorded by the Pointer Sisters, Reigning Sound, Freddie Fender and Delbert McClinton as well as J. Blackfoot. Billy Joel released the song several times: first in 1967, when in the band The Hassles and under the title "You've Got Me Hummin' and in 1983
George Henry Jackson was an American blues, rhythm & blues, rock and soul songwriter and singer. His prominence was as a prolific and skilled songwriter; he wrote or co-wrote many hit songs for other musicians, including "Down Home Blues," "One Bad Apple", "Old Time Rock and Roll" and "The Only Way Is Up". As a southern soul singer he recorded fifteen singles between 1963 and 1985, with some success.
"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.
The Soul Clan was a collective of American soul musicians led by Solomon Burke, which started in 1966 as started by Burke, Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Don Covay and Joe Tex. Later, both Pickett and Redding left the collective and were replaced by fellow Atlantic artists such as Arthur Conley and Ben E. King. After the release of the minor successful R&B song, "Soul Meeting", the collective broke up in 1969. The collective, which included Pickett stepping in for Conley, who had by then settled in Europe, briefly reunited in 1981 for a brief performance before splintering for good.
