"What" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Melinda Marx | ||||
B-side | "It Happens in the Same Old Way" | |||
Released | June 1965 | |||
Genre | ||||
Label | Vee-Jay | |||
Songwriter(s) | H. B. Barnum | |||
Producer(s) | Norman B. Ratner | |||
Melinda Marx singles chronology | ||||
|
"What" is a song and single written by H. B. Barnum, performed by Melinda Marx and released in 1965. [1] Marx, daughter of Groucho Marx was a reluctant pop singer and the high notes on "What" found her straining. She recorded only one further single before leaving musical performing which had been foist upon her by her father. [2]
In 1968 in Hollywood, California, Judy Street recorded "What", on the Strider label, as a B-side of "You Turn Me On". [2] [3] The record was exported to England and it was picked up by DJs at Wigan Casino, a major nightclub in the northern soul music scene. [4] However, "What" became the track most played, going on to be a hit on the northern soul nightclub circuit and be ranked 23 of 500 northern soul singles. [4] [5] [6] Following a resurgence of popularity for northern soul music in England in 1977, the song was re-released, [3] and again in 1982 with a B-side by Hi-Fly. [7] Street was unaware of the popularity of the song and did not tour the UK and from 1970 until 1990 she toured with her own bands, including The Swinging Society, in the US, singing and drumming. [8] Finally, in 2005 the popularity of "What" was acknowledged when Street did several interviews for radio, magazines and books. [4]
"What" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Soft Cell | ||||
from the album Non Stop Ecstatic Dancing | ||||
B-side | "....So" | |||
Released | 11 August 1982 | |||
Recorded | 1982 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length |
| |||
Label | Some Bizzare | |||
Songwriter(s) | H. B. Barnum | |||
Producer(s) | Mike Thorne | |||
Soft Cell singles chronology | ||||
|
English synth-pop/new wave duo Soft Cell released a cover of the song in July 1982 as the only single from their remix album Non Stop Ecstatic Dancing . It became their fifth UK top-10 chart hit, peaking at number 3 on the UK Singles Chart. [9]
7"
7" (US)
7" (Canada)
12"
Chart (1982) | Peak position |
---|---|
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) [10] | 32 |
Germany (Official German Charts) [11] | 64 |
Ireland (IRMA) [12] | 6 |
Israel (IBA) [13] | 10 |
UK Singles (OCC) [9] | 3 |
US Bubbling Under Hot 100 ( Billboard ) [14] | 1 |
Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric piano, synthesizers, and electric rhythm guitars.
Soft Cell are an English synth-pop duo who came to prominence in the early 1980s. The duo consists of vocalist Marc Almond and instrumentalist David Ball. The band are primarily known for their 1981 hit version of "Tainted Love" and their platinum-selling debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret.
Northern soul is a music and dance movement that emerged in Northern England and the Midlands in the early 1970s. It developed from the British mod scene, based on a particular style of Black American soul music with a heavy beat and fast tempo.
"Over the Rainbow", also known as "Somewhere Over the Rainbow", is a ballad by Harold Arlen with lyrics by Yip Harburg. It was written for the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, in which it was sung by actress Judy Garland in her starring role as Dorothy Gale. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song and became Garland's signature song.
Lisa Jane Stansfield is an English 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.
"Tainted Love" is a song composed by Ed Cobb, formerly of American group the Four Preps, which was originally recorded by Gloria Jones in 1964. Renowned session musician and virtuoso guitarist Glen Campbell played lead guitar. It attained worldwide fame after being covered and reworked by British synth-pop duo Soft Cell in 1981 and has since been covered by numerous groups and artists. A version by Impedance reached #14 on the Canadian Dance charts, April 14, 1990.
Rosemary Victoria Yuro, known professionally as Timi Yuro, was an American singer. Sometimes called "the little girl with the big voice", she is considered to be one of the first blue-eyed soul stylists of the rock era. Yuro possessed a contralto vocal range. According to one critic, "her deep, strident, almost masculine voice, staggered delivery and the occasional sob created a compelling musical presence".
"Killing Me Softly with His Song" is a song composed by Charles Fox with lyrics by Norman Gimbel. The lyrics were written in collaboration with Lori Lieberman after she was inspired by a Don McLean performance in late 1971. Denied writing credit by Fox and Gimbel, Lieberman released her version of the song in 1972, but it did not chart. The song has been covered by many other artists.
Judy Clay was an American soul and gospel singer, who achieved greatest success as a member of two recording duos in the 1960s.
"Hernando's Hideaway" is a tango show tune, largely in long metre, from the musical The Pajama Game, written by Jerry Ross and Richard Adler and published in 1954. It was sung in the stage and film versions of the musical by Carol Haney. The song is about a fictional invitation-only nightclub of the same name where lovers can meet for secret rendezvous. In the few years after the song's release, a number of artists had hit recordings of it, including Archie Bleyer, Johnnie Ray and The Johnston Brothers.
Caron Melina Wheeler is an English singer, songwriter, record producer and musician. Born and raised in London, she performed in various singing competitions as a teenager and began her recording career as one of the founding members of Brown Sugar. She was also one of the founding members of the female backing vocalist group Afrodiziak. She officially rose to fame in the late 1980s as lead singer of R&B group Soul II Soul. Managed by her bandmate, Jazzie B, the group became one of the London's best-selling groups in the 1990s. Their debut album, Club Classics Vol. One (1989), which established them as a global success worldwide, earned two Grammy Awards and featured the UK and Billboard number-one singles "Keep on Movin'" and "Back to Life ".
Cheryl Lynn is an American singer and songwriter. She is best known for her songs during the late 1970s through the mid-1980s, including the 1978 R&B/disco song "Got to Be Real".
Canzetta Maria "Candi" Staton is an American singer–songwriter, best known in the United States for her 1970 cover of Tammy Wynette's "Stand by Your Man" and her 1976 disco chart-topper "Young Hearts Run Free". In Europe, Staton's biggest selling record is the anthemic "You Got the Love" from 1986, released in collaboration with The Source. Staton was inducted into the Christian Music Hall of Fame and is a four-time Grammy Award nominee.
Non Stop Ecstatic Dancing is a 'mini' or 'remix' album by English synth-pop duo Soft Cell, released in the United Kingdom in June 1982, by Some Bizzare Records. In addition to remixes of the group's older material, it included a brand-new track, a cover of Judy Street's 1966 song "What", which reached number three on the UK Singles Chart. In some territories the album was released as an EP.
Mari Macmillan Ramsay Wilson is a British pop and jazz singer. She is best known for her 1982 UK top-10 hit single "Just What I Always Wanted" and her 1960s image complete with beehive hairstyle.
"This Christmas" is a song by American soul musician Donny Hathaway released in 1970 by Atco Records. The song gained renewed popularity when it was included in 1991 on Atco Records' revised edition of their 1968 Soul Christmas compilation album and has since become a modern Christmas standard, with the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers reporting that it was the 30th most-performed holiday song of all time.
"Both Sides, Now" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell. One of the first recordings is by Judy Collins, whose version appeared on the US singles chart during the fall of 1968. The next year it was included on Mitchell's album Clouds, and became one of her best-known songs. It has since been recorded by dozens of artists, including Dion in 1968, Clannad with Paul Young in 1991, and Mitchell herself, who re-recorded the song with an orchestral arrangement on her 2000 album Both Sides Now.
This is the discography of Soft Cell, a British synthpop duo consisting of Marc Almond and Dave Ball who rose to prominence in the early 1980s. The duo broke up in 1984 after releasing four albums, but reunited in the early 2000s for a series of live dates and released an album of new material in 2002. The group reunited again in 2018 for a final farewell concert, accompanied by a host of musical and video releases, including a career-spanning box set and a single.
Judy Street is an American singer best known for her popular northern soul single, "What".
"The Snake" is a song written and first recorded by civil-rights activist Oscar Brown in 1963; it became a hit single for American singer Al Wilson in 1968. The song tells a story similar to Aesop's fable The Farmer and the Viper and the African American folktale "Mr. Snake and the Farmer".