Pre-order: Soul4real New 45 Releases - Aretha Franklin & Percy Sledge
Pre-order now for 15th June
Pre-order now for 15th June:
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๐๐ฅ๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ฅ๐๐ก๐๐๐๐ก (S4R29)
So Soon / It Was You
๐ฃ๐๐ฅ๐๐ฌ ๐ฆ๐๐๐๐๐ (S4R30)
Baby, Baby, Baby / You Can Always Get It Where You Got It / Same Old Loverman
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๐๐ฅ๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ฅ๐๐ก๐๐๐๐ก (S4R29)
So Soon / It Was You
Whenever the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, covered another artist's song, she had an uncanny knack of making it her own. The two tracks presented here are no exceptions.
Released for the first time on CD in 2007, the brisk Motown-esque โSo Soonโ penned by Van McCoy (and officially recorded by Donnie Elbert), and James Brown's down-tempo โIt Was Youโ were recorded in 1967 as part of the Atlantic New York sessions which spawned Aretha's second album for the label 'Aretha Arrives'. For some inexplicable reason, they were left in the can.
Featured musicians include such Muscle Shoals luminaries as Jimmy Johnson (guitar), Spooner Oldham (organ) and Roger Hawkins (drums). Aretha's sisters Carolyn and Erma provide sterling backup vocals, especially prevalent on the driving โSo Soonโ whilst horns punctuate the stark, declarative โIt Was Youโ, as does Aretha's strident piano chords.
Two outstanding and contrasting outtakes that rightly belong on a single 7" format.
๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐น๐น๐ถ๐
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๐ฃ๐๐ฅ๐๐ฌ ๐ฆ๐๐๐๐๐ (S4R30)
Baby, Baby, Baby / You Can Always Get It Where You Got It / Same Old Loverman
Percy Sledgeโs 1966 worldwide smash โWhen A Man Loves A Womanโ did more to internationally establish southern soul than any record up to that time. The man from Leighton, Alabama subsequently became one of Atlanticโs biggest artists, charting 11 R&B/Pop hits in three years.
Nevertheless, as the 60s drew to a close, Atlanticโs interest in Percy inexplicably dwindled. Very few masters that his producer Quin Ivy sent from Sheffield, Alabama to New York saw contemporaneous release, although some eventually appeared in countries like South Africa, where Percy was revered.
The tracks on this exceptional โmaxi singleโ waited till 2010 to debut digitally. Percyโs terrific take on Arethaโs โBaby, Baby, Babyโ dates from August 1969, the others from his penultimate session for Atlantic. Great songs too from Swamp Dogg and the late Gordon Lightfoot; either of which could have given Percy a hit in 1972.
Weโll never know why they werenโt issued then - but letโs be grateful to Soul4Real for making them available on vinyl nowโฆ
๐ง๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐ฅ๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ
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