Watching the Villa v Bradford semi final on Sky tonight and after Bradford had gone through they played a montage of the game with an uptempo soul song backing it. it was a female artist and the main lyric was " It took a whole lot of lovin ' but we did it"

I would say it was probably a 70s modern toon. Does it jog anyone's memories? I can't get it out of my head.

I've tried YouTube but no help. Anyone got an idea?

Best Alan

  On 22/01/2013 at 22:34, Alamo said:

Watching the Villa v Bradford semi final on Sky tonight and after Bradford had gone through they played a montage of the game with an uptempo soul song backing it. it was a female artist and the main lyric was " It took a whole lot of lovin ' but we did it"

I would say it was probably a 70s modern toon. Does it jog anyone's memories? I can't get it out of my head.

I've tried YouTube but no help. Anyone got an idea?

Best Alan

Sounds like the lyrics to Syl Johnson - we did it ?

Female version is by Loleatta Holloway from her S/T 1973 Aware album.

Well done chaps. I knew I could rely on the knowledge of someone. Thank you both very much!

Alan

  On 23/01/2013 at 00:31, epic said:

Syl's version was always a big MS club spin (going back to the early 80's at least).

Of course, it got disco spins in the UK from it's initial UK release date but the 'specialist club' scene here didn't take it up immediately (well not as I recall).

Syl Johnson 'We Did It' - Funny that you should mention it!

Sleevenotes from my recent Syl Johnson comp should give you a clue as to what the record means to me!

Backbeats Artists Series — Sleeve Notes - Syl Johnson - Mississippi Main Man

It's 1972 and a very typical Saturday night. I'm out with a bunch of mates, in the hottest club in industrial South Yorkshire, a shady haunt known as The Charade, tucked away on the outskirts of Rotherham.

We were the young, gifted and hopeful. Barathea Blazer, Prince of Wales Check and Windsor tie. Too cool for school; I’d left that summer. Money was more important than education. A weekly wage bought you the gear, the glory, the records and a genuine feeling of belonging to something significant.

The DJ at the club, Dave Growns, plays classic soul, as he has for many years. Music coming from the previous decade, entwined with the new. He’s admired and respected by all that attend. A ‘visionary’ DJ. Finger on the pulse and records to die for. With a legendary status in our part of the world, tonight he drops on us his latest find. A brand new ‘import’ release from the little known, Syl Johnson.

This may have been its first public airing, beyond the USA. Even the famous Blackpool Mecca hadn’t yet cottoned on to this style of Soul. Still hot from the pressing plant, the rasping horns are a clarion call to the dancefloor, and then those gloriously intense vocals, “It took a whole lots of doing, but we did it”. I gasped. I still do. This record was something special. A record of triumph over adversity. The opening track, in the compilation, ‘We Did It’ took the definition of ‘club-soul’ to an entirely different level. It set a new benchmark for 45’s, to earn a place in the collection. And it provided all the motivation I needed to be a VDJ like Growns (something, after 40 years, I’m still working on).

Hi 45-2229 was a gem of a record. The feel is punchy and defiantly optimistic whilst hanging on to a heavy measure of Memphis grit. I just had to own this cookin’, shufflin’, horn stabbin’ slice of genius.

Soul record collectors should always play ‘b’ sides. On acquiring 45-2229 I discovered the exquisite bonus on the flip. “Any Way The Wind Blows” reveals the underlying ambivalence that can sometimes taint a long-term relationship. Emotionally charged lyrics and superbly handled production result in, probably, his finest mid-pacer.

When Willie Mitchell and the Hi Rhythm Section (Leroy Hodges on bass, Charles Hodges on keyboards, Howard Grimes on drums) entered Royal Studios, to capture this tour de force, they started a 40 year chain of events which came full circle for me today, with this collection of great recordings.

While Johnson may have been new to the Soul crew in Yorkshire, England, he was no stranger to the music business in the USA. Born in Holly Springs, Mississippi, he moved to Chicago in 1950 where he sang the Blues with many of Chicago’s finest; recording in 1959 with Jimmy Reed for VeeJay and then for Federal Records of Cincinnati. In 1967, after a while with 3-4 independent labels around Chicago, he got heavily involved with Twinight Records where he enjoyed several R&B hits that have endured the ages and are still always in demand. He scored with the novelty dance track "Come On Sock It To Me" and the ‘social conscience’ album "Is It Because I'm Black?" which explored African-American identity and social problems. The record reached Number 11 in the R&B charts in 1969 and earned Syl a reputation, at home, as one of the most distinctive voices in Soul.

Anyone who makes vocal comparisons with Hi stablemate Al Green simply isn’t listening! Johnson has a raw ‘masculinity’ in his voice and a dynamic range heard best on the deeper of these sides, such as ‘Could I Be Falling In Love’ ‘That’s Just My Luck’ and ‘Come On Home’.

His time recording with Willie Mitchell spawned four excellent Memphis Soul albums which yielded the fine selections here. And as you take the deep dive in you’ll soon discover that ‘We Did It’ is not a solitary gem. You’re bound to find favourites of your own, from funky grooves and deep soul balladry to the ‘back to the roots’ harmonica blues of ‘I Only Have Love’ and Johnson’s biggest hit ‘Take Me To The River’.

So considering this particular artist had such a major part in the development of my own musical taste, causing me to make the long trip, a few years ago, from deepest Rotherham to the Memphis studio where the tracks were all recorded, I consider it a huge privilege to have been asked to select and compile my most loved Syl Johnson sides from those fruitful Hi years.

It’s been one helluva journey. I hope they give you at least half the pleasure they’ve given me.

Sean Hampsey

Buy it now for less than a fiver!

https://www.amazon.co...58956076&sr=8-1

Sean

Edited January 23, 201312 yr by Sean Hampsey

One of my all time Favourites , still gets played at least once a week at Swift Towers , as does 'One way Ticket'

Cheers

Swifty

Brilliant track

Dave