There were at latest 7 volumes in this TIME-LIFE series. I like Volume Two because I like most of the songs. Yes, there are some head-scratchers like “Don’t Let The Green Grass Fool You” by Wilson Pickett–he sang much better songs than this one like “In The Midnight Hour” which is also included in this set.
Although he’s not considered a “Soul” singer, I remember listening to albums of Lou Rawls music in the 1960s. “Love Is A Hurtin’ Thing” is one of my favorites. Later, Rawls morphed into a mainstream singer and achieved success, but it’s these early songs I remember and love.
Do you remember these songs? Any favorites here? GRADE: B+
TRACK LIST:
| 1 | Sam & Dave– | Hold On, I’m Comin’ |
| 2 | Wilson Pickett– | Don’t Let The Green Grass Fool You |
| 3 | Aretha Franklin– | Respect |
| 4 | Otis Redding– | I’ve Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now) |
| 5 | Booker T & The MG’s– | Green Onions |
| 6 | Clarence Carter– | Slip Away |
| 7 | The Staple Singers– | I’ll Take You There |
| 8 | Arthur Conley– | Sweet Soul Music |
| 9 | Bill Withers– | Aint No Sunshine |
| 10 | J.J. Jackson– | But It’s Alright |
| 11 | Ben E. King– | Stand By Me |
| 12 | Betty Wright– | Clean Up Woman |
| 13 | Jerry Butler– | For Your Precious Love |
| 14 | Archie Bell & The Drells– | Tighten Up |
| 15 | Percy Sledge– | When A Man Loves A Woman |
| 2-1 | Wilson Pickett– | In The Midnight Hour |
| 2-2 | Ray Charles– | I’ve Got A Woman |
| 2-3 | Aretha Franklin– | I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You) |
| 2-4 | Otis Redding– | These Arms Of Mine |
| 2-5 | Barbara Lewis– | Hello Stranger |
| 2-6 | Solomon Burke– | If You Need Me |
| 2-7 | Jackie Wilson– | Lonely Teardrops |
| 2-8 | The Delfonics– | La La Means I Love You |
| 2-9 | Lou Rawls– | Love Is A Hurtin’ Thing |
| 2-10 | William DeVaughn– | Be Thankful For What You Got |
| 2-11 | Gladys Knight And The Pips– | Every Beat Of My Heart |
| 2-12 | The Esquires– | Get On Up |
| 2-13 | Betty Harris– | Cry To Me |
| 2-14 | Sam Cooke– | I’ll Come Running Back To You |
| 2-15 | Sam & Dave– | When Something Is Wrong With My Baby |
I know all the songs here except for the ones by Barbara Lewis and Betty Wright. Nothing here I really dislike . Probably the one I could due without is the Jerry Butler. My favorite would be Be Thankful for What You Got. I would probably give it a A-.
Steve, like you, I like most of the songs on these 2 CDs.
I like most of them and really, really like a few (Barbara Lewis, Jackie Wilson, Delfonics)! Only one I’d happy to never hear again is Respect! Not that it’s terrible, but I heard it so many times when I was at a place I couldn’t stand that I’m soured on it!
Bob, I’m with you on overplayed songs. There’s a burn-out factor to be considered.
*be happy*
Bob, I’m in Ohio right now. It’s hard to be happy here.
That doesn’t sound like a vacation…I hope things improve!
I know all of these songs—and like/love most of them. My favorites include “Green Onions”, “Slip Away”, and the aforementioned “Be Thankful for What You Got”. Something I learned from the encyclopedic “500 Songs” podcast is that Arthur Conley, who sang “Sweet Soul Music”, was a combination driver-gofer-assistant-valet-backup-singer for Otis Redding—and Otis always tried to give a hand-up to the people who worked for him; that’s how Conley ended up singing “Sweet Soul Music”.
Deb, thanks for the HISTORY OF ROCK IN 500 SONGS recommendation! I have listened to the two podcasts on “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” and marveled at all the stuff I did not know about Motown. I’ve read several books on Motown, but the podcast had information new to me!
I’ll repeat…in re what this intrepid podcaster digs up–Trust, But Verify. (Particularly as he wanders outside rock per se.)
Todd, you’re right. I need to verify more.
I recognize nearly all the performers and most of the songs. Another selection that spans my elementary school and college eras. Good to see Clarence Carter, Archie Bell & the Drells, and the Delfonics included. I’d have added the Dells and Brook Benton, but that’s a quibble. Thanks to Deb for the trivia about Arthur Conley. As Carson used to say (Johnny, not Ben), “I did not know that.”
Fred, I thin the Dells and Brook Benton show up on the other CDs in this series. Deb is a fount of information about just about Everything but especially music!
I knew that about Arthur Conley being a “protege” of Otis Redding’s.
I agree with you about Lou Rawls. My favorite of his is probably his sort of backup/duet with Sam Cooke on “Bring It on Home to Me.”
Yes, I know them all and like most of them, particularly I’ve Been Lovin’ You Too Long, Hello Stranger, and a few others.
Jeff, I’ll be featuring Lou Rawls in a post in a few weeks. He’s a favorite of mine, especially his early albums.
Now you’re getting into stuff I love/remember.
A standout for me is always Barbara Lewis’ Hello Stranger. It can’t be played too much. I think the Meyersons may have been lucky enough to see her.
Beth, I sometimes think the Meyersons have seen all the singers and groups!
Went and looked up Barbara Lewis. Now that I’ve listened to Hello Stranger I realized I know the song.
Steve, sadly our local Oldies radio station doesn’t play “Hello Stranger” much.
I can get a station that would probably play it but it also plays a lot of Bobby Rydell, James Darren, Paul Anka, so you have to listen to too much crap for my tastes.
I suspect I’ve heard and liked/loved nearly everything, if not indeed everything, here…probably your best anthology in memory at the moment. “I’ll Take You There” by the Staples family might nudge everything else by just this much, but only in certain moods (the Withers is probably my most common shower song here). Happily, I’ve not subjected myself to oldies radio for some decades, beyond waiting at a garage this morning and similar small exposures, so most of my overexposure is far enough in the past to be less tiresome than for some here.
Todd, I’m glad you consider THE SOUL STORY, Vol. 2 “probably your best anthology in memory”–it means a lot to me. I try hard to present music anthologies that have good music and cause comments.
I agree with Todd. Probably the best one you have reviewed that I can recall.
Steve, I appreciate you and Todd giving THE SOUL STORY, vol 2 some positive props. I have hundreds of compilation CDs still to listen to!