Ike and Tina Turner

Listen/Download Ike and Tina Turner – Somebody Needs You

Greetings all

I hope the middle of the week finds you all well.

The song I bring you today is one of those anomalies that piques my curiosity and sends me off on a search.

A while back I was listening to the two volumes of the Ike and Tina Turner Revue recorded live, released in 1965 on Loma and Warner Brothers.

If you get a chance to pick up either volume, they are both outstanding, presenting the group in fine form delivering a wide variety of material, including great covers of songs by the Impressions, Etta James, the Soul Sisters, the Five Dutones and more.

The one track (on Volume 2) that stuck out like a sore thumb was ‘Somebody (Somewhere) Needs You’.

Clearly a studio track with audience overdubs (where every other track was live), the song was also a stylistic departure.

Whereas Ike and Tina and the Ikettes always had a harder, R&B inflected edge to their recordings, ‘Somebody (Somewhere) Needs You’ was stylish, Detroit-style Northern Soul.

I hit the reference books and discovered that the song had been released as a single in 1965, and that it was fairly scarce, and a little bit expensive.

It took me a little while, but I finally tracked down a copy.

Even a single listen should be enough to convince you that ‘Somebody Needs You’ (as the track is listed on the Loma 45) is unlike anything else in the Ike and Tina discography.

As it turns out, the song has an interesting history.

Written by Frank Wilson (the man that brought you ‘Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)’), ‘Somebody (Somewhere) Needs You’ was also recorded by Darrell Banks (Revilot 1966).

The backing track from the Ike and Tina version was recycled several times.

First as Larry Laster’s ‘Go For Yourself’ (with new lyrics by, and credited to Leon Sylvers) on Loma in 1966, a year later by Herb and Doris on the HIP label, as ‘Lighten Up’ by Larry Atkins on the Highland label, and by Ty Karim as ‘Lighten Up Baby’ on Car-A-Mel!

Interestingly enough, the Darrell Banks recording uses a completely different track/arrangement.

It’s an amazing record, and a real departure for Ike and Tina. It leaves me wishing that they’d done more like it.

I hope you dig it too, and I’ll see you on Friday.

Keep the faith

Larry

 

 

 

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Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived! The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock. They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US). Click here to go to the ordering page.

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

 

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.