Covered with Soul Vol. 9
I”ve said it before: no other series on this blog is as much fun to put together than the Covered With Soul compilations. And I”ve yet a few mixes in store.
There are have been a couple of pretty radical reworkings of songs; Maxine Weldon“s interpretation of George Gershwin”s  I”ll Build A Stairway To Paradise (best known, perhaps, as Georges Guetary”s showstopper in the An American In Paris musical) is one of them.
On the other hand, if the version of Spirit In The Sky by The Stovall Sisters has echoes of the original, then it is because the soul-gospel group provided the backing vocals to Norman Greenbaum”s record.
Donnie Elbert had been around for a long time before he covered Michael Jackson”s “We’ve Got A Good Thing Going” “” in fact, he had been recording longer than Michael had been alive, having his first R&B hit in 1957. Talking of covers, in the early 1970s he recorded an album of Otis Redding covers, as well as a few old Motown hits. He died in 1989 at 52.
If you might not know James Gilstrap“s name, and you might never heard any of his records before (though he had a #4 UK hit in 1975 with Swing Your Daddy), but you might well recognise the voice: he is the male voice that duets with Lani Groves at the start of Stevie Wonder”s You Are The Sunshine Of My Life. Or as one of the voices on the theme for the TV show Good Times. He has been prolific as a backing singer for acts as diverse as Quincy Jones, Elton John, Anita Baker, England Dan and John Ford Coley, Boz Scaggs (including on Lowdown), Joe Cocker, Sarah Vaughan, and Kelis.
Like Nancy Wilson, Salena Jones is better known as a jazz artist (her first name is a combination of the first names of Sarah Vaughan and Lena Horne) who had a soul audience.
TRACKLISTING
1. Barbara Acklin – To Sir, With Love (1968)
2. Al Green – I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry (1973)
3. James Brown – Your Cheatin’ Heart (1969)
4. Maxayn – Gimme Shelter (1972)
5. Sunday’s Child – Maybe I’m Amazed (1970)
6. Hearts Of Stone – You’ve Made Me So Very Happy (1970)
7. Sly & the Family Stone – Que Sera Sera (1973)
8. Rotary Connection – Lady Jane (1967)
9. Erma Franklin – Son Of A Preacher Man (1968)
10. Sharon Cash – Change Gonna Come (1970)
11. Melba Moore – He Ain’t Heavy He’s My Brother (1971)
12. Esther Phillips – Into The Mystic (1977)
13. Salena Jones – Everbody’s Talkin’ (1970)
14. Thelma Jones – Angel Of The Morning (1978)
15. James Gilstrap – Hello, It’s Me (1976)
16. Donnie Elbert – We’ve Got A Good Thing Going (1974)
17. The Isley Brothers – Put A Little Love In Your Heart (1972)
18. The Stovall Sisters – Spirit In The Sky (1971)
19. Maxine Weldon – I’ll Build A Stairway To Paradise (1975)
20. Loleatta Holloway – (I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons (1971)
21. The Sweet Inspirations – To Love Somebody (1968)
22. Nancy Wilson – Make It With You (1971)
23. The Persuasions – Since I Fell For You (1970)
“¦
Sly Stone covered Doris Day in more ways than one I heard!
Another great job, Dude.
a.m. dude, if your covered with soul collections are 1/10 as much fun to put together as they are to listen to, you’re having as much of a blast as i am hearing them. very nice, thank you.
Perfect – love listening to your compilations, there’s always something new and amazing! You’ve introduced me to some really great stuff and I look forward to more – Thank you!
Wow!! Just stumbled on your blog and I’m loving it already, based on this mix. Some great stuff here. Thanks for the mix!
Superb, even by the standards in the great series. Thanks, these are such fun. W.