THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,888) Barbara Lynn — “Sufferin’ City”
This “[b]rass laden track[] . . . [is] a soulful blast” (David Bowling, https://www.dailyvault.com/toc.php5?review=8450) It is indeed, but the lyrics are more downbeat. A woman done wrong by her man just wants to return to her home town so she asks him “Can you find it in your heart to show a little pity and help me get away from this sufferin’ city?”
Peter Margasak writes that Lynn “was not only a remarkable vocalist with a plush, throaty, and powerful instrument, but one hell of a songwriter and a terrific guitarist (the latter two skills were generally suppressed in female artists during the early 60s, when she first emerged).” (https://chicagoreader.com/blogs/until-then-ill-suffer-classic-late-60s-soul-from-barbara-lynn/) She is “a singer with a raw soulful style that really deserved greater exploration”. (FunkMySoul, https://www.funkmysoul.gr/barbara-lynn-1968-barbara-lynn/) And “[w]hile she may not have attained the commercial success of some of her contemporaries, she has produced a catalogue of music that is equal to the best of her era.” (David Bowling again)
As to Barbara Lynn’s ’68 LP — Here Is Barbara Lynn — FunkMySoul writes:
[It is a] fantastic album of soul . . . an oft-overlooked gem in the crown of Atlantic during their glory soul days in the 60s . . . . The album’s filled with wonderful original tunes, written either by Barbara or arrangers Cliff Thomas, Ed Thomas, and Bob McRee [who collectively penned “Sufferin’ City”] – and there’s an overall style that’s nicely free of some of the more familiar Atlantic Records modes of the time – quite possibly because the set was recorded at the Grits & Gravy Studios in Clinton, Mississippi by Huey P Meux – who mostly did more obscure indie work at the time. Whatever the case, the whole thing is Barbara Lynn’s lasting tribute.
Steve Huey gives us some history:
Singer/guitarist Barbara Lynn was a rare commodity during her heyday. Not only was she a female instrumentalist (one of the very first to hit the charts), but she also played left-handed — quite well at that — and even wrote some of her own material. Lynn’s music often straddled the line between blues and Southern R&B, and since much of her early work . . . was recorded in New Orleans, it bore the sonic imprint of the Crescent City. Lynn was born Barbara Lynn Ozen in Beaumont, TX . . . [S]he played the piano as a child before switching to guitar, inspired by Elvis Presley. In junior high, Lynn formed her own band, Bobbie Lynn and the Idols . . . . After winning a few talent shows and playing some teen dances, the still-underage Lynn started working the local clubs and juke joints, risking getting kicked out of school . . . . Singer Joe caught her live act and recommended her to his friend, producer/impresario Huey P. Meaux, aka the Crazy Cajun. With her parents’ consent, Meaux brought Lynn to New Orleans to record at the legendary Cosimo’s studio. Lynn cut a few singles for the Jamie label with the understanding that if none hit, she was to attend college instead of pursuing music right off the bat. In 1962, her self-penned ballad “You’ll Lose a Good Thing” became a national hit, reaching the pop Top Ten and climbing all the way to number one on the R&B charts. Her first album . . . was also released that year, featuring ten of her originals . . . . Lynn continued to record for Jamie up through 1965, producing follow-up R&B hits like “You’re Gonna Need Me” and “Oh Baby (We Got a Good Thing Goin’),” the latter of which was recorded by the Rolling Stones . . . . In 1966, Lynn switched over to Meaux’s Tribe label and cut “You Left the Water Running,” which became something of an R&B standard and was covered by the likes of Otis Redding [see #1,333, 1,385]. In 1967, she signed with Atlantic and had another R&B hit with “This Is the Thanks I Get” early the following year; she also issued another album, Here Is Barbara Lynn, in 1968. Lynn scored one last hit for Atlantic in 1972’s “(Until Then) I’ll Suffer,” but by this point, she had several children to worry about raising; dissatisfied with her promotion anyway, she wound up effectively retiring from the music business for most of the ’70s and ’80s . . . .
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/barbara-lynn-mn0000149973#biography
FunkMySoul adds:
[A]t elementary school . . . [Barbara] told her mother she wanted to play guitar. “I decided that playing piano was a little bit too common, you know what I mean?” says Lynn in the new liner notes [to Here Is Barbara Lynn]. “You’d always see a lady or a little girl sitting at a piano. I decided I wanted to play something more unexpected, so that’s when I got interested in learning to play the guitar.” . . . Hers was a powerful talent in a petite package, a performer who could stand up against the best–even as a teenager. Spotted while performing, underage, in Louisiana, she was offered the chance to record her own material, songs that filtered the experience of being a black Texan teen with power, feel, and guts.
And Dave Stephens adds:
In an Aquarium Drunkard interview . . . . [she said that she] “had been playing the keyboard, but I thought it was so very common seeing a young lady sing at the piano. So I thought, ‘I want to play something odd.[‘] Something I felt I could make money at. And I made money at it, too! I really did.” In grade school she started an all female band called Barbara Lynn and Her Idols and commenced playing local dances and entering – and winning – talent competitions. Singer Joe Barry saw her at one of these gigs and was so impressed that he brought her to the attention of producer/manager/label owner/all-round music man, Huey P. Meaux. After asking her parents for permission, the latter took her to Cosimo Matassa’s famous studio in New Orleans, where apparently she knocked out the session musicians with her ability on guitar (and we are told that Mac Rebennack/Dr. John [see #177, 769] was one of them”.
Here is Johnny & Lilly:
Here is Johnny Copeland solo:
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