THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,897) Bobby Womack — “More than I Can Stand”
This majestic song by the great Bobby Womack (see #918, 919) only reached #90 (though it did reach #23 on Billboard’s R&B chart).
Henriettaparks586 says “OH MY GOD!!! LAWD!!! HAVEN’T HEARD THIS!! IN DECADES!!! THE PREACHER IS DELIVERING HIS SERMON!!! MORE THAN I CAN STAND!! IT’S TO DAMN SHORT!!!!” (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=B6_AX4zZjcE&list=RDB6_AX4zZjcE&start_radio=1&pp=ygUiQm9iYnkgd29tYWNrIG1vcmUgdGhhbiBJIGNhbiBzdGFuZKAHAQ%3D%3D) And GREATTECH recalls that:
I was a teenager in 1967 when this came out. I was in New Orleans, and this was MY JAM! We had a DJ named R.J.JENKINS on soul radio WBOK 1230 am that sang and narrated as it was playing….I found out what love and soul were all about. Bobby talked through his monologue “the preacher” before singing this song on the end. R.J. made you feel like you were at CHURCH when Bobby said “Everybody say yeah!” This was the most soulful jam in my young life…it made a BELIEVER out of me….I STILL love it at 68 years old. Just SAYIN’!!!
You can’t get any better endorsements than that!
As to Bobby Womack’s early solo career, Steve Huey writes that:
Able to shine in the spotlight as a singer or behind the scenes as an instrumentalist and songwriter, Womack never got his due from pop audiences, but during the late ’60s and much of the ’70s, he was a consistent hitmaker on the R&B charts . . . . [Sam] Cooke’s tragic death in December 1964 left Womack greatly shaken and the Valentinos’ career in limbo. Just three months later, Womack married Cooke’s widow, Barbara Campbell, which earned him tremendous ill will in the R&B community . . . . Womack found himself unable to get his solo career rolling in the wake of the scandal; singles . . . were avoided like the plague despite their quality. . . . To make ends meet, Womack became a backing guitarist, first landing a job with Ray Charles; he went on to make a valuable connection in producer Chips Moman, and appeared often at Moman’s American Studio in Memphis, as well as nearby Muscle Shoals, Alabama. In the process, Womack appeared on classic recordings by the likes of Joe Tex, King Curtis, and Aretha Franklin . . . among others. He recorded singles . . . without success, but became one of Wilson Pickett’s favorite songwriters, contributing the R&B Top Ten hits “I’m in Love” and “I’m a Midnight Mover” (plus 15 other tunes) to the singer’s repertoire. Womack had been slated to record a solo album . . . but had given Pickett most of his best material, which actually wound up getting his name back in the public eye in a positive light. In 1968, he scored the first charting single of his solo career with “What Is This?” and soon hit with a string of inventively reimagined pop covers — “Fly Me to the Moon,” “California Dreamin’,” and “I Left My Heart in San Francisco[]” . . . . A songwriting partnership with engineer Darryl Carter resulted in the R&B hits “It’s Gonna Rain,” “How I Miss You Baby,” and “More Than I Can Stand” over 1969-1970. . . . . [H]e contributed the ballad “Trust Me” to Janis Joplin[] . . . . He also teamed up with jazz guitarist Gabor Szabo . . . [on] Womack’s composition “Breezin’” (which . . . became a smash for George Benson six years later). . . . Womack played guitar on Sly & the Family Stone’s There’s A Riot Goin’ On, a masterpiece of darkly psychedelic funk . . . .
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/bobby-womack-mn0000064509/biography
Here is Bobby Live. Tonybates7870 says “Great version. Kicks the sh*t out of the studio recording.” (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QXB9_gd6G7A&list=RDQXB9_gd6G7A&start_radio=1&pp=ygUiQm9iYnkgd29tYWNrIG1vcmUgdGhhbiBJIGNhbiBzdGFuZKAHAdIHCQmuCgGHKiGM7w%3D%3D) I think they both kick sh*t, but in any event, here goes:
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