THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,939) The Impressions — “I’m the One Who Loves You”
Curtis Mayfield wrote this endearing and lovely ’63 Impressions (see #118, 285, 1,347, 1,544, 1,848) A-side that moved on up to #73 (but nowhere on the R&B chart). “It’s impossible to fault . . . . Mayfield’s voice is suited perfectly to the patient best friend of a lady who prefers meaner men”. (Angus Taylor, https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/c2p2/)
It also made it onto the Impressions’ first LP. John Bush writes:
[It] was one of the finest debuts of any ’60s soul act, though it excelled in part because it featured a backlog of chart singles . . . . Curtis Mayfield wrote all but two of the songs, stretching back to 1961’s “Gypsy Woman” . . . but mostly including strong 1962-1963 material like the hit “Little Young Lover,” “Grow Closer Together,” “I’m the One Who Loves You,” and “Minstrel and Queen.” . . . Mayfield’s disarmingly brilliant songs were really the only necessary element toward making The Impressions a strong LP, but the mesmerizing vocals and sympathetic arrangements made for a classic work of Chicago soul.
Ah, the Impressions. Steve Huey puts it well:
The quintessential Chicago soul group, the Impressions’ place in R&B history would be secure if they’d done nothing but launch the careers of soul legends Jerry Butler [see #347, 1,921] and Curtis Mayfield. But far more than that, the Impressions recorded some of the most distinctive vocal-group R&B of the ’60s under Mayfield’s guidance. Their style was marked by airy, feather-light harmonies and Mayfield’s influentially sparse guitar work, plus, at times, understated Latin rhythms. If their sound was sweet and lilting, it remained richly soulful thanks to the group’s firm grounding in gospel tradition; they popularized the three-part vocal trade-offs common in gospel but rare in R&B at the time, and recorded their fair share of songs with spiritual themes, both subtle and overt. Furthermore, Mayfield’s interest in the Civil Rights movement led to some of the first socially conscious R&B songs ever recorded, and his messages grew more explicit as the ’60s wore on, culminating in the streak of brilliance that was his early-’70s solo work.
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-impressions-mn0000082013#biography
1,940) The Paramounts — “I’m the One Who Loves You”
The UK’s Paramounts did an outstanding job with the song, painting with a whiter shade of the Impressions. But, the ’64 A-side failed to chart.
As to the Paramounts, Bruce Eder writes:
Once hailed by the Rolling Stones as “the best R&B group in England,” they toiled for years with only the most modest chart success, and that on their first single. . . . The origins of the Paramounts go back to a band contest at the Palace Hotel Dancehall in Southend. The organizer thought to get the best members of the competing groups together in a single band. He ended up managing a lineup of Gary Brooker on piano, then 14 years old, Robin Trower on guitar, Chris Copping on bass, Bob Scott as singer, and Mick Brownlee on drums. It turned out that, except for Scott . . . they were all huge R&B fans . . . . Scott didn’t last long with the group and when he failed to turn up for a gig one day, Brooker found himself pressed into service as a singer . . . . In 1961, the Paramounts began playing the basement of a café owned by Trower’s father . . . and acquiring an audience of young mods, R&B enthusiasts all. They honed their sound during this period and became one of the better working bands of the time as their lineup evolved. By late 1962, Copping had left the band to attend college and was succeeded on bass by Diz Derrick; drummer Brownlee also exited the lineup, to be replaced by B.J. Wilson. By mid-1963, they were one of the more advanced R&B outfits in London . . . . They were signed to Parlophone Records in late 1963 and made their debut with “Poison Ivy[]” . . . . [which] skirted the lower reaches of the sales listings with help from appearances on the television shows Ready! Steady! Go! and Thank Your Lucky Stars. It was after appearing on the latter program with the Rolling Stones that the Paramounts received the aforementioned endorsement. The group was never able to capitalize on the publicity, however. A second single, “Bad Blood,” failed to hit, and a third single, “I’m the One Who Loves You,” was primarily notable for its B-side, “It Won’t Be Long,” which was the first track ever written by the group members. A Brooker/Trower composition, it didn’t attract much attention, but it did open a new phase in Brooker’s career as a composer. . . . [I]n late 1966, the Paramounts broke up. . . . Brooker . . . began writing songs with lyricist Keith Reid. In 1967, they arranged to cut a song that they’d written, called “A Whiter Shade of Pale,” which was recorded by a studio band credited as Procol Harum. When it became a hit, not only were new recordings needed, but there were demands for a tour. In the course of putting together a real live Procol Harum, Brooker rejoined Trower and Wilson [and later Chris Copping].
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-paramounts-mn0000482080#biography
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