THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
2,164) Barbara Lewis — “I’ll Make Him Love Me”
Pop-soul at its finest, Barbara Lewis’ (see #643) last charting single reached #72 in ’67, and was “co-written by Howard Greenfield, one of the Brill Building’s most successful songwriters”. (Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame, https://michiganrockandrolllegends.com/hall-of-fame/artists/298-barbara-lewis)
ELPEE writes:
As a fixture of the mid-1960s pop and rhythm and blues landscape, Barbara Lewis carved out a distinctive niche with her smooth, understated vocal delivery and sophisticated phrasing. Following a succession of notable successes that established her presence on the national music scene, Lewis continued to issue material that bridged the gap between traditional rhythm and blues, deep soul, and mainstream pop sensibilities. . . . [H]er recording of “I’ll Make Him Love Me” arrived during a vibrant era for soul music, when major and independent labels alike were refining the crossover sound that appealed to both AM radio listeners and rhythm and blues record buyers. [Its] stylistic profile . . . reflects the refined production approaches common to mid-decade soul singles. . . . draw[ing] specifically upon the stylistic conventions of rhythm and blues, soul, and the ballad tradition. Rather than relying on explosive vocal gymnastics, Lewis utilized a gentle yet resolute delivery style that became her signature, projecting emotional vulnerability balanced with quiet determination.
https://elpee.jp/single/I%27ll%20Make%20Him%20Love%20Me/Barbara%20Lewis/
Richie Unterberger sketches out Lewis’ history:
Pop-soul doesn’t get much better than Barbara Lewis, whose seductive, emotive croon took “Hello Stranger” to number three in 1963. The Michigan native had been writing songs since the age of nine, and began recording as a teenager with producer Ollie McLaughlin . . . . Lewis wrote all of the songs on her debut LP (including “Hello Stranger”) and confidently handled harmony soul numbers (some with backing by the Dells) and more pop-savvy tunes, some of which, like “Hello Stranger,” were driven by an organ and a bossa nova-like beat. Follow-ups to “Hello Stranger” didn’t sell nearly as well (although one of her singles, “Someday We’re Gonna Love Again,” was covered by the Searchers [see #352, 394, 636, 1,278, 1,725, 1,799] for a British Invasion hit). In the mid-’60s she began doing some recordings in New York City, with assistance from producers like Bert Berns and Jerry Wexler, that employed more orchestral arrangements and pop-conscious material. The approach clicked, both commercially and artistically: “Baby I’m Yours” and “Make Me Your Baby” were both big hits, and both among the best mid-’60s girl group-style productions. Lewis cut an album in the late ’60s for Stax (on the Enterprise subsidiary) that, as one would expect, gave her sound a grittier approach, without compromising the smooth and poppy elements integral to the singer’s appeal. It passed mostly unnoticed, though, and Lewis withdrew from the music business after a few other singles. The “beach music” scene of the Carolinas remains a bastion of appreciation for Lewis’ records, which continue to enjoy popularity and airplay there decades after their original release.
Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame tells us how her career began:
Each of her parents had an orchestra and there would often be family gatherings that would evolve into jam sessions at which young Barbara would get to sing. Her bandleader father played trumpet, her mother and an uncle played saxophones, and she had an aunt who was a music teacher. . . . Barbara began playing piano, guitar, and harmonica and was writing songs at the age of nine. In an interview she gave in 1993, Barbara claimed that she had no career aspirations in music at that time. She was just having fun, performing in local talent shows and thinking about going into nursing as a profession. That all changed after Barbara was discovered by Ollie McLaughlin. The former Ann Arbor disc jockey had promoted R&B shows during the 1950s that featured top vocal groups including the The Spaniels, The Dells, The Dominoes, The Clovers, and solo stars like James Brown, Little Willie John, Louis Jordan, and Ruth Brown. Barbara’s father had met McLaughlin when he went to Ann Arbor to play with his band. McLaughlin, who had recently discovered Del Shannon and had brought him to Harry Balk and Irv Micahnik in Detroit, was always on the lookout for songs and artists and found out about Barbara while talking with her father. After setting up an audition, at which Barbara sang a cappella, McLaughlin offered to manage and produce her. He was impressed with her unique vocal style and some of the songs she had written. Her father didn’t think it was a great idea, however, and Barbara didn’t really take the offer seriously since she was getting ready to take her entrance exams to be a nurse. Nevertheless, her mother cast the deciding vote, no doubt impressed by McLaughlin’s industry connections and the fact that he owned a trio of record labels (Carla, Karen, and Moira) named after his three daughters. McLaughlin saw potential in the peppy, upbeat tune Barbara had written called “My Heart Went Do Dat Da”, and he wanted to record it for his Karen label. Barbara claimed that she wrote the song on an upright piano while she was babysitting one night . . . .
https://michiganrockandrolllegends.com/hall-of-fame/artists/298-barbara-lewis
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