Try Me (song)
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| "Try Me" | ||||
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| Single by James Brown and The Famous Flames | ||||
| from the album Please Please Please | ||||
| B-side | "Tell Me What I Did Wrong" | |||
| Released | October 1958 | |||
| Format | 7" (mono) | |||
| Recorded | September 18, 1958, at Beltone Studios, New York, NY | |||
| Genre | Rhythm and blues, doo-wop | |||
| Length | 2:30 | |||
| Label | Federal 12337 |
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| Writer(s) | James Brown | |||
| Producer | Andy Gibson | |||
| James Brown and The Famous Flames singles chronology | ||||
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- For other uses, see Try Me
"Try Me" is a song written and performed by James Brown. He recorded it with his singing group The Famous Flames in 1958. A plaintive ballad, it was the group's second R&B hit (following 1956's "Please, Please, Please"), and early in 1959 it became their first song to reach #1 on the R&B chart and was also the first time the group hit the Hot 100, peaking at number forty-eight.[1]. Its success is credited with saving Brown's recording career after a string of nine non-charting singles. He described the song as "really a pop tune. I had heard 'Raindrops' by Dee Clark and 'For Your Precious Love' by Jerry Butler, so I wrote my song to fit between them."[2] He may have been thinking of another Dee Clark song, as "Raindrops" was released two years later after "Try Me".
"Try Me" was included on the albums Please Please Please and Try Me.
Contents |
[edit] Personnel
- James Brown - lead vocal
and The Famous Flames:
- Johnny Terry - vocals
- Bill Hollings - vocals
- J.W. Archer - vocals
- Louis Madison - vocals
plus:
- George Dorsey - alto saxophone
- Clifford Scott - tenor saxophone
- Ernie Hayes - piano
- Kenny Burrell - guitar
- Carl Pruitt - bass
- David "Panama" Francis - drums
[edit] Other versions
"Try Me" is the second song Brown performs on Live at the Apollo.
Brown recorded a version of "Try Me" with strings for his 1963 album Prisoner of Love.
Brown recorded an instrumental version of "Try Me" for the Smash label in 1965 which charted #34 R&B and #63 Pop in the U.S. It marked one of the few times in American music history that a song became a hit on two separate occasions in vocal and instrumental form by the same artist.
[edit] Last performance
One of the last performances of the song in concert was in late 2006 with the guest girl group, Sugababes. Sugababes were among the last to perform with Brown before his death.[citation needed]
[edit] Citations
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 83.
- ^ Brown, James, with Bruce Tucker. James Brown: The Godfather of Soul (New York: Macmillan Publishing Company,1986), 91.
[edit] References
- Leeds, Alan M., and Harry Weinger (1991). Star Time: Song by Song. In Star Time (pp. 46–53) [CD liner notes]. London: Polydor Records.
- White, Cliff (1991). Discography. In Star Time (pp. 54–59) [CD liner notes]. London: Polydor Records.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 83.
- ^ Brown, James, with Bruce Tucker. James Brown: The Godfather of Soul (New York: Macmillan Publishing Company,1986), 91.
[edit] External links
- Song Review from Allmusic
| Preceded by "Lonely Teardrops" by Jackie Wilson |
Billboard Hot R&B Sides number-one single February 2, 1959 |
Succeeded by "Stagger Lee" by Lloyd Price |
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