Sweet Soul Music
| "Sweet Soul Music" | |
|---|---|
| Song | |
| B-side | "Let's Go Steady" |
"Sweet Soul Music" is a soul song, first released by Arthur Conley in 1967. Written by Conley and Otis Redding, it is based on the Sam Cooke song "Yeah Man" from his posthumous album Shake; the opening riff is a quote from Elmer Bernstein's score for the 1960 movie The Magnificent Seven.
It reached the number two spot on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the Billboard R&B chart, and #7 on the UK Singles Chart.[2] J. W. Alexander, Sam Cooke's business partner, sued both Redding and Conley for plagiarizing the melody. A settlement was reached in which Cooke's name was added to the writer credits, and Otis Redding agreed to record some songs in the future from Kags Music, a Cooke – JW Alexander enterprise.[citation needed]
Lyrics
The song is an homage to soul music. The following songs are mentioned in the lyrics:
- "Going to a Go-Go" by The Miracles; the group is not explicitly mentioned.
- "Love Is a Hurtin' Thing" by Lou Rawls
- "Hold On, I'm Comin' " by Sam & Dave
- "Mustang Sally" by Wilson Pickett
- "Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa" by Otis Redding. A brief instrumental version of the chorus for the song is quoted, after Conley says the words "Hit it Otis".
Additionally, James Brown is described as "the king of them all".[3]
At the end of the song, Arthur Conley sings the lyrics: "Otis Redding got the feeling."
References
- ^ The Muscle Shoals Sound CD Liner Notes, Rhino Records, 1993
- ^ "Sweet Soul Music". Songfacts. Retrieved November 12, 2009.
- ^ Gilliland, John (1969). "Show 51 - The Soul Reformation: Phase three, soul music at the summit. [Part 7] : UNT Digital Library" (audio). Pop Chronicles. University of North Texas Libraries.