My Playlist
1. Can't Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe
2. Love Train
3. Use Me
4. Drift Away
5. The Rubberband Man
6. Show and Tell
7. Treat Her Like A Lady
8. Walking in Rhythm
9. It's Too Late
10. Get Ready
11. Everybody Plays the Fool
12. I'll Be Around
13. This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)
14. Have You Seen Her?
15. Midnight Train to Georgia
Rhythm and Blues music began in the 1940s as a genre predominantly performed African-American artists. Various styles were based on a mingling of European influences with jazz rhythms and tonal inflections, particularly syncopation and the flatted blues chords
Rhythm-and-blues grew out of the blues and related styles but is played by an ensemble, typically of a lead singer or instrumentalist, a rhythm section (bass, drums and some combination of piano, electric organ and electric guitar) and a group consisting of voices, wind instruments, guitar or organ. As music evolved, these guidelines for R&B music didn’t always hold true, but the emotions and influences stayed the same. The R&B music of the 1970s incorporated many of the same elements in many of the songs. Orchestral instruments, woodwinds and strings, provide much of the rhythm and many of the groups consist of a single lead singer backed by the vocals of the rest of his/her band.
I chose to include this playlist because growing up, my parents listened to this music. As a result, I was forced to listen to it. At first, I resisted it, but it eventually became a big part of my life and now I can’t live without it. These are what I consider to be the best R&B songs of the 1970s.
Artist: Barry White
Song: Can't Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe
Album: Can't Get Enough
Record Company: 20th Century
Date of Publication: 1974
Catalog number: n/a
One of soul and R&B’s biggest stars, Barry White voice is one that can always clearly be defined. In this song, White expresses his love for a woman. Just as the title suggests, White feels like he can’t get enough love or spend enough time with the woman he loves. The soulful sound of White’s voice makes this track unforgettable.
Song: Love Train
Album: Back Stabbers
Record Company: Philadelphia International
Date of Publication: 1972
Catalog number: n/a
Love Train was the first and only #1 hit song for the O’Jays who were recently inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Love Train calls for the people of the world to come together in peace and love each other. Since its release, it the song has been used in many commercials and other media spots. The O’Jays soulful sound and harmonized chorus make their music passionate and memorable.
Song: Use Me
Album: Still Bill
Record Company: Sussex
Date of Publication: 1972
Catalog number: n/a
Use Me tells the story of a man who’s friends tell him he’s being used by his lover. He disregards the advice and continues to see his lover. After not believing his friends and relatives at first, by the end of the song, the singer acknowledges the abuse he has been taking, and admits to being used. Another man with a deep, soulful voice, Bill Withers puts his passion into this song as he sings his blues with little other than his acoustic guitar.
Song: Drift Away
Album: Drift Away
Record Company: Decca
Date of Publication: 1973
Catalog number: n/a
Drift away is a cover version of John Henry Kurtz’s song of the same name, however Gray’s version has become the much more popular version. The song deals with music being an escape from reality. Whatever emotion a person is feeling, they can escape from it by getting lost in the rhythm of music. The rhythm of this song aims to do just that as the bluesy guitar and raspy voice of Gray allow the listener to escape from all reality.
Song: The Rubberband Man
Album: Happiness is Being With The Spinners
Record Company: Atlantic
Date of Publication: 1976
Catalog number: n/a
"The Rubberband Man" tells the story of a man who plays music with rubberbands. Although the sounds aren’t modern, they still make music. With the song containing the sounds of rubberbands in the baseline, the song shows how simple music can still sound great. The Spinners use the sound of five men and an array of trumpets in the background to emphasize their soulful voices.
Song: Show and Tell
Album: Happiness is Being With The Spinners
Record Company: Rocky Road
Date of Publication: 1973
Catalog number: n/a
Also a cover of an original Johnny Mathis song, Al Wilson scored a much bigger hit with his version of “Show and Tell”. The song is a story about love and the games that men and women have to play to make a relationship work. The singer wants his lover to show him and tell him that she cares and wants him as much as he does. Wilson's sultry voice is what makes this track stand out from the rest as he slowly and melodically sings about his troubles as orchestral instruments, drums, and background singers add the backbone of the song.
Song: Treat Her Like A Lady
Album: The Story of the Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose
Record Company: United Artists
Date of Publication: 1972
Catalog number: n/a
Lyrics: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/c/cornelius_brothers_sister_rose/treat_her_like_a_lady.html
"Treat Her Like A Lady" is a song about how to get women. The singer is asked why he gets so many women, and the answer is that you have to treat her well, or “like a lady”. It’s a song to men about what they have to do in order to get the girl of their dreams. Following the pattern of many other R&B songs of the decade, The Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose use one lead singer with a few backup singers that add to the overall soulful feel of the song. Also, the song uses just a bass guitar and light drums to emphasize the voices more than anything else in the song.
Song: Walking in Rhythm
Album: Flying Start
Record Company: Fantasy
Date of Publication: 1975
Catalog number: n/a
The song tells the tale of a man who is desperate to get back home to his female lover. The man has been away for a long time, and is aching to be back with his woman. He’s trying to listen to music and get lost in the rhythm in order to stop thinking about how much he wants to see his lover. My favorite part of the song is the transition from the beginning part of the song that sounds airy and light to the part of the song that suddenly gets serious. As in many of the other R&B songs, orchestral instruments play a large role in the background and this song even features a prominent flute solo.
Song: Too Late to Turn Back Now
Album: The Story of the Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose
Record Company: United Artists
Date of Publication: 1972
Catalog number: n/a
Lyrics: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/c/cornelius_brothers_sister_rose/too_late_to_turn_back_now.html
This song is about falling in love against one’s will. The singer is warned about falling in love with a girl, and that falling in love can have lots of negative consequences. However, he can’t help himself and that it’s too late for him, for he’s already fallen in love with her and he wants her to love him back. As with their other songs, the Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose use minimal instruments in the background and rather use background singers and light orchestral instruments to better emphasize their soulful voices at the forefront of the song.
Song: Get Ready
Album: Get Ready
Record Company: Motown
Date of Publication: 1970
Catalog number: n/a
"Get Ready" is another cover of a Temptations song that performed better on the charts than the original. As with many songs of this genre, “Get Ready” is about a man’s love for a woman. He loves her, but she doesn’t know it yet, and he’s on his way to show her before anyone else can get to her. This song also uses one lead singer and a few background singers to emphasize the sound. Other instruments are used in the background, but as in many of the R&B songs of the decade, the singers provide the most prominent sounds.
Song: Everybody Plays the Fool
Album: Everybody Plays the Fool
Record Company: BMG
Date of Publication: 1972
Catalog number: n/a
This song is about a man who has just had his heart broken by a woman who didn’t love him. Simply stated, the song says that not everyone will always love you and that everybody has their heart broken at some point in their life. An interesting fact is that Cuba Gooding Sr. is a member of The Main Ingredient. The Main Ingredient also uses one lead singer, and the rest of the band serves as backup singers. Orchestral instruments can also be heard in the background, very typical of 1970s R&B.
Song: I'll Be Around
Album: Spinners
Record Company: Atlantic
Date of Publication: 1973
Catalog number: n/a
This song is about a man pledging his devotion and love to a woman that has just left him for another man. He is still holding out hope that she will return to him, saying that if she does come back “I’ll be around”. He acknowledges that his heart is broken, but that he still wants to be with her. Holding true to the common theme of this decade of R&B, one lead singer provides the leading vocals for the band, and the rest of the band provides backing vocals.
Song: This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)
Album: Inseparable
Record Company: Capitol
Date of Publication: 1975
Catalog number: n/a
“This will be (An Everlasting Love) deals with the singer, Natalie Cole, finding someone she wants to be with and love the rest of her life. She feels that she has found the one who makes her happy and who her love for will be “everlasting”. Slightly different from the other songs in the playlist because Cole is a solo female singer, "This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)" still contains many of the same elements of the other R&B songs from the 1970s such as backing orchestral instruments and a loud soulful voice that is at the forefront of the sound.
Song: Have You Seen Her?
Album: (For God's Sake) Give More Power to the People
Record Company: Brunswick
Date of Publication: 1971
Catalog number: n/a
This song tells the story of a man who was once happy. However, his girl has left him, and he begins to feel lonely even though he has the hope that she will return to him. She never returns, but he hopes to get a letter from her and he wonders how she got away. The Chi-Lites incorporate many of the same elements as other songs of the decade such as a lead singer accompanied by the rest of his band singing backup.
Song: Midnight Train to Georgia
Album: Imagination
Record Company: Buddah
Date of Publication: 1973
Catalog number: n/a
Lyrics: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/g/gladys_knight_and_the_pips/midnight_train_to_georgia.html
Midnight Train to Georgia is a song about how love can conquer differences in background. The singer tells about a man who leaves his life in Georgia in order to pursue fame in Los Angeles, but fails and decides to move back to Georgia. Knight plans to return to Georgia with him because she loves him so much. True to the regular characteristics of 1970s R&B this song contains a lead singer accompanied by her background singers and orchestral instruments providing the rhythm in the background.
