It was on this day in 1967, that a soul classic was certified gold. I’m talking about Arthur Conley’s Sweet Soul Music.
“Do you like good music?” is the opening lyric to the song. It comes after an attention-getting brass heavy intro.
Fun Fact: If the intro sounds familiar, it is because it is literally from the Elmer Bernstein theme to The Magnificent Seven!
From there, Arthur Conley is on fire, taking on “Wilson Pickett-like” energy. Naturally, the Wicked Pickett gets a nod in the song, but if the original version had never been re-written by Arthur and Otis Redding, it would have sounded a lot different.
The song is actually Sam Cooke’s song “Yeah Man,” which was released after his death.
Arthur and Otis rewrote the lyrics to salue some of the great soul singers. Among those in the spotlight, The Miracles, Lou Rawls, Wilson Pickett, Sam and Dave, Otis Redding, and James Brown.
The song got Conley and Redding in a spot of trouble. Sam Cooke’s business partner (AJ Alexander) sued them. A settlement was reached in which Cooke’s name was added to the writer credits, and Redding agreed to record some songs in the future from Kags Music, a Cooke–Alexander enterprise. Ah, the music biz ….
Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian 
Good song, I wouldn’t have been able to tell you who it was though. Now I know- thanks!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s affected my opinion of Redding and Conley a bit. I understand what the business was like at that time, but they knew full well what they were doing. It seems they thought that since Sam Cooke had passed maybe no one would notice?
Glad to see Cooke’s name properly added. Unfortunately the royalties got thrown into that legal morass of Cooke’s estate.
LikeLike
wow, so many backhand dealings…
LikeLike