Paul McCartney Breaks Down His Most Iconic Songs
The Beatles legend Paul McCartney runs GQ through his 60-year career, including I Lost My Little Girl, Yesterday, I Saw Her Standing There, And I Love Her, Eleanor Rigby, A Day in the Life, Hey Jude, Helter Skelter, Blackbird, Let It Be, Hi Hi Hi, Here Today, Jet and I Don’t Know.
Barry White’s 20th Century Records Albums Remastered For 9CD And 9LP Vinyl Box Sets, ‘The 20th Century Records Albums (1973-1979),’ To Be Released October 26
Marking 45 years since the release of his debut solo album, soul/R&B legend Barry White’s nine 20th Century Records albums have been remastered from their analogue master tapes for new 9CD and 9LP 180-gram vinyl box sets, titled Barry White: The 20th Century Records Albums (1973-1979). To be released worldwide on October 26, the new CD and vinyl collections bring together all the albums White released with the 20th Century Records label. On the same date, the nine remastered albums — all long out of print on vinyl — will be released in individual 180-gram LP packages with faithfully replicated original sleeve and label artwork.
In March 1973, Barry White released his first solo album, I’ve Got So Much To Give, with 20th Century Records. Fueled by two Billboard R&B Top 10 singles, including the No. One “I’m Gonna Love You Just a Little More Baby,” the album topped Billboard’s R&B chart and reached No. 16 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. White’s second solo album, Stone Gon’, soon followed in October 1973. Also boasting two Top 10 R&B singles, the album’s success closely matched that of his recent debut, topping Billboard’s R&B chart and reaching the Top 20 of the Billboard 200.
White’s blockbuster Can’t Get Enough album was released in August 1974. It hit No. One on Billboard’s R&B chart and the Billboard 200, and it also reached No. 4 on the UK chart. The album features two of White’s iconic signature songs, “Can’t Get Enough of Your Love, Babe” and “You’re the First, the Last, My Everything,” both of which topped Billboard’s R&B chart and went to No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, on the Billboard Hot 100. In the UK, “Can’t Get Enough of Your Love, Babe” reached No. 8, while “You’re the First, the Last, My Everything” topped the singles chart at No. 1.
Released in March 1975, White’s self-produced fourth album, Just Another Way To Say I Love You, also topped Billboard’s R&B chart. The album reached No. 17 on the Billboard 200 and No. 12 on the UK chart. It features two Top 10 Billboard R&B singles, the No. 1 “What Am I Gonna Do with You” (also a Top 10 Billboard Hot 100 hit and a Top 5 UK single) and “I’ll Do For You Anything You Want Me To.”
Also self-produced, White’s fifth album with 20th Century Records, Let The Music Play, was released in January 1976. It reached No. 8 on Billboard’s R&B albums chart and peaked at No. 42 on the Billboard 200 and No. 22 on the UK chart. The album yielded three charting singles, including “Let the Music Play”, which peaked at No. 4 on Billboard’s R&B chart and No. 9 on the UK singles chart. “You See the Trouble with Me” reached No. 14 on Billboard’s R&B chart and No. 2 on the UK singles chart, while “Baby, We Better Try to Get It Together” reached No. 29 on Billboard’s R&B chart and No. 15 on the UK singles chart.
Is This Whatcha Wont? is White’s self-produced sixth album, released in November 1976. It reached No. 25 on Billboard’s R&B chart, with its two singles, “Don’t Make Me Wait Too Long” and “I’m Qualified to Satisfy You” respectively peaking at No. 20 and No. 25 on the Billboard R&B chart. Both singles also charted in the UK, at No. 17 and No. 37, respectively.
White’s self-produced seventh album, Sings For Someone You Love, was released in August 1977. It was White’s first album since 1975 to top Billboard’s R&B chart, and it also reached No. 8 on the Billboard 200. The album features two Top 10 Billboard R&B singles: the No. 1 “It’s Ecstasy When You Lay Down Next to Me” (also No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100) and “Playing Your Game, Baby.” A third single, “Oh, What a Night for Dancing,” reached No. 13 on Billboard’s R&B chart.
The Man, White’s self-produced eighth album, was released in October 1978 on the renamed 20th Century-Fox Records label. It was his sixth Billboard R&B No. 1 and it also reached No. 36 on the Billboard 200. The album’s lead single, “Your Sweetness Is My Weakness” reached No. 2 on Billboard’s R&B chart, while White’s cover of Billy Joel’s “Just the Way You Are” reached No. 45 on Billboard’s R&B chart and No. 12 on the UK singles chart. A third single, “Sha La La Means I Love You,” peaked at No. 55 on the UK singles chart. A cover of White’s “It’s Only Love Doing Its Thing” (with the shortened title “It’s Only Love”) was a hit for the British band Simply Red in 1989.
White’s ninth self-produced album, I Love To Sing The Songs I Sing, was released in April 1979. Featuring the title song, the album peaked at No. 40 on Billboard’s R&B chart. It was White’s final LP for 20th Century-Fox Records, after which he released new recordings on his own Unlimited Gold imprint.
Across the nine albums he released with 20th Century Records between 1973 and 1979, Barry White established the new sound of orchestral soul that became an enduring R&B staple. Fifteen years after his untimely death in 2003 at the age of 58, The 20th Century Records Albums (1973-1979) honors and celebrates Barry White’s legendary career by restoring these classic albums and presenting them together.
Barry White: The 20th Century Records Albums (1973-1979)
I’ve Got So Much To Give (20th Century T-407; 1973)
SIDE ONE
1. Standing In The Shadows Of Love
2. Bring Back My Yesterday
SIDE TWO
1. I’ve Found Someone
2. I’ve Got So Much To Give
3. I’m Gonna Love You Just A Little More Baby
Stone Gon’ (20th Century T-423; 1973)
SIDE ONE
1. Girl It’s True, Yes I’ll Always Love You
2. Honey Please, Can’t Ya See
3. You’re My Baby
SIDE TWO
1. Hard To Believe That I Found You
2. Never, Never Gonna Give Ya Up
Can’t Get Enough (20th Century T-444; 1974)
SIDE ONE
1. Mellow Mood (Pt. I)
2. You’re The First, The Last, My Everything
3. I Can’t Believe You Love Me
SIDE TWO
1. Can’t Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe
2. Oh Love, Well We Finally Made It
3. I Love You More Than Anything (In This World Girl)
4. Mellow Mood (Pt. II)
Just Another Way To Say I Love You (20th Century T-466; 1975)
SIDE ONE
1. Heavenly, That’s What You Are To Me
2. I’ll Do For You Anything You Want Me To
3. All Because Of You
4. Love Serenade (Part I)
SIDE TWO
1. What Am I Gonna Do With You
2. Let Me Live My Life Lovin’ You Babe
3. Love Serenade (Part II)
Let The Music Play (20th Century T-502; 1976)
SIDE ONE
1. I Don’t Know Where Love Has Gone
2. If You Know, Won’t You Tell Me
3. I’m So Blue And You Are Too
SIDE TWO
1. Baby, We Better Try To Get It Together
2. You See The Trouble With Me
3. Let The Music Play
Is This Whatcha Wont? (20th Century T-516; 1976)
SIDE ONE
1. Don’t Make Me Wait Too Long
2. Your Love – So Good I Can Taste It
SIDE TWO
1. I’m Qualified To Satisfy You
2. I Wanna Lay Down With You Baby
3. Now I’m Gonna Make Love To You
Barry White Sings For Someone You Love (20th Century T-543; 1977)
SIDE ONE
1. Playing Your Game, Baby
2. It’s Ecstasy When You Lay Down Next To Me
3. You’re So Good, You’re Bad
SIDE TWO
1. I Never Thought I’d Fall In Love With You
2. You Turned My Whole World Around
3. Oh, What A Night For Dancing
4. Of All The Guys In The World
The Man (20th Century T-571; 1978)
SIDE ONE
1. Look At Her
2. Your Sweetness Is My Weakness
3. Sha La La Means I Love You
SIDE TWO
1. September When I First Met You
2. It’s Only Love Doing Its Thing
3. Just The Way You Are
4. Early Years
I Love To Sing the Songs I Sing (20th Century T-590; 1979)
SIDE ONE
1. I Love To Sing The Songs I Sing
2. Girl, What’s Your Name
3. Once Upon A Time (You Were A Friend Of Mine)
4. Oh Me, Oh My (I’m Such A Lucky Guy)
SIDE TWO
1. I Can’t Leave You Alone
2. Call Me, Baby
3. How Did You Know It Was Me?
James Brown’s ‘Say It Live And Loud: Live In Dallas 08.26.68’ Makes Vinyl Debut With Expanded 2LP 50th Anniversary Edition To Be Released October 12
On August 26, 1968, two weeks after releasing his civil rights anthem, “Say It Loud – I’m Black And I’m Proud,” James Brown recorded his concert at Dallas, Texas’ Memorial Auditorium. First released on CD in 1998, Brown’s Say It Live and Loud: Live in Dallas 08.26.68 album will make its vinyl debut in an expanded 2LP 50th Anniversary Edition, to be released October 12. The album’s new, expanded digital edition will be released on the same date.
Say It Live and Loud: Live in Dallas 08.26.68 captures James Brown and his band laying it down onstage in the heat of a tumultuous summer, just months after the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy, and on the same night the turbulent Democratic National Convention opened in Chicago. The album features the first-ever live recordings of “Say It Loud – I’m Black And I’m Proud,” which Brown performed twice. The new 2LP vinyl edition add two previously unreleased recordings, “That’s Life” and “The Popcorn,” as well as an updated essay by James Brown’s former tour manager, Alan Leeds. An essay by Public Enemy’s Chuck D, written for the album’s 1998 CD package, is also included.
Recorded August 7, 1968 and rush released on August 14, James Brown’s “Say It Loud – I’m Black And I’m Proud” rose to the top of Billboard’s R&B chart, reaching No. 1 on October 5, 1968 and holding the top spot for six weeks. The single also peaked in the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.
“James Brown singlehandedly took a lost and confused nation of people and bonded them with a fix of words, music and attitude,” recalls Chuck D in his liner notes essay for Say It Live and Loud: Live in Dallas 08.26.68. “‘Say It Loud – I’m Black And I’m Proud’ was the phrase that prepared me for the third grade, 1969, and the rest of my life.”
James Brown: Say It Live and Loud: Live in Dallas 08.26.68 (50th Anniversary Edition)
Side 1
Show Introduction
If I Ruled The World
James Brown Thanks
Introduction To Say It Loud – I’m Black And I’m Proud
Say It Loud – I’m Black And I’m Proud
I Guess I’ll Have To Cry, Cry, Cry
That’s Life (previously unreleased)
Kansas City
Side 2
The Popcorn (previously unreleased)
Soul Pride
Tighten Up
Suds
Side 3
Introduction To Star Time!
Licking Stick – Licking Stick
Cold Sweat
There Was A Time
Side 4
Medley: Try Me / Lost Someone / Bewildered
Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag
I Got The Feeling
Maybe The Last Time
I Got You (I Feel Good)
Please, Please, Please
I Can’t Stand Myself (When You Touch Me)
Finale: Cold Sweat / I Got The Feeling (Reprise) / Say It Loud – I’m Black And I’m Proud
JUST ANNOUNCED: The 5th Annual Dream Serenade at Roy Thomson Hall
Toronto’s beloved annual Dream Serenade benefit concert is back and proudly celebrates its landmark fifth anniversary on Saturday, November 17 at 8pm ET, featuring City and Colour, Barenaked Ladies, The Rural Alberta Advantage, Owen Pallett, Hayden, Weaves, Iskwé and an array of surprise special guests. This year, Dream Serenade will take place at Roy Thomson Hall, sister venue to its regular home Massey Hall while it undergoes a two-year revitalization.
This fifth anniversary marks a major milestone for creators Hayden Desser, Christie Greyerbiehl and their incredible team of volunteers. Dream Serenade has become one of Toronto’s most highly anticipated annual events, combining a celebration of a hard working community while raising money and awareness for Beverley Street School and services for children with developmental and/or physical disabilities and their caregivers. Dream Serenade’s success has also benefited other like-minded schools in the city, supports a year-round Family Relief Respite Fund and recently established a Summer Camp Bursary program. Over 50 Toronto-area families received funding this past summer to access camps and special programs.
Each year, a stellar line-up of artists and special guests come together to celebrate this community and perform unique sets including Feist (2014), Gord Downie (2016), Broken Social Scene (2016), Barenaked Ladies (2014/2016), Billy Talent (2014), Sarah Harmer (2014), Bahamas (2015), Joel Plaskett (2015), Matt Berninger and Aaron Dessner from The National (2014), Sloan (2017), The Weather Station (2015) and so many more.
More information can be found here.
Why Does Aretha Franklin’s “Respect” Work So Well? It’s The Chord Progression. Here’s Why.
In the history of popular music, there have been few voices as powerful or as memorable as Aretha Franklin’s. The music world lost a true legend last month, and 12Tone wanted to pay tribute to the Queen of Soul by analyzing one of her most famous and enduring songs, Respect. It’s a rousing anthem that feels like it goes on much longer than its two and a half minute run-time, and despite (or perhaps because of) its fairly simple harmony, it remains iconic to this day.
Paul McCartney on Who Broke Up the Beatles
Paul McCartney sets the record straight on the career-changing meeting that broke up the Beatles in an interview with Howard Stern.
Rami Malek on Becoming Freddie Mercury
Rami Malek talks about playing Freddie Mercury in his new film “Bohemian Rhapsody,” getting the role, what it took to look like Freddie, pranking one of his cast mates, working with Mike Myers, and reveals what it was like meeting Freddie Mercury’s sister.
John Krasinski Was Ready To Quit Acting Before ‘The Office’
‘Jack Ryan’ star John Krasinski was ready to give up on his dream of acting. His mom wouldn’t pick him up. Then, three weeks later…
Your Next Fave Book: Jessica Hopper’s Night Moves
Written in taut, mesmerizing, often hilarious scenes, Jessica Hopper’s Night Moves captures the fierce friendships and small moments that form us all. Drawing on her personal journals from the aughts, Jessica Hopper chronicles her time as a DJ, living in decrepit punk houses, biking to bad loft parties with her friends, exploring Chicago deep into the night. And, along the way, she creates an homage to vibrant corners of the city that have been muted by sleek development. A book birthed in the amber glow of Chicago streetlamps, Night Moves is about a transformative moment of cultural history—and how a raw, rebellious writer found her voice.
Jessica Hopper is a music critic and the author of The First Collection of Criticism By A Living Female Rock Critic. She was formerly the Editorial Director at MTV News, and an editor at Pitchfork and Rookie. Her essays have appeared in Best Music Writing for 2004, 2005, 2007, 2010, and 2011. Her book The Girls’ Guide to Rocking was named one of 2009’s Notable Books For Young Readers by the American Library Association.
Get it here.