Today, I start a new series on my new blog. The title is says it all. The song I'm obsessed with. The songs won't always be new, it really depends on how I'm feeling that week. Get it? Got it? Good.
Harold Melvin and The Bluenotes - Wake Up Everybody
"Wake Up Everybody" is a R&B song written by the legendary song writing team of McFadden and Whitehead. They are the guys who sing "Aint No Stoppin Us Now". Being released at the end of 1975, this song was considered to have an unconventional structure due to the subdued beginning and it cresendoing into the climax by the end. It spent two weeks atop the Hot Soul singles chart in 1976. "Wake Up Everybody", also, received mainstream radio play.It peaked at number 12 on the Hot 100 singles chart. Some theorists believe this was either a diss record or a response for black people to The Beatles "Let It Be". The only reason to even assume that would be the line in the chorus, "..The world won't get no better if we just let it be..". You be the judge.
The reason I'm obsessed with this song is because the lyrics and the sound of Teddy Pendergrass' voice. The lyrics grab my attention from the first line, which is the title. The first time I heard this, I asked myself am I sleeping? The words are simple, yet poignant. Moreover, I dig the fact that this is traditional poetry. The last word in each bar rhymes. I know, that may sound dumb to some people. I like when you can get a serious message across, while still keeping a pattern. I look for things like that in today's music. Teddy Pendergrass' voice is so incredible on this track. you can tell he was singing from a place he couldn't even fathom because as the tempo picks up, the intensity and urgency in his voice does too. He adlibs something serious nearing the end. Any person who hears this song can feel where he's coming from. Plus, this song is timeless. It's still relevant in today's economic crisis. My suggestion is whenever you're feeling stagnant, or like you need to be motivated, look this classic up.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnjV8IKe66g <-Listen here
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