Favorite Songs With Spoken Word Parts

[thomas96]

I was listening to Still Water [[peace) and thought, wow the spoken word aspect of some songs is just amazing. To name a few...

Four Tops - Still Water [[peace)

Lamont Dozier - Why Can't We Be Lovers

Bobby Taylor - Just A Little Bit Closer

Bobby Taylor - Child of Tears

Diana Ross - Ain't No Mountain High Enough

[robb_k]

NONE! I absolutely HATE talking in a song!!! I hated them in 1950, and I hate them now. Beautiful singing is RUINED by talking. So many beautiful 1950s group harmony ballads were destroyed by the singers stopping to have a monologue. Yeccccch! What a horrible idea. We listen to songs because singers sing them. If we wanted to hear someone speak, we'd buy a comedy album or an album of speeches, or an album by a story teller.

Just my opinion. I know most of you will probably disagree.

[westgrandboulevard]

Thomas96, if you're asking the rest of us for our favourites, here are just some I'd pick :

Jimmy Ruffin -
What Becomes of the Brokenhearted
I've Passed This Way Before

The Marvelettes -
Now Is The Time For Love
When You're Young And In Love [[alternative version)

Martha Reeves & The Vandellas -
Forget Me Not

[Jerry Oz]

The Gerald Alston thread begs me to mention "Kiss and Say Goodbye".

[Kamasu_Jr]

I thought of Bobby Marchan's There's Something On Your Mind. It's about murdering your two timing lover. Walking in the Rain With One I Love by Love Unlimited. The Rain by Oran Juice Jones.

[thomas96]

NONE! I absolutely HATE talking in a song!!! I hated them in 1950, and I hate them now. Beautiful singing is RUINED by talking. So many beautiful 1950s group harmony ballads were destroyed by the singers stopping to have a monologue. Yeccccch! What a horrible idea. We listen to songs because singers sing them. If we wanted to hear someone speak, we'd buy a comedy album or an album of speeches, or an album by a story teller.

Just my opinion. I know most of you will probably disagree.

I respect that, though, as shown, I do disagree.

Thomas96, if you're asking the rest of us for our favourites

Sorry if that was unclear... Yes I am asking for everyone else's favorites.

[skooldem1]

Diana Ross- Ain't no mountain high enough
Oran Juice Jones- The Rain
The Floaters- Float on
Fire and Desire- Rick and Teena

[marv2]

"Children Hold On to Your Dreams" - Wee Gee

[thomas96]

Jimmy Ruffin -
What Becomes of the Brokenhearted
I've Passed This Way Before

Completely forgot those... I'll have to go with the Temptations version of I've Passed This Way Before though, with Melvin's bass spoken part. And also, the Marvelettes - My Baby Must Be A Magician with Melvin as well.

[robb_k]

"The Wind" by The Diablos is a great example of a beautiful song ruined when the lead stopped singing in the middle of the song, for a talking monologue.

I don't mind [[as much) talking BEFORE the singing, such as in "I've Passed This Way Before" and "My Baby Must Be A Magician". It's a lot worse, when it interrupts the singing. As in "The Wind", "I'll Be Home" [[Flamingos), and the most dest5royed song of all, "Glory Of Love" by The Velvetones.

[Soul Sister]

"I'd Rather Be By Myself" ~ David Ebo

"Kiss and Say Goodbye" ~ The Manhattans [[Blue Lovett's speaking bass voice).

"We Cried Together" ~ The O'Jays [[Eddie Levert) oh yes!!!

Doesn't get much better!!

,
S.S.
***

[blue]

Three Degrees "Maybe"
Gwen McCrae "Tears on My Pillow"
Shirley Brown "Woman to Woman"
Barbara Mason "Another Man"
Millie Jackson "This is It"
Aretha Franklin "Angel"
Supremes "Love is Here Now You're Gone"
Martha Reeves & the Vandellas "I Should be Proud"
Marin Gaye "Save the Children" [[well, sort of)
Clarence Carter "Patches"
Chi-Lites "Have You Seen Her"
Al Green "God Blessed Our Love"

And of course, Peggy Lee "Is that All There is"
and its cover by Christina

[daddyacey]

The Grandaddy of them all By The Time I Get To Pheonix by Isaac Hayes
Laura Lee--- Since I Fell For You
Millie Jackson--If Lovin You Is Wrong
Nick and Val-- Gimme Somthing Real
H. Melvin & Blue Notes--- Be For Real
Marlena Shaw--- Go Away Little Boy

[blue]

Barry White "Can't Get Enough of Your Love"
Spinners "Sadie"
Mel & Tim "Starting All Over Again"
Bobby Womack "If You Think You're Lonely Now"
Charlene "I've Never Been to Me"
The Manhattans "I Kinda Miss You"
Three Degrees "Gee Baby I'm Sorry" [[their remake in '70s)
Lenny Williams "Cause I Love You"
Shirley Caesar "No Charge"
Barbara Mason "From His Woman to You"
Commodores "Just to be Close to You"

There are so many others, but these are the ones just came to my mind immediately.

[blue]

Quincy Jones "Secret Garden" [[Spoken words by Barry White)
Marlena Shaw "You Me and Ethel" [[Opening of "Who is This Bitch Anyway")
Donna Summer "Once Upon a Time [[reprise)" [[Ending tune of the album)
Gladys Knight "The Way We are""Georgia on My Mind"
The New Birth "Until It's Time For You To Go"
The Dells "Give Your Lady a Standing Ovation"
Switch "I Call Your Name"
The New Birth "Wildflower"
The Dramatics "Be My Girl"
The Intruders "I Wanna Know Your Name"
Barbara Jean English "Guess Who"

[Kamasu_Jr]

Tonight's the Night - Betty Wright; The Boll Weavel Song- Brook Benton; Cool Jerk - The Capitols; Drop that Zero- Denise LaSalle ; Patches - Clarence Carter; Baby Blues - Barry White. Hold On To What You've Got; Skinny Legs & All; Buying A Book- Joe Tex.

[JIVE FIVE Mary G.]

Oh What A Night - The Dells

~~Mary~~

[roger]

One that Caesar might know ...



Roger

[ollie]

Donny Hathaway - The Ghetto
Temptations - Zoom
Loleatta Holloway - Cry To Me
Bobby Womack - Jealous Love - Doing It My Way
Greg Perry - Let's Get Away
Gil Scot Heron & Brian Jackson - The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
Jimmy Castor Bunch - Troglodyte
Funcadelic - Maggot Brain - Good Thoughts and Bad Thoughts
Laura Lee - Since I felt for You

[splanky]

I had forgotten how common this technique is and I like practically all of the ones already listed here. Especially Ike's By The Time I Get To Phoenix and Laura Lee's Since I Fell For You.
I have to add New Birth's Wild Flower and my homie Leroy Burgess with Black Ivory doing
Wishful Thinking.
BTW, @ollie, those two Funkadelic songs I listen to virtually every single day; have for over 35 years. People tell me Maggot Brain can't be transcribed but I don't believe that. If John
Coltrane and Eric Dolphy can be transcribed certainly Funkadelic can...Sorry I digress...
robb k, you ignore more music than many people will ever hear...such is your choice I guess...

[blue]

Eric Burdon & War "Spill The Wine"
James Brown "Sex Machine"
Etta James "Deep in the Night"
First Choice "This Little Woman"
Ike & Tina Turner "Proud Mary"
Frankie & the Classicals "What shall I do"
Angels "My Boyfriend's Back"
The Shangri-Las "Leader of the Pack"
Vanity 6 "If A Girl Answers [[Don't Hang Up)"
Abbey Lincoln "River"

[sunshineonacloudyday]

Some songs with spoken word/rap were little mini plays...theater for the mind, as radio was in the days before video
Z.Z. Hill ~
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KvAD7bNzVU

[theboyfromxtown]

[sunshineonacloudyday]

Robb,
I see your point, but one can appreciate these older songs with spoken word/rap now primarily for their historical social context. How about this early one from Andre Williams? Banned from the airwaves at the time, it now seems almost quaint compared to today's lyrics.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w09ukTUUhBY

[ralpht]

This is an interesting thread. Nice work all....

[robb_k]

I have "Jail Bait", and many other songs by Andre Williams that include talking. i also have hundreds of other songs with talking on records. I'm just saying that all those songs would be better for listening, without the talking. Of course, they may be interesting to provide insight into history of their times, or the story and emotions behind the lyrics of a particular song. I'm not against talking on recordings. I just don't want beautiful singing interrupted by talking.

[westgrandboulevard]

Just as an aside to this thread, and not wanting to appear in disagreement with robb_k,
I have to say I'd very much like to hear some our favourite artists simply speak the lyrics of their greatest recordings, in their entirety.

I've heard Martha Reeves, during interviews, quote whole lines from her biggest hits. On one memorable occasion, I remember her quoting from "In My Lonely Room".

With her natural sense of rhythm and timing, but just speaking the words, Martha made those really quite simple lyrics sound like beautiful poetry.....

[Kamasu_Jr]

The Coasters were pretty good at comedy or spoken monologues in some of their songs. How about Along Came Jones & Shoppin' for Clothes? And we can't leave out If I Didn't Care by the Ink Spots or Ol' Man River by the Temptations.

[sunshineonacloudyday]

All great examples above!

Talking in songs certainly has its place in R&B and Soul. After all, the tradition of the Black American churches have long been talk-sing style sermons, with call and response, a style that crossed over to popular music.

Listen to Little Richard Penniman preach-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRi7QcDcmgk

And one of my all-time favorites, Billy Mashburn!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDG_U3HvyCk

[oldiesmusicfan]

Cry Baby - Garnet Mimms & The Enchanters - 1963

In my top ten songs of all time!

Talking starts at 2:26

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqdPhtie1-Y

Oldies

[sophisticated_soul]

I'll Be True - The Orlons

spoken intro: "Soldier boy this is parting time
Darling you must go, please take this heart of mine"

[thomas96]

Robb...

I think that speaking during a song can be done very well and make it much better, or it can ruin a song like you said. It has to be done in a certain way that blends and flows nicely. For example, in "Why Can't We Be Lovers" the talking and singing at the same time complimenting each other sounds great and the way "Just A Little Bit Closer" flows from talking to singing, I think is absolutely great. But, yes, the ones you mentioned are not helped by the talking. I wouldn't say it completely ruins it, but in some cases it would be much better if it were only singing. That's just my thoughts on it. Agree to disagree?

[stephanie]

Les Crane - Desiderata
Richard Harris - MacArthur Park
Smokey Robinson and the Miracles - Come Round Here Im the One you Need
The Supremes - The Wisdom of Time

[antceleb12]

I Love How You Love Me - The Paris Sisters
Past, Present, & Future - The Shangri-Las

[thomas96]

It was already mentioned, but...

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised

One of my favorites.

[milven]

NONE! I absolutely HATE talking in a song!!! I hated them in 1950, and I hate them now. Beautiful singing is RUINED by talking. So many beautiful 1950s group harmony ballads were destroyed by the singers stopping to have a monologue. Yeccccch! ....

I think it has been going on forever. I was recently listening to some old Ink Spots records. All their records had the same intro and each of them had talking in the middle. They were popular in the thirties and forties.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QeOTzExXT8

I don't mind [[as much) talking BEFORE the singing, .... It's a lot worse, when it interrupts the singing. ..

Well, then, you should approve of one of my favorite 70's Soul Songs by the Chi-lites. They speak before the singing starts

[phil]

Pesonnally I like spoken parts during a song. That brings some presence, I think.

Here's one of my favorites by the great Linda Jones :

[westgrandboulevard]

...and a record where the music became almost incidental....

What The World Needs Now Is Love / Abraham, Martin And John - Tom Clay

[roger]

There is quite a bit of talking [[or it shouting?) on this one ......

I like it, I like it, I like it like that ....... LOL ...

Roger

[roger]

And following from the ALVIN CASH record here is one with a similar theme ..


Roger

[drewschultz88]

I'm normally not a huge fan of the spoken word interlude, but I'll always have a soft spot for the somewhat goofy-but-endearing talk in "I Miss You" by Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes. Somewhere it crosses the line from a formerly neglectful lover, to formerly unemployed, to former deadbeat father, all begging for a second chance.

[Boogiedown]

[nosey]

Little Sonny on I Want to Know Your Name. That is so, so sweet to me.

[MIKEW-UK]

GENERAL CROOK The Best Years Of My Life

[MIKEW-UK]

GENERAL CROOK If This World Were Mine

[MIKEW-UK]

Lamont Dozier Don't Want Nobody To Come Between Us

[MIKEW-UK]

BOBBY WOMACK Fact Of Life / He'll Be There

[marv2]

Lou Rawls - "Dead End Street "

[thomas96]

The Originals - The Bells

*such a beautiful song, all around.

[daddyacey]

Parliament--- Mothership
Funkadelic--Broken Heart , Lets take It To The Stage