Written by Berry Gordy
The beauty of Brenda's LIVE! and wonderful performance--
On SHINDIG!
Accompanied by The Blossoms:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-Pk3yvi8fc
Thank you Manny Rivera for the great video clip on YouTube.
and
The beauty of Brenda with her sensational recording--
At HOLLYWOOD A GO-GO:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiZc2WeB0TM
Many thanks to Porknbeans1968 for the rare and terrific video clip.
For me, there's always been a haunting beauty about Brenda's performance of 'You Can Cry On My Shoulder'. But while viewing the second video posted , what preceded Brenda's lip-sync of her single, the demonstration of a dance [[the Boston Monkey) and the chit-chat surrounding it sent chills up and down my spine that continued throughout her performance as I remembered what occurred recently in Boston and the inhumane act that caused such a tragedy. The power and impact of music to touch our hearts and spirits does stretches across years and generations. So many in Boston and elsewhere truly welcomed shoulders to cry on as they tried to deal with the senselessness of it all.
Thanks for posting the videos.
You're very welcome, Carole. Like so many places as time goes on, Boston, too, is now linked to a new and horrifying, tragic, and senseless event that was and will continue to be felt throughout the entire country.
In reference to Brenda, there really is something so special about her voice. No matter what it is that she's singing, there's always so much emotion that runs throughout it that, somehow, seems effortlessly a part of it. And at the same time, she loses none of the beauty that defines the sound of her voice and her phrasing that have always made it so recognizable. And such a joy to hear.
It would be wonderful and quite soothing to have another collection of Brenda's unreleased Motown recordings- unfamiliar songs and alternate versions. [[Yes, I remember that some do not want alternates alongside the freed from the vault rumored or heard-on-old-low-fidelity cassette selections- but as has been written sometimes 'You've got to take the bitter with the sweet' ). And we mustn't forget her vaulted Music Merchant material, either.
That first video is a killer - wonderful from Brenda. Seemingly she appeared quite a bit on TV promoting the song [[certainly a favourite of mine) and with Berry's songwriting well up to scratch here - why was it not a great hit?
Let's add another video from Shivaree
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-63vNXV9WM
Brenda's "You Can Cry On My Shoulder" is one of my favorite Motown recordings. A tasty slice of symphonic soul, it got no airplay where I lived. Our local AM radio station was super Motown-friendly, yet, when it came to Brenda, they played "When I'm Gone" and "Just Look What You've Done", but nothing in between. Had it not been for the bargain center's 45 close-out bin a year or two later, I wouldn't have been aware of these important releases at all. And that's a shame. Thanks to that same close-out table, I also discovered Brenda's "Together ''Til The End Of Time" and "How Many Times Did You Mean It" - all perfect contenders for what should have been Brenda's upcoming "When I'm Gone" album. Unfortunately, as we all know, that was never to be for Brenda, nor was it a dream come true for the likes of Martha & The Vandellas, The Marvelettes, nor Kim Weston. Too many deserving single releases were cast aside -- never to find a home on any album other than V.A. compilations or Greatest Hits albums. As I look back, it was doubly-disappointing for me as The Andantes were shining especially bright during 1965 and 1966. They're favorite performances of mine were getting screwed by the lack of Motown album inclusion.