Inside Tracks #41: "Then Came You"-Sherman Marshall & Phil Pugh: The Spinners & Dionne Warwick, 1974, w/Covers by Gordon feat. Karin Bloemen, Mieko Hirota
Inside Tracks #41: "Then Came You"-Sherman Marshall & Phil Pugh: The Spinners & Dionne Warwick, 1974, w/Covers by Gordon feat. Karin Bloemen, Mieko Hirota
Around two dozen covers have been made of this song in its 5 decades of life, as both duets and solo arrangements! I'd have guessed twice as many! Span the globe? It's got that covered!
A well-oiled machine, at that! A small army of incredibly talented folks all in one place, and all given the assignments they were perfect for, and all churning out the cream of the '70s R&B, pop'n'disco crop of the day! Gamble, Huff, and Bell, but for my money, the consistent and astounding force of nature, Thom Bell, doing everything in the studio....arranging, conducting, and producing....mercy! Thanks for tuning in, David!
Triskaidekaphobia.....It's not just for breakfast anymore.....but, it's great with cheese spread on top! Thanks, Andy!
However superstitious, or numero-freaky she may have been, she was only such for about 4 years! Methinks ye olde record company said something like, "Hey, we don't wanna go printing your name a different way for each album! Plus, you can forget about those 13 zeroes we had been discussing for your contract extension!"
I've said it before (and, taken some return fire), but I stand by it, musically, and with separate decade/era firmly kept in mind: Thom Bell was the '70s equivalent to George Martin....Bell was a prodigious and consistent arranger/conductor/producer on so much of the Philly sound out of Sigma Sound Studios.
If readers will take raw, single-person, generational talent out of the equation, it could be said The Spinners were Bell's Beatles, for how consequential he ended up being to 👉their recorded sound👈, as well as any of the Philadelphia International Records artists he produced. And, with Gamble & Huff and the entire Sigma campus, Bell was so influential to pop music writ large, '72-'78, dance music, disco, and R&B.
Great songs and artists as usual, Brad. You have a lot of the Detroit sound in this one, which is a fave. Here's a fun cover of Burton Cummings singing as if he was Gordon Lightfoot covering Rod Stewart's "Maggie May". https://youtu.be/KV4qIzi1MBk?si=iCKxyDA9DdgFYPxG
Thanks, Paul! That Cummings track is a ska----ream! I had no idea he did or could do that! Makes me want to collect a bunch of rock star impressions (oh, they're out there!) for a piece....open for a collab? This, of course, would be one of yours, and I'd be happy to do the research. If you have or know of any more, pass 'em along! I'll stick this into a draft post, and add it to the Q!
As for Cummings, I had his first coupla/few Portrait/CBS solo albums, mid-'70s, post-Guess Who. I have no idea where this album fits into his solo career, but I'll check it out. Thanks for this!
I'm glad to surprise you! He really does sound like Gordon Lightfoot, eh?
Let's both do some research about singers doing impressions of other singers. Then you can do a piece and we can both share. I'm sure people would love it (as we both did with Burton).
I always thought Cummings was one of the Best rock voices ever. Number 2 to Freddie Mercury. Have a good one!
No doubt about his voice! But, to have an ear like that for mimicking is pretty impressive! I’ve already compiled a short list of similar mimicry by some rockers, as I remember them, and will try to wrack my brain for more!
I'll always love the Dionne and Spinners version, but Mieko's and Gordon and Karin's versions were really good too. So wonderful when a song can cross cultures so easily, but it's such a fantastic arrangement and they followed it quite faithfully. Loved all the backstory you gave.
Thanks, Ellen! These are always fun to do because of A) the backstories of the new artists we uncover, and B) the new artists themselves, and how they interpret the original. Will they stay perfectly faithful, or add anything, and if so, what, and can we guess as to why they thought it needed that particular thing?!
As for the backstory of the principal artists and the original song, I love going back and taking the temperature of what was happening at the time...like the Bowie mention. I loved that "The Midnight Special" has released their official videos, where things like this are made available!
For those of us (like me) who aren't songwriters, a lot of us, if not most, can work our way around an arrangement, and kinda take a stab at something we'd add here and there, or take away. At the very least, it's fun comparing/contrasting the various covers!
Great piece on a great song. But what about that numerology thing ? OMG Did they really add the E because of it ? Great story though. I have a great deal of respect for Dionne Warwick. The way she continued to maintain control over her career. That said the true jewels of her repertoire are not in the Warner period, but in what she did on Scepter and, later, on Arista.
Thanks, Pe! Mad props to the late Thom Bell! Dionne was all about numerology back in the day....so, her 13-letter "Dionne Warwick" was, for her, a bridge too far! Why she changed it back with no "e," I don't know! She was actually born "Warrick."
As for her career, no doubt her '60s was great and popular, and Clive latching onto her for her '80s output was successful, but let's not sleep on her '70s Warners period, lest we fall into the dreaded "gee, it didn't sell, it must be crap" trap! I featured some of it on this piece:
But, with her '75 "Then Came You" (produced by Jerry Ragovoy, except for the title track, produced by Thom Bell), she started what, for me, was a really catchy and well-written and produced couple of albums....'75's "Track of the Cat" (all produced and written by the Philly/Sigma Sound crew, and produced by Bell), and '77's "Love at First Sight," produced by Michael Omartian and Steve Barri, both longtime movers and shakers in the pop world!
In fact, on that one's "Early Morning Strangers," Dionne sings a song that has her "sandwiched" by songwriters who were influential on her '60s and '80s careers! That song was written by Hal David and Barry Manilow (who produced her debut Arista album in '79)!
Anyway, spend some time with her "Track of the Cat" and "Love at First Sight" albums, and see if you can make some of THOSE songs hits in your home. You don't need radio for that! They were no help to anyone when it came to those albums! But, potential gold awaits for you!
Now there’s a bit of information I didn’t know :-) Thanks for sharing Brad. About her seventies/Warner repertoire. They’ve released a boxset with all her Warner albums recently and as it was the period I least knew, I bought it. There are some gems to be found on those albums, but after listening to all of them, I understood why it was her least successful period.
Well, good on ya for listening to them! I think I was in a particular place in my life (mid-'70s...I was 20 in '75, and striking out on my own), where her albums in that period spoke to me, and were friendly and welcoming. I had also become quite aware of the work of Thom Bell, and eagerly picked up anything he did!
BTW, from a statesider, I know that, at some point, Dionne had a TV show ('70s, '80s?), either syndicated or a minor network, where she was doing, like, psychic stuff. Maybe someone could chime in, and maybe, Pe, there's a paragraph about this period on her Wiki page. She's always seemed to be into the numerology and paranormal/psychic-reading type things.
That box set I'll have to look for, or at least listen to, at some point. Thanks!
Haven’t checked but i guess those albums will be available on all the dsp’s. It’s major rep after all. I bought the set because of the extra’s. Always looking fir the disco/extended gems on those kind of re-issues. I’m like the 1979 disco song: “i don’t want to be a freak(but i can’t help myself)” 🤓🤓
Haven’t checked but i guess those albums will be available on all the dsp’s. It’s major rep after all. I bought the set because of the extra’s. Always looking fir the disco/extended gems on those kind of re-issues. I’m like the 1979 disco song: “i don’t want to be a freak(but i can’t help myself)” 🤓🤓
Another great edition! Your exploration of 'Then Came You' captured the song's enduring appeal and history. I LOVED the insights into the various covers.
Thanks, Jon! I appreciate your regular visits and compliments, and, as for "Inside Tracks," feel free to poke around our 40 other editions! More hits, more artists, and more covers!!
The Philly soul machine at peak operational power.
A well-oiled machine, at that! A small army of incredibly talented folks all in one place, and all given the assignments they were perfect for, and all churning out the cream of the '70s R&B, pop'n'disco crop of the day! Gamble, Huff, and Bell, but for my money, the consistent and astounding force of nature, Thom Bell, doing everything in the studio....arranging, conducting, and producing....mercy! Thanks for tuning in, David!
You're welcome. RIP Mr. Bell.
🙏🔔
What an amazing deep dive! That Philly Soul sound is instantly recognisable — and timeless.
I didn’t know that story with Dionne’s surname! 😱 Superstitious much?! 🤣
Triskaidekaphobia.....It's not just for breakfast anymore.....but, it's great with cheese spread on top! Thanks, Andy!
However superstitious, or numero-freaky she may have been, she was only such for about 4 years! Methinks ye olde record company said something like, "Hey, we don't wanna go printing your name a different way for each album! Plus, you can forget about those 13 zeroes we had been discussing for your contract extension!"
I've said it before (and, taken some return fire), but I stand by it, musically, and with separate decade/era firmly kept in mind: Thom Bell was the '70s equivalent to George Martin....Bell was a prodigious and consistent arranger/conductor/producer on so much of the Philly sound out of Sigma Sound Studios.
If readers will take raw, single-person, generational talent out of the equation, it could be said The Spinners were Bell's Beatles, for how consequential he ended up being to 👉their recorded sound👈, as well as any of the Philadelphia International Records artists he produced. And, with Gamble & Huff and the entire Sigma campus, Bell was so influential to pop music writ large, '72-'78, dance music, disco, and R&B.
Oh absolutely! In terms of multitasking skills and the design of a sound that would inspire so many others, you’re absolutely right!
Crazy stroy with the 13 digits, eh? Just in case, I won’t start counting mine!
Holy moly Brad, that was an awesome deep dive!
Thanks so much, Hugh! Feel free to nose around some more "Inside Tracks"---Those are some of the more fun ones we do around here!
Great songs and artists as usual, Brad. You have a lot of the Detroit sound in this one, which is a fave. Here's a fun cover of Burton Cummings singing as if he was Gordon Lightfoot covering Rod Stewart's "Maggie May". https://youtu.be/KV4qIzi1MBk?si=iCKxyDA9DdgFYPxG
Thanks, Paul! That Cummings track is a ska----ream! I had no idea he did or could do that! Makes me want to collect a bunch of rock star impressions (oh, they're out there!) for a piece....open for a collab? This, of course, would be one of yours, and I'd be happy to do the research. If you have or know of any more, pass 'em along! I'll stick this into a draft post, and add it to the Q!
As for Cummings, I had his first coupla/few Portrait/CBS solo albums, mid-'70s, post-Guess Who. I have no idea where this album fits into his solo career, but I'll check it out. Thanks for this!
I'm glad to surprise you! He really does sound like Gordon Lightfoot, eh?
Let's both do some research about singers doing impressions of other singers. Then you can do a piece and we can both share. I'm sure people would love it (as we both did with Burton).
I always thought Cummings was one of the Best rock voices ever. Number 2 to Freddie Mercury. Have a good one!
No doubt about his voice! But, to have an ear like that for mimicking is pretty impressive! I’ve already compiled a short list of similar mimicry by some rockers, as I remember them, and will try to wrack my brain for more!
I look forward to this. You are right - there are a ton of mimicry vids out there.
I'll always love the Dionne and Spinners version, but Mieko's and Gordon and Karin's versions were really good too. So wonderful when a song can cross cultures so easily, but it's such a fantastic arrangement and they followed it quite faithfully. Loved all the backstory you gave.
Thanks, Ellen! These are always fun to do because of A) the backstories of the new artists we uncover, and B) the new artists themselves, and how they interpret the original. Will they stay perfectly faithful, or add anything, and if so, what, and can we guess as to why they thought it needed that particular thing?!
As for the backstory of the principal artists and the original song, I love going back and taking the temperature of what was happening at the time...like the Bowie mention. I loved that "The Midnight Special" has released their official videos, where things like this are made available!
For those of us (like me) who aren't songwriters, a lot of us, if not most, can work our way around an arrangement, and kinda take a stab at something we'd add here and there, or take away. At the very least, it's fun comparing/contrasting the various covers!
Great piece on a great song. But what about that numerology thing ? OMG Did they really add the E because of it ? Great story though. I have a great deal of respect for Dionne Warwick. The way she continued to maintain control over her career. That said the true jewels of her repertoire are not in the Warner period, but in what she did on Scepter and, later, on Arista.
Thanks, Pe! Mad props to the late Thom Bell! Dionne was all about numerology back in the day....so, her 13-letter "Dionne Warwick" was, for her, a bridge too far! Why she changed it back with no "e," I don't know! She was actually born "Warrick."
As for her career, no doubt her '60s was great and popular, and Clive latching onto her for her '80s output was successful, but let's not sleep on her '70s Warners period, lest we fall into the dreaded "gee, it didn't sell, it must be crap" trap! I featured some of it on this piece:
https://bradkyle.substack.com/p/disco-reduxthe-philly-found-and-forgotten-3a7?utm_source=publication-search
But, with her '75 "Then Came You" (produced by Jerry Ragovoy, except for the title track, produced by Thom Bell), she started what, for me, was a really catchy and well-written and produced couple of albums....'75's "Track of the Cat" (all produced and written by the Philly/Sigma Sound crew, and produced by Bell), and '77's "Love at First Sight," produced by Michael Omartian and Steve Barri, both longtime movers and shakers in the pop world!
In fact, on that one's "Early Morning Strangers," Dionne sings a song that has her "sandwiched" by songwriters who were influential on her '60s and '80s careers! That song was written by Hal David and Barry Manilow (who produced her debut Arista album in '79)!
Anyway, spend some time with her "Track of the Cat" and "Love at First Sight" albums, and see if you can make some of THOSE songs hits in your home. You don't need radio for that! They were no help to anyone when it came to those albums! But, potential gold awaits for you!
Now there’s a bit of information I didn’t know :-) Thanks for sharing Brad. About her seventies/Warner repertoire. They’ve released a boxset with all her Warner albums recently and as it was the period I least knew, I bought it. There are some gems to be found on those albums, but after listening to all of them, I understood why it was her least successful period.
Well, good on ya for listening to them! I think I was in a particular place in my life (mid-'70s...I was 20 in '75, and striking out on my own), where her albums in that period spoke to me, and were friendly and welcoming. I had also become quite aware of the work of Thom Bell, and eagerly picked up anything he did!
BTW, from a statesider, I know that, at some point, Dionne had a TV show ('70s, '80s?), either syndicated or a minor network, where she was doing, like, psychic stuff. Maybe someone could chime in, and maybe, Pe, there's a paragraph about this period on her Wiki page. She's always seemed to be into the numerology and paranormal/psychic-reading type things.
That box set I'll have to look for, or at least listen to, at some point. Thanks!
https://www.cherryred.co.uk/dionne-warwick-the-warner-brothers-recordings-19721977-6cd-box-set
Wow, thanks, Pe! I'll have to check that out....if not with the whole set, then finding a place from which to stream it!
Haven’t checked but i guess those albums will be available on all the dsp’s. It’s major rep after all. I bought the set because of the extra’s. Always looking fir the disco/extended gems on those kind of re-issues. I’m like the 1979 disco song: “i don’t want to be a freak(but i can’t help myself)” 🤓🤓
Haven’t checked but i guess those albums will be available on all the dsp’s. It’s major rep after all. I bought the set because of the extra’s. Always looking fir the disco/extended gems on those kind of re-issues. I’m like the 1979 disco song: “i don’t want to be a freak(but i can’t help myself)” 🤓🤓
Another great edition! Your exploration of 'Then Came You' captured the song's enduring appeal and history. I LOVED the insights into the various covers.
Thanks, Jon! I appreciate your regular visits and compliments, and, as for "Inside Tracks," feel free to poke around our 40 other editions! More hits, more artists, and more covers!!
👉https://bradkyle.substack.com/t/inside-tracks