Great soul ballads always seem to tug at the heartstrings. And any music called “soul” better do just that. Connect with the very essence of who we are as humans. But in 1961, a powerful voice was required to sing soul music. Pro Tools, Auto-Tune, and the like didn’t exist then. Classic recordings captured raw emotion, performance, and the perfectly imperfect voices that brought us timeless songs, powerful enough to still make us cry today.
Videos by American Songwriter
So crank these old tunes and keep the tissues handy!
“Stand By Me” by Ben E. King
There are songs so eternal, they feel like they are of nature. “Stand By Me” is such a song, and its timeliness isn’t an accident. A 1905 hymn published by Charles Albert Tindley inspired the tune, with a line borrowed from the book of Psalms: “Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea.” Ben E. King wrote “Stand By Me” after leaving his former group, The Drifters. He first offered it to them, but they passed. Co-written with Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, King’s update on Tindley’s hymn became a signature track for the singer and an enduring American standard.
“Will You Love Me Tomorrow” by The Shirelles
A Brill Building classic, “Will You Love Me Tomorrow”, was written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin. It’s the first tune by a girl group to top the Billboard Hot 100 chart. King covered the song for her 1971 masterpiece, Tapestry. Hearing it in King’s voice and pensive piano chords highlights the uncertainty and anxiety behind the lyrics. So vulnerable and raw. Returning to the original, a sadness lingers even within The Shirelles’ doo-wop style. As if an impending disappointment is a given.
“Fool That I Am” by Etta James
Even before you hear Etta James’ husky voice, the words on paper to “Fool That I Am”, and specifically, the lyric about one’s dreams disappearing like smoke from a cigarette, are heartbreaking. However, in James’s aching rendition, with one of America’s great voices, the lingering pain and regret from a breakup are amplified with each rising note. There are moments when she pushes the microphone into distortion with what feels like the agony of a generation of blues singers. She ends the tune with this: “Oh, but I still care / Fool that I am.”
Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images for Sony ATV Music Publishing
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