Today's Valentine's Day eve episode of my
NTS radio show (5-6pm London time) will be all about love. To give a sneak peak, I blogged about seven of my favourite love-related 45s on the
NTS blog. Several of these tunes have appeared around these parts previously, but I thought you might still be interested, especially if you're in the midst of putting together a mixtape for someone special.
Dee Clark - Nobody But You (1958)
A sweet love song from a singer just twenty years old at the time of recording. The other-worldly background vocals are courtesy of The Anita Kerr Singers.
Mary Wells - I'm Gonna Stay (1962)
Another youngster, Mary Wells was just nineteen when she laid down this incredible vocal performance. Pure and beautiful; it gets me every time.
Little Eva - He Is The Boy (1962)
This is the flip side to Little Eva's best known tune, the number one smash hit The Locomotion. It's got a strange slow groove and nifty off-key piano breakdown. The lyrics tell of a girl's determination to love her boy despite his personal failings, perhaps that's why it resonates with me.
Lee Moses - Bad Girl Pt.1 (1967)
Similarly to He Is The Boy, this is a song about love in the face of adversity. Lee Moses impassioned vocals on this track are equal to any in soul music, and I don't say that lightly.
Ron Holden - Love You So (1959)
An end-of-the-night lilting ballad of love from Ron Holden and The Thunderbirds. Somewhat depressingly, Holden was also a teenager when this tune was climbing the charts.
Phil Phillips - Sea Of Love (1959)
Sea Of Love has been covered many times but never bettered. This simple and divine ode to love sold over a million copies, but sadly Louisiana's Phil Phillips never received the royalties. They even named a movie after this one.
Little Willie John - Fever (1956)
Speaking of covers, this would have to be up there in terms of most covered of all time -- at least in my collection -- and it's not hard to hear why. On this, the original version, Little Willie John sounds as affected by love as the song suggests.
Labels: original version, rhythm and blues, soul