(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher

"(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher" is an R&B song written by Gary Jackson, Raynard Miner, and Carl Smith. It was originally recorded by Jackie Wilson for his album Higher and Higher (1967), produced by Carl Davis, and became a Top 10 pop and number one R&B hit.[2]

"(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher"
Artwork for French release
Single by Jackie Wilson
from the album Higher and Higher
B-side"I'm the One to Do It"
ReleasedAugust 1967 (original version)
June 17, 1998 (digitally remastered Dolby Surround re-release version)
RecordedJuly 6, 1967
StudioColumbia Studios, Chicago
GenreChicago soul
Length2:59
LabelBrunswick Records
55336
Songwriter(s)
  • Gary Jackson
  • Raynard Miner
  • Carl Smith[1]
Producer(s)Carl Davis
Jackie Wilson singles chronology
"I've Lost You"
(1967)		 "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher"
(1967)		 "Since You Showed Me How to Be Happy"
(1967)

Overview

The backing track was recorded on July 6, 1967 at Columbia's studios in Chicago. Produced by Carl Davis, the session, arranged by Sonny Sanders, featured bassist James Jamerson, drummer Richard "Pistol" Allen, guitarist Robert White, and keyboardist Johnny Griffith; these four musicians were all members of the Motown Records house band The Funk Brothers who often moonlighted on sessions for Davis to augment the wages paid by Motown.[3]

According to Carl Davis, the Funk Brothers "used to come over on the weekends from Detroit. They'd load up in the van and come over to Chicago, and I would pay 'em double scale, and I'd pay 'em in cash."[3] Similarly, two members of Motown's house session singers The Andantes, Jackie Hicks and Marlene Barrow, along with Pat Lewis (who was filling in for Andantes member Louvain Demps), performed on the session for "Higher and Higher".[4] Drummer Maurice White (better known as a singer for Earth, Wind & Fire) also played on the recording.[5][6] Motown's Mike Terry played the baritone saxophone.[7]

The song was originally written by Chess Records' in-house writers and producers Carl Smith and Raynard Miner, and initially recorded by The Dells for the label, but not released. Another writer, Gary Jackson, made some changes to the song and pitched it to Davis at Brunswick. When the singer recorded his vocal track, Davis recalls, Wilson originally sang the song "like a soul ballad. I said that's totally wrong. You have to jump and go with the percussion... If he didn't want to sing it that way, I would put my voice on the record and sell millions." After hearing Davis's advice, Wilson cut the lead vocal for "Higher and Higher" in a single take.[8]

A publishing deal for the song was reached with Brunswick after Chess producer/A&R head, Billy Davis intervened. Writing credits were agreed with Smith, Miner, Jackson and Billy Davis all named. Later, Davis removed his credit and BMI now lists the song as by the three other writers. The Dells' version appeared on their album, "There Is" for Chess subsidiary, Cadet the same year.

Release

Released in August 1967, the song reached number one on the US Billboard R&B chart and, in November, peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 6.[9] Wilson's version also rose to nos. 11 &15 upon the UK Singles Chart during 1969 and 1987 respectively.[10]

Brunswick Records then released an album titled Higher and Higher in November 1967. Its chart peak was No. 163 (Billboard 200) and No. 28 (Billboard R&B Albums chart.)[2]

The track was ranked No. 246 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.

Chart history

Cover versions

The Dells included the song on their 1968 hit album There Is; their version, recorded in 1967, is reputed to have been the original version, and was recorded with slightly different lyrics than the better-known Jackie Wilson hit version, but was not released as a single. In a recorded interview with famed Cleveland/New York Dee-Jay Norm N. Nite, Jackie stated that when he first heard a tape of the song, "a vocal group was singing it". That group was quite probably The Dells.[20]

In 1970, the song was recorded under the title "Higher and Higher" by Canada Goose, a group from Ottawa who had been discovered by Jerry Ragovoy. This version, with a shared lead vocal by Barbra Bullard and John Matthews, became a hit in Canada (#44) and reached #92 on the Record World 100 Pop Chart.[21][22]

Dolly Parton covered the song on her 1977 LP, New Harvest...First Gathering.

In 2008 the song, still known as "Higher and Higher", charted in Sweden due to Kevin Borg, the eventual winner of season 8 of Idol, performing it in the competition, and downloads of Borg's version secured it a #29 ranking.[23]

Bruce Springsteen has performed the song throughout his career, first in the 1970s and then later on the 2009 Working on a Dream Tour. A live version of the song was released by Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band on their live album HSBC Arena, Buffalo, NY, 11/22/09. This version was recorded on November 22, 2009. This was the last show where longtime E Street Band saxophonist Clarence Clemons performed with the band before his death.[24]

Springsteen and the E Street Band also played the song to end the first night of the 25th Anniversary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Concerts. Captured on HBO and later released on the DVD, the live performance of the song featured guests including Sam Moore, Darlene Love, Tom Morello, John Fogerty, Billy Joel, Jackson Browne, and Peter Wolf.

Rita Coolidge version
"(Your Love Has Lifted Me) Higher and Higher"
Artwork for U.S., German, and Dutch releases
Single by Rita Coolidge
from the album Anytime...Anywhere
B-sideoriginally "I Don't Want to Talk About It" replaced on later pressings with "Who's To Bless And Who's To Blame"
ReleasedMarch 1977
Length3:30
LabelA&M Records
Songwriter(s)Billy Davis, Gary Jackson, Raynard Miner and Carl Smith
Producer(s)David Anderle
Rita Coolidge singles chronology
"Mean to Me"
(1975)		 "(Your Love Has Lifted Me) Higher and Higher"
(1977)		 "We're All Alone"
(1977)

Rita Coolidge remade the song as "(Your Love Has Lifted Me) Higher and Higher" for her album Anytime...Anywhere (1977). Her version has a more moderate tempo than that of the uptempo original, and largely omits the chorus which is evidenced only in the background vocals sung under the repetition of the first verse with which she closes the song. Coolidge and her sister Priscilla Coolidge had sung background on a version of the song for a prospective album by Priscilla's husband Booker T. Jones; when that album was shelved, Coolidge asked him if she could cut the song using his arrangement.[25]

Released as a single, Coolidge's version became her first major hit in nine years of recording: the track peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was kept from the No. 1 spot by "Best of My Love" by The Emotions.[26]Cash Box ranked it at No. 1.[27][28] "Higher and Higher" also reached No. 1 in Canada. Both the song and a subsequent release, "We're All Alone", earned Coolidge gold records for each selling a million copies.

In the UK it was released as the follow-up single after "We're All Alone" which had reached No. 6, but it only achieved a peak of No. 48 there.[29]

Chart performance

Weekly charts
Chart (1977) Peak
position
Australia Kent Music Report 6
Canada RPM Top Singles[30] 1
Canada RPM Adult Contemporary 3
New Zealand [31] 7
UK (Official Charts Company)[32] 48
US Billboard Hot 100 [33] 2
US Billboard Adult Contemporary 5
US Cash Box Top 100 [27] 1

Year-end charts
Chart (1977) Rank
Australia[34] 28
Canada[35] 13
New Zealand[36] 22
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[37] 8
U.S. Cash Box[38] 8

See also

References
  1. "Record details at 45.cat". 45.cat.com. Retrieved January 29, 2014.
  2. "Higher & Higher: The Chicago Soul of Jackie Wilson 1966–1976 – Rate Your Music". Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  3. "Jackie Wilson". Russ & Gary's "The Best Years of Music".
  4. "The Andantes". Doo Wop Blog.
  5. "Maurice White (instrumentalist : drums)". DAHR: Discography of American Historical Recordings.
  6. "MAURICE WHITE, PHILOSOPHER AND TRUTH SEEKER - AN APPRECIATION". Soul and Jazz and Funk.com.
  7. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/dec/01/mike-terry-obituary
  8. "Jackie Wilson on Columbia Records". Archived from the original on July 20, 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-30.
  9. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–2004. Record Research. p. 630.
  10. "Jackie Wilson". Official Charts.com.
  11. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. October 14, 1967. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
  12. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Higher and Higher". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
  13. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  14. "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, October 7, 1967". Archived from the original on November 28, 2018. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  15. "Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. May 20, 1969. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
  16. "Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. April 7, 1987. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
  17. Musicoutfitters.com
  19. "Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 23, 1967". Archived from the original on September 30, 2018. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  20. "Jackie Wilson - The Man Behind The Music - Rare Interview". YouTube. December 22, 2010. Retrieved September 30, 2016.
  21. Canoe.ca. "Canadian Pop Encyclopedia-Canada Goose". Archived from the original on May 10, 2009. Retrieved May 6, 2009.
  22. "100c". Archived from the original on July 24, 2009. Retrieved July 22, 2009.
  23. "Sweden Singles Top 60 (December 4, 2008) – Music Charts". Archived from the original on May 10, 2009.
  24. "Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band – November 22, 2009 HSBC Arena, Buffalo, NY".
  25. "Country Music People 10/06". Archived from the original on May 6, 2009. Retrieved May 4, 2009.
  26. https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/1977-09-10
  27. "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles". Retrieved 2014-12-23.
  28. Cash Box Magazine (September 10, 1977). "Cash Box Top 100 9/10/77". Web.archive.org. Archived from the original on August 14, 2012. Retrieved July 17, 2014.
  29. "(Your Love Has Lifted Me) Higher and Higher: Full Official Chart History". Official Charts. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
  30. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
  31. "NZ Top 40 Singles Chart | The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Nztop40.co.nz. October 16, 1977. Retrieved September 30, 2016.
  32. "UK Official Singles Chart", UK Official Charts Company, October 15, 1977, retrieved August 15, 2018
  33. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-2002
  34. "Australian Chart Book". Austchartbook.com.au. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved 2016-09-30.
  35. "Image : RPM Weekly - Library and Archives Canada". Bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved October 28, 2016.
  36. "Top Selling Singles of 1977 | The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Nztop40.co.nz. December 31, 1977. Retrieved September 30, 2016.
  37. "Top 100 Hits of 1977/Top 100 Songs of 1977". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved September 30, 2016.
  38. "The CASH BOX Year-End Charts: 1977". Retrieved 2015-07-16.
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