Need Your Love So Bad
"Need Your Love So Bad", sometimes known as "I Need Your Love So Bad", is a blues song first published and recorded by Little Willie John in 1955. It was written by Mertis John Jr., Little Willie John's older brother.
"Need Your Love So Bad" | |
---|---|
Single by Little Willie John | |
B-side | "Home at Last" |
Released | 1955 |
Recorded | New York City, September 28, 1955 |
Genre | Blues |
Length | 2:14 |
Label | King |
Songwriter(s) | Mertis John Jr. |
Background
The first recording of the song was by Mertis John's younger brother, Little Willie John,[1][2] and was released by King Records.[2] Willie John's single achieved No. 5 on the Billboard R&B chart in 1956[3] and the B-side "Home at Last" reached No. 6 in the same chart.[3]
While using the AABA form and a harmonic layout typical for the R&B ballad,[4] "Need Your Love So Bad" has been described as "A tightly wound and intense plea for love ... quite different from the usual R&B ballad fare".[5]
The songwriting credit has often been incorrectly attributed to Little Willie John.[6] An example of this is the 1969 Fleetwood Mac album The Pious Bird of Good Omen, on which the original label gave the credit to Little Willie John.[7] The performing rights organization BMI credits the song to both John brothers.[8]
Little Willie John's version of the song was used in the soundtrack to the film Wonder Boys in 2000.[9] The song has also appeared on various compilation albums, such as The Very Best of Little Willie John, released in 2001 by Collectables Records as a CD.[10]
Recordings by other artists
- Fleetwood Mac subsequently released a cover of the song as a single,[2] which reached No. 31 in the UK Singles Chart in August 1968,[11] and No. 7 in The Netherlands.[12] The song was reissued in the United Kingdom in 1973 as a double A-sided single with the re-release of "Albatross". This re-release was part of a CBS Records series entitled "Hall of Fame Hits". It went to number 2 on the UK Singles Chart.[11]
- Gary Moore included the song on Blues for Greeny (1995), a tribute album to Peter Green. This version was also released as a single in June 1995, reaching No. 48 in the UK Singles Chart.[13]
References
- "Little Willie John, Need Your Love So Bad by Mertis John". AllMusic. Retrieved March 20, 2010.
- "Little Willie John by Richard Tapp". Ace Records. Archived from the original on September 23, 2006. Retrieved March 20, 2010.
- Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–2004. Record Research. p. 228.
- Appen, Ralf von / Frei-Hauenschild, Markus "AABA, Refrain, Chorus, Bridge, Prechorus — Song Forms and their Historical Development". In: Samples. Online Publikationen der Gesellschaft für Popularmusikforschung/German Society for Popular Music Studies e.V. Ed. by Ralf von Appen, André Doehring and Thomas Phleps. Vol. 13 (2015), p. 31, 35.
- Grendysa, Peter A. (1993). Fever: The Best of Little Willie John (liner notes). Rhino Records. p. 1. R2 71511.
- Ron Wynn. "Fever: The Best of Little Willie John - Little Willie John - Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
- Rsindex.pictures-hosting.com Archived December 22, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
- "Entry for Need Your Love So Bad, BMI". Repertoire.bmi.com. Archived from the original on January 30, 2016.
- "The AFI Catalog of Feature Films: Wonder Boys". Afi.com. Retrieved March 19, 2010.
- "The Very Best of Little Willie John". AllMusic. Retrieved March 20, 2010.
- Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 205. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- https://www.top40.nl/top40/1968/week-44
- OFFICIAL SINGLES CHART: NEED YOUR LOVE SO BAD (Full Official Chart History) Official Charts (Home of the Official UK Top 40 Charts)