Sweet Soul Music
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| "Sweet Soul Music" | |
|---|---|
| Single by Arthur Conley | |
| from the album Sweet Soul Music | |
| B-side | "Let's Go Steady" |
| Released | 1967 |
| Recorded | FAME Studios, Muscle Shoals, Alabama, January 1967[1] |
| Genre | Soul, rhythm and blues |
| Length | 2:20 |
| Label | Atco |
| Writer(s) | Sam Cooke, Arthur Conley and Otis Redding |
"Sweet Soul Music" is a soul song, first released by Arthur Conley in 1967. Written by Conley and Otis Redding, it is based on the Sam Cooke song "Yeah Man" from his posthumous album Shake; the opening riff is a quote from Elmer Bernstein's score for the 1960 movie The Magnificent Seven.
It reached the number two spot on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the Billboard R&B chart, and #7 on the UK Singles Chart.[2] J. W. Alexander, Sam Cooke's business partner, sued both Redding and Conley for plagiarizing the melody. A settlement was reached in which Cooke's name was added to the writer credits, and Otis Redding agreed to record some songs in the future from Kags Music, a Cooke – JW Alexander enterprise.[citation needed]
Lyrics
The song is an homage to soul music. The following songs are mentioned in the lyrics:
- "Going to a Go-Go" by The Miracles; the group is not explicitly mentioned.
- "Love Is a Hurtin' Thing" by Lou Rawls
- "Hold On, I'm Comin' " by Sam & Dave
- "Mustang Sally" by Wilson Pickett
- "Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa" by Otis Redding. A brief instrumental version of the chorus for the song is quoted, after Conley says the words "Hit it Otis".
Additionally, James Brown is described as "the king of them all".[3]
At the end of the song, Arthur Conley sings the lyrics: "Otis Redding got the feeling."
