Aired on Treasure Island Oldies – January 12, 2025

In the 1980 film, The Blues Brothers, John Belushi and Dan Ackroyd perform a classic R&B tune that originally was released in 1964 and rose to #58 position on the Billboard Hot 100.

The song soon got the attention of The Rolling Stones who recorded their cover version in 1965.

However, it wasn’t until two years later, in 1967, that this record received its greatest success, peaking at #27 and #19 on the pop and the R&B charts, respectively.

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Originally written and performed by Solomon Burke, this song ranked #429 on the Rolling Stone magazine’s 2004 list of “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time,” and ranked #447 in Dave Marsh’s book, “In The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made.”

Burke claimed to be the sole writer of this song. However, Bert Berns and Jerry Wexler’s names appear on the label, signifying writing credits.

Jerry Wexler maintained in 2002: “I know Solomon is upset about that, and I wrote him a long letter explaining how we wrote the song together and that he has always gotten his share of the royalties… The whole process of making a record is a collaborative affair and the issue of who does just what on a song sometimes gets confusing, but not on that song. We wrote it in Bert’s apartment. Bert had a guitar and we wrote it together.”

Regardless, the great thing about the successful 1967 cover version by Wilson Pickett, is that Pickett explicitly recognizes Solomon Burke in the opening of the song … a song whose premise cannot be disputed as “Everybody Needs Somebody To Love,” this week’s Tom Locke moment in time.

YouTube listing of the song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71CN2Qdx_XI

This “Moments In Time” story is yet another example of a “golden oldie” or forgotten favorite that earned its place in the evolution of Rock & Roll.