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The All-Time Top 100 R&B Tunes - Part 5: 41 - 50

© Barney Quick

41.) Doggin’ Around – Jackie Wilson (1960) The open-shirted, bejeweled sensation from Detroit reined in his tendency to put his vocal performances over the top for this fine outing. On such hits as “Reet Petite,” “Danny Boy” and “Lonely Teardrops,” Wilson’s swoops, curlicues and sheer operatic power border on the histrionic. Here, on this slow-blues Nat Tarnopol composition, he harnesses his gifts in the service of a plaintive lament. Even the cheesy background chorus, a staple of Brunswick’s arrangements for Wilson, sounds right here, with just a touch of lonesome echo.

42.) Ruler of My Heart – Irma Thomas (1962) This sparsely arranged number on Allen Toussaint’s Minit label sports a piano hook and a rhythm guitar part that are the last word in elegant simplicity. Thomas shows her mastery of dynamics and intensity. When she cries, “Come back, come back, come back / I’ve had enough,” you want to catch the next plane to New Orleans.

43.) The Hunter – Albert King (1967) The Arkansas blues guitar giant’s middle – and, it is generally agreed, classic – years were spent on Stax, the Memphis beacon of down-home soul. When the collaboration began, neither side was certain that it would yield solid results. However, King’s big, hearty, in-the pocket vocals and guitar phrasing melded perfectly with the Booker T. and the MGs and the Memphis Horns. Everything is exactly where it should be on this stomper, for instance.

44.) The Love You Save – The Jackson 5 (1970) Most people pick something else by this Gary family act to put in any kind of top r&b list. It just seems to me that all the elements that are hinted at in the group’s similar hits for Motown are truly on dazzling display here: the bass line that is syncopated to be about twice as fast as the already-funky beat, young Michael’s flair for swinging a well-crafted melody, great string charts, and fun lyrics. This is the crowning moment of glory for Berry Gordy’s last big find.

45.) Strawberry Letter 23 – The Brothers Johnson (1977) Louis Johnson’s lyrical slap bass – all the rage in the late seventies – and the lilting keyboard figures create a swirl that envelops the ethereal vocal harmonies on this velvety funk classic. Shuggie Otis – Johnny’s son – penned it for himself a while earlier. Quincy Jones produced this version.

46.) What A Fool I Was – Percy Mayfield (1950) This record dates from Mayfield’s next session after the one that yielded his first big Specialty hit, “Please Send Me Someone To Love.” The orchestra has the same personnel, including tenor sax man Maxwell Davis, bassist Red Callendar and drummer Lee Young – truly an all star lineup of mid-century Los Angeles talent. A ballad with lovelier chord changes you will not find.

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