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26 Jul 20 - 04:17 PM (#4065979) Subject: Origins: Need Your Love So Bad From: Thompson Listening sadly to Peter Green and his Fleetwood Mac playing that great smoocher Need Your Love So Bad tonight, I went looking for the song's writer, and found it was Mertis John Jr. But apart from being the brother of Little Willie John, I can't find any biography of him. Anyone? |
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26 Jul 20 - 08:48 PM (#4066016) Subject: RE: Origins: Need Your Love So Bad From: keberoxu My impression about performances recorded of this song, is that Little Willie John was the first to record it. Then comes B. B. King, whose arrangement was influential to Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac, it sounds like. What else? Mertis John Sr. was the father of Willie John and Mertis John Jr. who were two out of ten children. Four of the older children sang together as The Gospel Four -- not clear if Mertis Jr. was one of those four. Another quote I scared up: "... his older brother, Mertis John Jr., who penned material while serving in Korea as a medic." There is supposed to be a Little Willie John biography authored by Susan Whitall which goes into some detail about the two brothers and their families. |
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27 Jul 20 - 05:38 AM (#4066054) Subject: RE: Origins: Need Your Love So Bad From: Thompson Thanks, interesting. The actual writer of the song was Mertis John Jr. It's an odd song; it is written as if from the point of view of someone who's blind. |
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27 Jul 20 - 05:21 PM (#4066174) Subject: RE: Origins: Need Your Love So Bad From: GUEST,pseudonymous I had not thought about the persona being blind, though being non-literate had been a thought. It's the line about writing it down so that somebody can read it to him that does it. For me otherwise, it's about a darkness of the soul, a state of near madness 'stop driving me mad', and the need for some other to provide support, almost religious connotations and certainly a moral element 'tell me when I'm lying.' Poignantly relevant to Peter Green's biography (his version is the one I know) in places. 'Odd' is one way of putting it, 'intriguing' another perhaps. |
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29 Jul 20 - 11:45 AM (#4066437) Subject: RE: Origins: Need Your Love So Bad From: Thompson Need someone's hand to lead me through the night I need someone's arms to hold and squeeze me tight Now, when the night begins, whoa, I'm at an end Because I need your love so bad I need some lips to feel next to mine Need someone to stand up, to stand up and tell me when I'm lyin' And when the lights are low, and it's time to go That's when I need your love so bad So why don't you give it up, baby and bring it home to me Or write it on a piece of paper, woman, so it can be read to me Tell me that you love me, and stop drivin' me mad Whoa, because I, I need your love so bad Need a soft voice, just to talk to me at night Don't want you to worry, baby I know we can make everything all right Listen to my plea, baby, come on bring it to me 'Cause I need, your love so bad Baby, I need, I need, woman, I need your love so bad. I hadn't noticed that there's a reference to lights being low - other than that, all the references are to touch, which is unusual. |
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29 Jul 20 - 12:01 PM (#4066444) Subject: RE: Origins: Need Your Love So Bad From: GUEST,keberoxu Myself, I need to go back and listen, again, to Little Willie John's studio recording. I believe the lyrics have some variations to them -- I recall "talk to me at night" rhyming with "don't wanna fuss and fight" instead. |