Yet for all of its stirring aesthetics, there’s loads of desperation. We’re guessing from the mantra “You do not know what it is like / To love anyone / The means I love you” that this relationship doesn’t pan out. This sugary ’64 chart-topper (the Temptations’ first) could be one of the best pet-love song ever. Speaking of Ben E. King, his crowning achievement remains this timeless, apocalyptic wonder, which he co-wrote with Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. Hear the easy bass line, adopted by that percussion, then King’s frayed vocals after which those strings and just attempt to let that chilly coronary heart of yours soften like butter.
Written for Eddie Cantor to sing—in blithe blackface—in the 1930 movie Whoopee! , “My Baby Just Cares for Me” has had an unusual afterlife. Though Nina Simone recorded her version in 1958, it turned an unlikely chart hit in the U.K.… Read More