"You Make Me Feel Brand New" is a 1974 single by the Philadelphia soul group The Stylistics. An R&B ballad, the song was written by Thom Bell and Linda Creed.[3]
| "You Make Me Feel Brand New" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 One of pressings of the US single | ||||
| Single by The Stylistics | ||||
| from the album Rockin' Roll Baby & Let's Put It All Together | ||||
| B-side | "Only for the Children" | |||
| Released | May 5, 1974 | |||
| Studio | Sigma Sound, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:45 5:30 (long version) | |||
| Label | Avco | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Thom Bell, Linda Creed | |||
| Producer(s) | Thom Bell | |||
| The Stylistics singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Background and composition
editAccording to a Thom Bell interview for Record Collector :
"When Creed broke one of their golden songwriting rules by mentioning religion (“God bless you”) in You Make Me Feel Brand New, Bell tore a strip off her. He then felt like a heel when she told him that she had written the song about him, and the lyric stayed intact." [4]
Stylistics co-founder, baritone Airrion Love opens the song, then alternates with the falsetto of lead vocalist Russell Thompkins Jr. The song, in a longer five-minute version, had first appeared as a track on the Stylistics' 1973 album, Rockin' Roll Baby, though that version was not released as a single.[3]
Chart performance
edit"You Make Me Feel Brand New" was the fifth track from their 1974 album, Let's Put It All Together[5] and was released as a single and reached No. 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks,[3][6] barred from the No. 1 spot by "Billy Don't Be a Hero" by Bo Donaldson and The Heywoods.[7] In addition, it climbed to No. 5 on the Billboard R&B chart.[6] Billboard ranked it as the No. 14 song for 1974.
"You Make Me Feel Brand New" also reached No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart in August 1974.[8] The Stylistics' recording sold over one million copies in the US, earning the band a gold disc[3] The award was presented by the RIAA on May 22, 1974.[3] It was the band's fifth gold disc.[3]
Weekly charts
edit| Chart (1974) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[9] | 3 |
| Brazil (Brazilian Top 100)[10] | 5 |
| Canada RPM Top Singles | 3 |
| Ireland (IRMA)[11] | 18 |
| New Zealand (Listener)[12] | 11 |
| South Africa (Springbok)[13] | 6 |
| UK | 2 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 2 |
| US Billboard Adult Contemporary | 6 |
| US Billboard Hot Soul Singles | 5 |
| US Cash Box Top 100[14] | 1 |
Influence
editNeil Sedaka used the song as inspiration to compose the melody of "The Hungry Years", noting that it contained a three-semitone key change that he found particularly appealing and called a "drop-dead chord."[19]
Other versions
edit"You Make Me Feel Brand New" has been recorded by jazz and pop artists including:
- In 1975 by Vicky Leandros.
- In 1982 by The Salsoul Orchestra (vocals by Christine Wiltshire and Ray Stevens).
- In 1986 by Babyface.
- In 2003 by Simply Red (on their studio album Home). The Simply Red version reached number 10 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary Chart.[20]
- In 2004, the song was covered by Boyz II Men.
- Swedish singer Björn Skifs released Med varann' (in English Together), a cover of the song in Swedish on his album Schiffz! in 1975 as a duet with ABBA member Anni-Frid Lyngstad.
- Jamaican reggae singer Jacob Miller of Inner Circle recorded the song with Augustus Pablo.
- Japanese musician Tatsuro Yamashita recorded his version in 1986, included on the album On the Street Corner 2.
- Italian singer Mina included the song on the album Rane supreme, in 1987.
- Roberta Flack recorded the song in 1992, reaching No. 50 on the U.S. R&B chart.
- In 2003, Lil Mo made her version of the song and named it, Brand Nu. The instruments had also been enhanced and the lyrics are completely different. This song was included in her second album, Meet the Girl Next Door.
- The song was recorded by Ronnie Milsap on his album Summer Number 17.
- Jazz guitarist Norman Brown recorded the song in 1999.
- Filipino R&B singer Jay R included the song from his 2008 album, Soul in Love.
- American pop singer Johnny Mathis covered the song on his 2008 album, A Night to Remember.
- Rod Stewart recorded it with Mary J. Blige on the former's 2009 album Soulbook.
- Larry Carlton released a mostly instrumental version on his 2011 album Plays the Sounds of Philadelphia.
- Jazz harpist Brandee Younger and bassist Dezron Douglas played an instrumental version on the 2020 album Force Majeure.
Samples
edit- The song was sampled in American rapper Yung Joc's song "Brand New", which featured Snoop Dogg and Rick Ross.
- In January 2014, South Korean rappers Verbal Jint, San E, Bumkey, Swings, Phantom and Kanto, all from the Brand New Music agency, released "You Make Me Feel Brand New (Brand New Year 2013)", which contains a sample of this song.[21]
- Mystique used a sample of this song for their 2014 song, "Brand New".[22]
Popular culture
edit- It was also used in TV commercials for Woolite in the mid 1980s and in TV advertisements for Australian department store Myer in the late 1980s.[citation needed] In Britain, a version was used to advertise BioTex stain removing powder.[23]
References
edit- ^ Breithaupt, Don; Breithaupt, Jeff (October 15, 1996). "The Sound of Philadelphia: Philly Soul". Precious and Few - Pop Music in the Early '70s. St. Martin's Griffin. p. 52. ISBN 031214704X.
- ^ Marsh, Dave (1989). The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made. Plume. p. 420. ISBN 0-452-26305-0.
- ^ a b c d e f Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 351. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
- ^ Stanley, Bob. "Thom Bell". Record Collector.
- ^ Hamilton, Andrew. "Let's Put It All Together Baby". AllMusic. Retrieved September 20, 2011.
- ^ a b Allmusic - Charts & Awards
- ^ "The Hot 100 Chart". Billboard. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
- ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 537. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ a b Steffen Hung. "Forum - 1970 (ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts)". Australian-charts.com. Retrieved October 10, 2016.
- ^ a b "Top 100 Músicas Mais Tocadas em 1974" [Top 100 Most Played Songs of 1974] (in Portuguese). March 14, 2018. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
- ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – You Make Me Feel Brand New". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
- ^ "flavour of new zealand - search listener". Flavourofnz.co.nz. Retrieved October 10, 2016.
- ^ "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Rock.co.za. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
- ^ "Cash Box Top 100 6/22/74". Tropicalglen.com. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
- ^ "National Top 100 Singles for 1974". Kent Music Report. December 30, 1974. Retrieved January 15, 2022 – via Imgur.
- ^ Canada, Library and Archives (September 13, 2017). "Image : RPM Weekly". Library and Archives Canada.
- ^ "Top 100 1974 - UK Music Charts". Uk-charts.top-source.info. Retrieved October 10, 2016.
- ^ "Top 100 Hits of 1974/Top 100 Songs of 1974". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved October 10, 2016.
- ^ "Today's Mini-Concert - 9/2/2020". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
- ^ "song-database.com". 1.song-database.com. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
- ^ "Verbal Jint, San E, Bumkey, Swings, Phantom, and Kanto release teaser for 'You Make Me Feel BRAND NEW'". Allkpop. January 9, 2014. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
- ^ "Mystique (DJ)'s 'Brand New' sample of The Stylistics's 'You Make Me Feel Brand New' | WhoSampled".
- ^ "Central Adverts & Continuity - 1986". YouTube. At 10 minutes 50 seconds. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
External links
edit- You Make Me Feel Brand New on YouTube
- Simply Red - You Make Me Feel Brand New (Official Live at Sydney Opera House) on YouTube
- Simply Red - You Make Me Feel Brand New (Official Video) on YouTube
- Simply Red - You Make Me Feel Brand New (Home In Sicily) on YouTube
- Simply Red - You Make Me Feel Brand New (Live at Sydney Opera House) on YouTube
- You Make Me Feel Brand New (Live at Sydney Opera House) on YouTube
- You Make Me Feel Brand New on YouTube