I Got A Woman / It Must Be Jesus / There’s A Man Going Around Taking Names

[Suspicious Minds]

Everybody knows Elvis covered Ray Charles’ ‘I Got A Woman’ (1954). In turn, everybody knows the soul genius ‘copied’ it from a gospel song he heard on the radio, ‘It Must Be Jesus’ (1954) by the Southern Tones. Yet the story goes even further back in time. Here’s a sketch of how a spiritual turned into a soul and rock ‘n roll tune. Amen!

I don’t have FTD’s His Songs Of Praise. It’d be cool if someone could check it and compare it with the bits I scraped together. All feedback, comments, additions, corrections are very welcome! Thx.

Update: The Warder mentioned ‘It Must Be Jesus’ as inspiration for ‘I Got A Woman’ here:
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=4004&p=32010&hilit=Ray+Charles+Woman#p32010

I Got A Woman

Written by Ray Charles (1930 - 2004) & Renald Richard (1925 - 2017)

First recorded by Ray Charles, in Atlanta, GA, November 18, 1954.

First released as ‘I’ve Got A Woman’, 45 rpm Atlantic (45-1050), December 1954. Flipside: ‘Come Back Baby’. See label scan below.

B8044A04-AC0A-445C-80FF-B292DC2223AE.jpeg

Charts: #1 Billboard R&B

Billboard review, January 1, 1955:

'I've Got A Woman': "one of the most infectuous blues sides to come out on any lable since the summer. It has a rocking, driving beat and a sensational vocal by the chanter."
'Come Back Baby': "a slow, meaningful ballad, and it also features a wonderful vocal. Both sides are outstanding".

Awards: #239 of 500 Greatest Songs of All Time (Rolling Stone) - Often credited as 1st ‘soul’ record or as ‘prototype’ of soul music.

Influenced by / Copied from the gospel song ‘It Must Be Jesus’ (Southern Tones):

While on the road with his band in the summer of 1954, Ray Charles heard the song on the radio. Charles and his band member, trumpeter Renald Richard, penned “a song that was built along a gospel-frenetic pace with secular lyrics and a jazz-inspired rhythm and blues background.”

Ad in The Cash Box, January 1, 1955:

8E53E952-3C67-4F84-A9AB-95990F7CAD83.jpeg

- - -

It Must Be Jesus

https://youtu.be/AvCbVLZW4EY

Written by Bob King (? - ?). [Any further info is welcome.]

Recorded by Southern Tones, 1954, Houston, TX. No specific date found.

Released as 78 rpm Duke 250, April 1954. Flipside: ‘Dying Sinner’. See label scan below.

16A85208-A073-44E8-B309-62B830E4DFD2.jpeg

The Southern Tones’ ‘It Must Be Jesus’ / ‘Dying Sinner’ got an ad in Billboard, April 24, 1954. It’s one of the tunes that are called ‘rhythm and blues and religious music for millions’.

5A29D52E-C6CC-4928-8AD2-40F3EF107847.jpeg

Influenced by the spiritual ‘There’s A Man Going Around Taking Names’ (Joshua White). ‘It Must Be Jesus’ is said to be a ‘reworking’ of White’s spiritual.
Source: https://books.google.be/books?id=ZSVWDw ... es&f=false

- - -

There’s A Man Going Around Takin’ Names

https://youtu.be/nCVFFHjuuU0

Written by Josh ‘Joshua’ White (1914-1969) aka ‘The Singing Christian’.

Recorded by Joshua White, 1933 (?).

Released as 78 rpm Melotone Records (M 12861), 1933. Flipside: ‘Lay Some Flowers On My Grave’.

F405CDA9-06C4-49DB-9582-97C35FD1107E.jpeg

Trivia

Josh White was a singer-songwriter and civil rights activist. He also recorded under the names of Pinewood Tom and Tippy Barton.

Comparison of lyrics

‘It Must Be Jesus’ starts with the lyrics

Oh there’s a man (must be Jesus)
Goin' around (must be Jesus)
Taking names (must be Jesus)
Oh yeah (must be Jesus)
There's a man (must be Jesus)
Goin' around (must be Jesus)
Taking names (must be Jesus)
Oh Lord (must be Jesus)
You know he took (took my mother's name)
My mother's name (took my mother's name)
Yeah, and he left (left my heart in pain)
My heart in pain (left my heart in pain)

‘There’s A Man Goin’ Around Takin’ Names’ starts as follows:

There's a man goin' 'round, Lord, takin' names
There's a man goin' around, takin' names
Well, he took that rich man's name,
And that rich man died in pain
There's a man goin' 'round, takin' names
There's a man goin' around, takin' names
Well, he took my father's name,
And he left my heart in pain
Lord, Lord, Lord, man goin' 'round, takin' names

More on Joshua White:
https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/ ... -bluesman/

[colonel snow]

deleted due to doubts about the information

colonel snow

[Suspicious Minds]

Thank you, Colonel Snow!
I forgot about that other story you mentioned. I’ll check it out and come back with what I can find about it.

[colonel snow]

You can find it here


https://davidneale.eu/elvis/originals/list4.html#S1262

colonel snow

[Suspicious Minds]

You can find it here


https://davidneale.eu/elvis/originals/list4.html#S1262

colonel snow

Thank you.

Meanwhile, I found a third possible source of inspiration. At least, according to this book:

https://books.google.be/books?id=Z1ZxDw ... 0i&f=false

1. It Must Be Jesus (Southern Tones)
2. I’ve Got A Savior (Bailey Gospel Singers) and
3. Jesus Is All The World To Me (Alex Bradford)

I don’t have time at the moment to verify or check out that third song, but I’ll come back to it tomorrow.

[colonel snow]

deleted due to doubts about the information

colonel snow

[Suspicious Minds]

Personally I don't dive deep into the (possible) history of a song like I('ve) got a woman after the songwriting and recording of Ray Charles.
Maybe one of the songs that inspired Ray Charles originates from another song and this research for the original repeats a few times.
Before you know you're miles away from I got a woman and that's out of my interest.
Black / gospel music and country music are difficult chapters in such a case.

colonel snow

I understand that. Personally, I find it interesting and fun to trace the origins / inspirations of a song, but I fully agree with you that at some point, going back in time, the link between a song and its originals or inspirations evaporates.

[John]

Fascinating stuff, I love this kind of thing. Thanks both.

[Colin B]

We had a discussion about the song I Got a Woman a couple of years back:

On his first album in the UK [Elvis Presley - CLP 1093] it is listed as I Got a Sweetie (I got a woman) !

First Album - Label001.jpg

We were stumped as to why it was called that until Private Presley informed us that Jo Stafford had a 1955 version with the lyric re-written from a female perspective:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81EprLKn5QY


Don't know why they had to use that title for the Elvis version !

[Suspicious Minds]

An update on the (supposed) influence of Alex Bradford’s ‘Jesus Is All The World To Me’ on Ray Charles’ ‘I Got A Woman’.

Nicknamed ‘The Singing Rage of The Gospel Age’, Alex Bradford (1927-1978) did seem to have an influence on Little Richard and Ray Charles:

“Artists such as Little Richard imitated Bradford's energetic style, ranging from a gravelly bass to a whooping falsetto, and his flamboyant stage presence. Ray Charles, for his part, not only borrowed some of Bradford's vocal mannerisms but based his Raelets on the Bradford Specials.”

However, I’ve not yet found ‘evidence’ that Bradford’s ‘Jesus Is All The World To Me’ influenced Ray Charles’ ‘I Got A Woman’ - though some books on Gospel and on Ray Charles do mention that specific influence. But to me it’s not even clear yet whether Bradford recorded that song at all. I haven’t found it yet in discographies.

That said, Bradford himself, on the other hand, supposedly claimed that his song ‘Can’t Trust Nobody’ was the origin of Ray Charles’ ‘I Got A Woman’. See link below. Yet, again, there’s very little if anything I can find to verify and validate that claim.
Source: https://books.google.be/books?id=5v1pSA ... es&f=false

For now, I think it’s safe to say that Bradford (may have) influenced Ray Charles (and his music), in one way or another, but I have my doubts about the claim(s) that a specific tune of Bradford was the origin or a direct influence on Ray Charles’ ‘I Got A Woman’. Esp. as different authors mention different tunes of Bradford as inspiration. In other words, they disagree which Bradford song it was that supposedly influenced ‘I Got A Woman’.

[Suspicious Minds]

We had a discussion about the song I Got a Woman a couple of years back:

On his first album in the UK [Elvis Presley - CLP 1093] it is listed as I Got a Sweetie (I got a woman) !

First Album - Label001.jpg

We were stumped as to why it was called that until Private Presley informed us that Jo Stafford had a 1955 version with the lyric re-written from a female perspective:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81EprLKn5QY


Don't know why they had to use that title for the Elvis version !

Thank you, Colin! And Private Presley! That’s a cool find. I’ll check it out.

[Suspicious Minds]

An update on ‘I’ve Got A Savior’.

From http://www.thepublicdomain.org/2008/12/ ... -the-book/

“Charles was borrowing extensively from a song called “I’ve Got a Savior” probably written by Clara Ward and performed by the Bailey Gospel Singers.”

The author goes on to note that “the only way you can find it is to go to the Rodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts and ask them to let you listen to it.”

However, the author does provide “a short combined excerpt, alternating between the original song and Charles’ transformation of it.”

I’ve copied that snippet from the site. Here it it:



According to Neale, ‘I’ve Got A Savior’ was written by Alex Brown. The author from the site mentioned above thinks it was Clara Ward.

Charles borrowed from one of her other compositions ‘This Little Light of Mine’ for his ‘This Little Girl Of Mine’. This was noted by Mister Moon here: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=4004&p=32010&hilit=Ray+Charles+Woman#p32010

[colonel snow]

deleted due to doubts about the information

colonel snow

[Colin B]

(I got a sweetie) I got a woman was recorded on 4 february 1955 by Jo Stafford (Columbia 40451).
For me it is "old" news.
It's known "I got a sweetie" was used on RCA releases.

It wasn't posted as 'news'.

Just as relevant info & for discussion.

[Suspicious Minds]

A radio station demo of 'I've Got A Saviour' by The Bailey Gospel Singers.
Thomas Ward is credited as the songwriter.

250579869785.jpg

Source: https://www.popsike.com/bailey-gospel-s ... 69785.html