Please Send Me Someone to Love explained
| Please Send Me Someone to Love |
| Cover: | please percymayfield.jpg |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Percy Mayfield |
| Album: | The Best of Percy Mayfield |
| B-Side: | Strange Things Happening |
| Released: | Sept. 1950[1] |
| Recorded: | August 16, 1950
|
| Genre: | R&B, Blues ballad |
| Label: | Specialty Records |
| Producer: | Art Rupe |
| Next Title: | Lost Love (Baby, Please Come Back to Me) |
| Next Year: | 1951 |
"Please Send Me Someone to Love" is a blues ballad, written and recorded by American blues and soul singer Percy Mayfield in 1950, for Art Rupe's Specialty Records. It was on the Billboard's R&B chart for 27 weeks and reached the number-one position for two weeks; it was Mayfield's most successful song.[2]
Song background
It has been called a "multilayered universal lament".[3] Mayfield sang it in a soft ballad style. Its appeal lay in the sensitivity of its lyrics in juxtaposing an awareness of a world in conflict with a personal expression of the need for love.[4] Sung in Mayfield's gentle, suave vocal style, the lyrics were a combination of a romantic love ballad and a social message against discrimination.[5]
Track listing
US 7"Vinyl[6]
- "Please Send Me Someone to Love" (2:50)
- "Strange Things Happening" (2:49)
Charts
Johnny Diesel and the Injectors version
In 1989, the Australian ARIA award-winning rock band Johnny Diesel and the Injectors recorded the song for the soundtrack of the film The Delinquents. It was released as a single and peaked at number 11 on the Australian ARIA chart[8] and was the 87th biggest-selling single in 1990.[9]
Track listing
- "Please Send Me Someone to Love" (4:17)
- "Who's for Better" (3:40)
- "Thang 1" (3:15)
- Tracks 2 and 3 recorded live at the Hordern Pavilion, Sydney, Australia, August 16, 1989[10]
Other versions
- Dinah Washington released a cover of the song in 1951.[11]
- The Moonglows had a hit with their cover version in 1957.[12]
- In 1967, Fred Neil covered the song for his album Sessions.[13]
- In 1968, Toni Williams covered the song. It was the B-side of his single "Sad, Lonely and Blue", released by Zodiac Records.[14]
- In 1969, Ruth Brown covered the song for her album Black Is Brown and Brown Is Beautiful.[15]
- Freddie King recorded his version during his years with Shelter Records.[16]
- Paul Butterfield's Better Days covered the song on their 1973 album Paul Butterfield's Better Days[17]
- In 1977, The Animals covered the song on their reunion album, Before We Were So Rudely Interrupted.[18]
- James Booker covered the song on his album King Of New Orleans Keyboard. In 2003, Leigh Harris and Larry Sieberth covered it on the album Patchwork: A Tribute to James Booker.[19]
- In 1997, B.B. King and Mick Hucknall covered the song on the album Deuces Wild.[20]
- In 1993, Sade released a cover of the song for the soundtrack of the movie Philadelphia.[21]
- In 1994, Grover Washington Jr. recorded the song for his album All My Tomorrows.[22]
- In 1998, Fiona Apple released a cover of the song for the soundtrack of the movie Pleasantville.[23]
- In 2011, John Oates released a cover of the song for his solo album Mississippi Mile.[24]
Notes and References
- Rhythm & Blues Record Reviews . Billboard . September 30, 1950 . 34 .
- Book: Whitburn, Joel . Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–2004. Joel Whitburn . 2004 . Record Research . 385.
- Web site: West coast artists – Percy Mayfield. 2006-11-06.
- Book: Gillett, Charlie. 1996. The Rise of Rock and Roll. 2nd. Da Capo Press. New York. 0-306-80683-5. 146.
- Book: Shaw, Arnold. 1978. Honkers and Shouters. registration. Macmillan. New York. 0-02-061740-2. 193.
- Web site: Percy Mayfield - Please Send Me Someone to Love (Vinyl). www.discogs.com. 14 June 2020.
- Book: Whitburn, Joel. 2003. Top Pop Singles 1955–2002. Record Research. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. 0-89820-155-1. 68.
- Web site: Johnny Diesel & the Injectors: Please Send Me Someone to Love (Song). www.australian-charts.com. 16 April 2016.
- Web site: The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart 1990 (61–100) (from The ARIA Report No. 50). Imgur.com (original document published by ARIA). 10 October 2016.
- Web site: Johnny Diesel & the Injectors: Please Send Me Someone to Love. Discogs.com. 1990 . 16 April 2016.
- Web site: Dinah Washington 78 RPM - Discography - USA - 78 RPM. 45worlds.com. 4 May 2021.
- Web site: The Moonglows - Please Send Me Someone To Love. 4 May 2021. 45cat.com.
- Web site: Sessions - Fred Neil | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic. 4 May 2021. AllMusic.
- Web site: Toni Williams [New Zealand] Discography - New Zealand - 45cat]. 45cat.com. 4 May 2021.
- Web site: Black Is Brown and Brown Is Beautiful - Ruth Brown | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic. 4 May 2021. AllMusic.
- Web site: Freddie King - The Best Of Freddie King (The Shelter Records Years). Discogs.com. 4 May 2021.
- Web site: Paul Butterfield's Better Days - New Walkin Blues. 4 May 2021. 45cat.com.
- Web site: Before We Were So Rudely Interrupted - The Animals | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic. 4 May 2021. AllMusic.
- Web site: Patchwork: A Tribute to James Booker. Amazon.com. September 9, 2018.
- Web site: Deuces Wild - B.B. King | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic. 4 May 2021. AllMusic.
- Web site: CD Album: Sade - The Best Of Sade (2000). 4 May 2021. 45worlds.com.
- Web site: All My Tomorrows - Grover Washington, Jr. | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic. 4 May 2021. AllMusic.
- Web site: Pleasantville - Music From The Motion Picture (1998, CD). 4 May 2021. Discogs.com. 1998 .
- Web site: Mississippi Mile - John Oates | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic. 4 May 2021. AllMusic.
