The Impressions - I'm So Proud
Today's selection is by no means an obscurity, but hearing it recently at a restaurant over lunch brought back one of my favorite soul music memories. When I was a broke, single graduate student in Chicago I used to visit a hole-in-the-wall bar near where I lived. I was easily the youngest person to visit the bar, but the regulars were very friendly and I always enjoyed going in there. One of the regulars was an older black man named Alvin, who would be generally pretty inebriated by the time I would arrive. He never remembered my name, but he remembered that I was from Kentucky, so when he would see me he would call me "Kentucky." We would sit around, have a few drinks and talk while the jukebox was playing. He really liked "I'm So Proud," and could sing every part of the song very well. And what a song to sing parts to - Curtis Mayfield's falsetto tenderly caresses the lyrics and the harmony work is fantastic. I don't know what ever became of Alvin, but today's selection is dedicated to him.
4 comments:
The song is pretty nice.
More importantly, I wikied this group and it seems like they brought this world "People Get Ready", which is a GREAT song.
I learnt something new today.
I love the song! Is the beautiful creamy voice in the background that of Jerry Butler?
Inge
Butler was long gone from the group by the time "I'm So Proud" came out, and I've never seen anything showing that he made an uncredited appearance on this tune. I suppose it's just Fred Cash and Sam Gooden, doing their usual good stuff on this one.
wonderful song!!! luv it... thanks a lot for sharing this w/ us.... i think ill be listening to this again and again today. the production is excellent.
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