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Tamla T 54076 (AA), February 1963
b/w It Should Have Been Me
(Written by Mickey Stevenson and Barney Ales)
The first chart hit for big-voiced Motown newcomer Kim Weston came courtesy of this fun if thinly-spread bit of bluesy doo-wop inflected R&B, originally slated as the B-side of her début single It Should Have Been Me (and often incorrectly listed as the top side as a result).
Nowhere near as interesting as the A-side, lyrically or musically, this is nonetheless much better suited to Kim’s raw, powerful vocal delivery, and ended up cracking the R&B Top 30 (and hitting #88 pop, a very respectable first-time-out placing for an unknown newcomer).
It really does suit her, though. Her voice is throaty, sassy… just big, really, something which almost overwhelmed the more intricate A-side; here, by contrast, she’s in her element. There’s almost nothing to this song in terms of music or lyrics – a very generic doo-wop/blues jam with minimal instrumentation, and pretty much no chorus to speak of, the most notable feature is a gospel-style backing choir which serves as a subtle reminder to the listener that Kim had originally come from the church. The lyrics are also basic, barely registering in the memory when the A-side had painted such vivid pictures; Kim demands that her man commit to the relationship 100%, no half measures please. What saves it, what pushed it up the charts, is a good match between song and vocalist.
Because Kim was always at her best when the material allowed her to cut loose, as with this record; there was no denying she could really sing. (My favourite Youtube comment for this song simply reads “Dayumn! Girl could sing! Yes indeed, she had PIPES”, which pretty much covers it, I think.) Give her something good to sing about – in this instance, she brings a real palpable sense of “don’t you DARE mess me around, sunshine” which fits the lyrics to a T – wind her up and listen to her go. Her lead vocal here is never less than riveting, culminating in her delivery of the song’s central hook, a weird “Oooh-weeee” that starts each verse, which could have been risible in another’s hands but which works really well here.
It’s good fun, and you can see why radio ate it up, but it doesn’t change the fact that the material itself is wafer-thin, and (for me, at any rate) doesn’t really bear repeated listens, its apparent much-beloved status over the years notwithstanding. Still, it’s an exceptionally well-chosen match of singer and song, even if the world would have to wait a bit longer to see what happened when Kim Weston was given some stronger material that played to her particular strengths.
MOTOWN JUNKIES VERDICT
(I’ve had MY say, now it’s your turn. Agree? Disagree? Leave a comment, or click the thumbs at the bottom there. Dissent is encouraged!)
You’re reading Motown Junkies, an attempt to review every Motown A- and B-side ever released. Click on the “previous” and “next” buttons below to go back and forth through the catalogue, or visit the Master Index for a full list of reviews so far.
(Or maybe you’re only interested in Kim Weston? Click for more.)
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| Kim Weston “It Should Have Been Me” |
The Marvelettes “Locking Up My Heart” |
Motown Junkies 
I didn’t know until this blog that this song or Happy Landing were once intended A-sides. There’s goes another reason I love the site: there’s always something new to learn about old Motown 🙂
The first two volumes of Motown’s Collection of 16 Original Big Hits, carred this one and then “Just Loving You,” so I was exposed to them still a teenager, even though I didn’t land the original 45s till the 70s.
One could wonder what the outcome would have been if a woman with as powerful a voice as Kim had been confined for seven years singing background behind Diana Ross…
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They were much more innocent times then, and the title “Love Me All the Way” caused a few eyebrows to raise.
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If most teens were as naive as me, that interpretation went ZOOM right over our heads.
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Love this song. Miss Weston was a very versatile singer. She could belt out this one in gospelish style then do a jazzy vocal for “Just Loving You” & then go on to a light-hearted Mary Wells style romp like “Looking for the Right Guy.” She could also do a torchy ballad “A Thrill A Moment” or do a standard Motown style number like “Helpless”. Of course there is the greatest Motown song (or one of them at least!) of all time “Take Me In Your Arms”! Perhaps the reason she didn’t really cross over was that she was too versatile of a singer. The bigger Motown hits were great records but most of them followed a specific formula to which mainstream audiences could better gravitate. Okay I better stop I’m starting to sound like a term paper!
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8/10. As far as raised eyebrows from the first listen i thought Kim was singing from the prosepctive of a sexually unfulfilled woman and never thought any more about it. And its one of those songs like “Helpless” where she does a Jimmy Ruffin (singing as if every word needed a capital letter). Quite dramatic and enjoyable!
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I’ve always loved this song, and would give it an “8”. I think “6” is shortchanging this wonderful emotional ballad, which ranks up there with the best of Brenda Holloway’s from that genre.
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I’m with those who came (no pun intended) before me in giving this robustly sexy song of a love-starved woman, exquisitely delivered, an 8.
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