I've Been Loving You Too Long
Encyclopedia
"I've Been Loving You Too Long" (sometimes issued as "I've Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now)") is a song
written
by Otis Redding
and Jerry Butler
. It appeared as the A-side
of a 1965 hit single
by Otis Redding - and subsequently appeared on his third album
, Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul
. The B-side
of the single "Just One More Day," was also a minor hit, reaching #15 on the R&B
and #85 on the pop singles
charts
. The song is ranked #110 on the Rolling Stone
magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
of the song was a recording
by The Rolling Stones
in 1965—shortly after Redding's original version became a hit. It was included on the Stones' first live album
, Got Live if You Want It!
, although the track was a studio recording that had been overdubbed with audience noises. Redding's profile among white audiences—especially in Europe
—was considerably advanced by the exposure given to one of his compositions by the Stones. Returning the compliment, Otis Redding covered the Rolling Stones song "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
", written by Mick Jagger
and Keith Richards
.
The most widely known cover version of the song was by Ike & Tina Turner
in 1968. It was the lead track from their 1968 Blue Thumb album entitled Outta Season. The Turners can be seen performing the tune at Madison Square Garden in the concert film of The Rolling Stones' Gimme Shelter
. The Turner's version differs from the original greatly. During the live concert, and briefly on the audio, the Turners insert a provocative, seductive conclusion of the song. This is the call and response done by the duo:
After this dialogue Tina Turner is handling the microphone in a raunchy way. Ike is making suggestive, pornographic slurping noises while playing the guitar. The song ends with Tina having a simulated "orgasm", while yelling "Come on baby, sock it, sock it, sock it to me baby-Oh Oh Ohhhh baby!". Their version peaked at number 23 on the R&B
charts and number 68 on the Pop
.
Another cover of the song (in 1969) was Barbara Mandrell
's debut single as an artist.
Aretha Franklin
recorded a cover for her album "Young, Gifted and Black
" (1972).
Jay Graydon
recorded a guitar-instrumental cover for a compilation album Guitar Workshop - Tribute to Otis Redding (1988).
Etta James
covered it on her 1997 album, Love's Been Rough On Me; (she also covered the B-side, "Just One More Day" of the original Redding single, on her "Otis Redding Medley" on the album, Live From San Francisco (1994).
Australia
n solo
artist
, Johnny Diesel
, covered the song on his 1992 album The Lobbyist. It was issued as a single in the same year, and became a Diesel favourite, also appearing on his compilation album
, Rewind - The Best Of. The song was also covered by the British
band
, Tindersticks
, and appeared on their album, Donkeys 92-97
.
The track also appeared as part of a medley
, with "Drown in My Own Tears
" and "When Something Is Wrong with My Baby
", on Joe Cocker
's Mad Dogs and Englishmen
album.
The Philosopher Kings
would also use it as part of their own medley, which included At Last
, Let's Get It On
and their own original song Hurts to Love You, to close their live show, recorded for their 1999 album "One Night Stand".
In 2007, Guy Sebastian
travelled to Memphis
TN to record this song for his tribute soul classics album The Memphis Album
. "I've Been Loving You Too Long" is a stand out track and was recorded to analogue tape LIVE on the studio floor at Ardent Studios
with many of the original Stax
music band members including Steve Cropper
, Donald Duck Dunn, Lester Snell, Steve Potts
(most of Booker T. & the MG's, though without Booker T
himself) backing the vocals of Guy Sebastian
.
Seal
recorded this song for his 2008 album Soul and his 2009 album Soul Live.
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
written
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
by Otis Redding
Otis Redding
Otis Ray Redding, Jr. was an American soul singer-songwriter, record producer, arranger and talent scout. He is considered one of the major figures in soul and R&B...
and Jerry Butler
Jerry Butler (singer)
Jerry Butler is an American soul singer and songwriter. He is also noted as being the original lead singer of the R&B vocal group, The Impressions, as well as a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee.Butler is also an American politician...
. It appeared as the A-side
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
of a 1965 hit single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
by Otis Redding - and subsequently appeared on his third album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
, Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul
Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul
Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul is the third studio album by soul singer Otis Redding, released September 15, 1965 on Stax Records. Most recording sessions took place in April and July 1965 at Stax Recording Studios in Memphis, Tennessee. The album is considered by many critics to be Redding's...
. The B-side
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
of the single "Just One More Day," was also a minor hit, reaching #15 on the R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
and #85 on the pop singles
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
charts
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
. The song is ranked #110 on the Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Two recorded studio versions
Like several other songs by Otis Redding, "I've Been Loving You Too Long" was recorded on two different sessions, with an actual variation of some 20 seconds in the duration:- Mid April 1965, 2:49, mono version, probably w/ Isaac HayesIsaac HayesIsaac Lee Hayes, Jr. was an American songwriter, musician, singer and actor. Hayes was one of the creative influences behind the southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served both as an in-house songwriter and as a record producer, teaming with his partner David Porter during the...
on piano, the most usual version, which means the written time on the record is almost always untrue. - Early July 1965, 3:09-3:14, stereo version, w/ Booker T. JonesBooker T. JonesBooker T. Jones is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, record producer and arranger, best known as the frontman of the band Booker T. and the MGs. He has also worked in the studios with many well-known artists of the 20th and 21st centuries, earning him a Grammy Award for lifetime...
on piano, available in the 3CD-boxset The Story of Otis Redding and among the 3 studio versions included in the 2CD-Collector's edition 2008 Rhino reissue of Otis Blue.
Cover versions
The first coverCover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of the song was a recording
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
by The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
in 1965—shortly after Redding's original version became a hit. It was included on the Stones' first live album
Live album
A live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
, Got Live if You Want It!
Got Live if You Want It!
Got Live If You Want It! is the first live album by British rock band The Rolling Stones. It was released in the US in late 1966...
, although the track was a studio recording that had been overdubbed with audience noises. Redding's profile among white audiences—especially in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
—was considerably advanced by the exposure given to one of his compositions by the Stones. Returning the compliment, Otis Redding covered the Rolling Stones song "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
" Satisfaction" is a song by the English rock band The Rolling Stones, released in 1965. It was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards and produced by Andrew Loog Oldham. Richards's throwaway three-note guitar riff — intended to be replaced by horns — opens and drives the song...
", written by Mick Jagger
Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of The Rolling Stones....
and Keith Richards
Keith Richards
Keith Richards is an English musician, songwriter, and founding member of the Rolling Stones. Rolling Stone magazine said Richards had created "rock's greatest single body of riffs", and placed him as the "10th greatest guitarist of all time." Fourteen songs written by Richards and songwriting...
.
The most widely known cover version of the song was by Ike & Tina Turner
Ike & Tina Turner
Ike & Tina Turner were an American rock & roll and soul duo, made of the husband-and-wife team of Ike Turner and Tina Turner in the 1960s and 1970s. Spanning sixteen years together as a recording group, the duo's repertoire included rock & roll, soul, blues and funk...
in 1968. It was the lead track from their 1968 Blue Thumb album entitled Outta Season. The Turners can be seen performing the tune at Madison Square Garden in the concert film of The Rolling Stones' Gimme Shelter
Gimme Shelter (documentary)
Gimme Shelter is a 1970 documentary film directed by Albert and David Maysles and Charlotte Zwerin, chronicling the last weeks of The Rolling Stones' 1969 US tour, which culminated in the disastrous Altamont Free Concert. The film is named after "Gimme Shelter", the lead track from The Rolling...
. The Turner's version differs from the original greatly. During the live concert, and briefly on the audio, the Turners insert a provocative, seductive conclusion of the song. This is the call and response done by the duo:
- Ike: You can make me do anything you want me to do…
- Tina: You can make me do anything you want me to do.
- Ike: And I'll say…
- Tina: And I'll… I'll even say anything you want me to say.
- Ike: Buy you…
- Tina: I'll buy you anything you want me to buy you.
- Ike: If ya…
- Tina: If you just stay and make..and make love to me…
After this dialogue Tina Turner is handling the microphone in a raunchy way. Ike is making suggestive, pornographic slurping noises while playing the guitar. The song ends with Tina having a simulated "orgasm", while yelling "Come on baby, sock it, sock it, sock it to me baby-Oh Oh Ohhhh baby!". Their version peaked at number 23 on the R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
charts and number 68 on the Pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
.
Another cover of the song (in 1969) was Barbara Mandrell
Barbara Mandrell
Barbara Ann Mandrell is an American country music singer best known for a 1970s–1980s series of Top 10 hits and TV shows that helped her become one of country's most successful female vocalists of the 1970s and 1980s...
's debut single as an artist.
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...
recorded a cover for her album "Young, Gifted and Black
Young, Gifted and Black
Young, Gifted and Black is a Top 10 Gold-certified album by Aretha Franklin, released in 1972. It takes its title from the Nina Simone song "To Be Young, Gifted and Black", which is the record's title track....
" (1972).
Jay Graydon
Jay Graydon
Jay Graydon is a Los Angeles songwriter, recording artist, guitarist, singer, producer, arranger, and recording engineer. He is the winner of two Grammy Awards with twelve Grammy nominations, among them the title "Producer of the Year" and "Best Engineered Recording". Jay Graydon has mastered many...
recorded a guitar-instrumental cover for a compilation album Guitar Workshop - Tribute to Otis Redding (1988).
Etta James
Etta James
Etta James is an American blues, soul, rhythm and blues , rock and roll, gospel and jazz singer. In the 1950s and 1960s, she had her biggest success as a blues and R&B singer...
covered it on her 1997 album, Love's Been Rough On Me; (she also covered the B-side, "Just One More Day" of the original Redding single, on her "Otis Redding Medley" on the album, Live From San Francisco (1994).
Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n solo
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
artist
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, Johnny Diesel
Johnny Diesel
Johnny Diesel is an Australian musician, who has released material as leader of Johnny Diesel & the Injectors, under his birth name, or by the epithet Diesel...
, covered the song on his 1992 album The Lobbyist. It was issued as a single in the same year, and became a Diesel favourite, also appearing on his compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
, Rewind - The Best Of. The song was also covered by the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
band
Band (music)
In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...
, Tindersticks
Tindersticks
Tindersticks are an Indie rock band from Nottingham, England formed in 1991. They released six albums before singer Stuart A. Staples took on a solo career. The band reunited briefly in 2006, but more permanently the following year...
, and appeared on their album, Donkeys 92-97
Donkeys 92-97
- Track listing :#"Patchwork"#"Marbles"#"Her"#"City Sickness"#"Travelling Light"#"I've Been Loving You Too Long"#"Plus De Liaisons"#"Here"#"Tiny Tears"#"Bathtime"#"A Marriage Made In Heaven"#"For Those..."...
.
The track also appeared as part of a medley
Medley (music)
In music, a medley is a piece composed from parts of existing pieces, usually three, played one after another, sometimes overlapping. They are common in popular music, and most medleys are songs rather than instrumental. A medley which is a remixed series is called a megamix, often done with tracks...
, with "Drown in My Own Tears
Drown in My Own Tears
"Drown in My Own Tears" is a 1956 Blues single, written by Henry Glover and released by the singers Ray Charles & Dinah Washington on the Atlantic & EmArcy record labels respectively....
" and "When Something Is Wrong with My Baby
When Something Is Wrong with My Baby
"When Something Is Wrong with My Baby" is a popular hit song, a soul ballad, written by Isaac Hayes and David Porter, sung by Sam & Dave, and first released in 1967 by Stax Records....
", on Joe Cocker
Joe Cocker
John Robert "Joe" Cocker, OBE is an English rock and blues musician, composer and actor, who came to popularity in the 1960s, and is most known for his gritty voice, his idiosyncratic arm movements while performing, and his cover versions of popular songs, particularly those of The Beatles...
's Mad Dogs and Englishmen
Mad Dogs and Englishmen (album)
Mad Dogs and Englishmen is Joe Cocker's 1970 live album, featuring a fusion of rock and soul. The album title is drawn from the 1931 Noël Coward song of the same name. Mostly Cocker's album is made up of covers, drawing equally from rock and soul...
album.
The Philosopher Kings
The Philosopher Kings
The Philosopher Kings are a Canadian rhythm and blues band who were most commercially successful in the late 1990s. The name of the band is derived from Plato's Republic, in which he outlines the design of an idealistic government, ruled by philosopher-kings...
would also use it as part of their own medley, which included At Last
At Last
"At Last" is a 1941 song written by Mack Gordon and Harry Warren for the musical film Orchestra Wives, starring George Montgomery and Ann Rutherford. It was performed in the film and on record by Glenn Miller and his orchestra, with vocals by Ray Eberle and Pat Friday...
, Let's Get It On
Let's Get It On
Let's Get It On is the twelfth studio album by American soul musician Marvin Gaye, released August 28, 1973, on Tamla Records. Recording sessions for the album took place during June 1970 to July 1973 at Hitsville U.S.A. and Golden World Studio in Detroit, and at Hitsville West in Los Angeles...
and their own original song Hurts to Love You, to close their live show, recorded for their 1999 album "One Night Stand".
In 2007, Guy Sebastian
Guy Sebastian
Guy Theodore Sebastian is an Australian pop, R&B, and soul singer-songwriter who was the first winner of Australian Idol in 2003. He is currently a judge on the Australian version of The X Factor. Sebastian has released six top ten platinum/multi platinum albums, including a number-one and...
travelled to Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
TN to record this song for his tribute soul classics album The Memphis Album
The Memphis Album
The Memphis Album is a cover album of Memphis soul songs by Australian singer Guy Sebastian released in Australia by Sony Music on 10 November 2007. The album was recorded at Ardent Studios in Memphis with Steve Cropper, Donald 'Duck' Dunn, Steve Potts , and Lester Snell...
. "I've Been Loving You Too Long" is a stand out track and was recorded to analogue tape LIVE on the studio floor at Ardent Studios
Ardent Studios
Ardent Studios is a recording studio located in Memphis, Tennessee. Ardent Records/Ardent Music is the in-house label.- History :Ardent Studios was founded by John Fry and was initially a studio in his family's garage, where he recorded his first Ardent Records 45's. In 1966 the operation moved...
with many of the original Stax
Stax Records
Stax Records is an American record label, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee.Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the name Stax Records was adopted in 1961. The label was a major factor in the creation of the Southern soul and Memphis soul music styles, also releasing gospel, funk, jazz, and...
music band members including Steve Cropper
Steve Cropper
Steve Cropper , also known as Steve "The Colonel" Cropper, is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the guitarist of the Stax Records house band, Booker T...
, Donald Duck Dunn, Lester Snell, Steve Potts
Steve Potts
Steven "Steve" Potts is an American born English football coach and former professional footballer. He played as a defender and is associated with his time spent at West Ham United...
(most of Booker T. & the MG's, though without Booker T
Booker T. Jones
Booker T. Jones is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, record producer and arranger, best known as the frontman of the band Booker T. and the MGs. He has also worked in the studios with many well-known artists of the 20th and 21st centuries, earning him a Grammy Award for lifetime...
himself) backing the vocals of Guy Sebastian
Guy Sebastian
Guy Theodore Sebastian is an Australian pop, R&B, and soul singer-songwriter who was the first winner of Australian Idol in 2003. He is currently a judge on the Australian version of The X Factor. Sebastian has released six top ten platinum/multi platinum albums, including a number-one and...
.
Seal
Seal (musician)
Seal Henry Olusegun Olumide Adeola Samuel , known simply as Seal, is a British soul and R&B singer-songwriter, of Nigerian and Brazilian background. Seal has won numerous music awards throughout his career, including three Brit Awards—winning Best British Male in 1992, four Grammy Awards, and an...
recorded this song for his 2008 album Soul and his 2009 album Soul Live.