"I Can Understand It" is a soul classic written and originally recorded by

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

musician

Bobby Womack Robert Dwayne Womack (; March 4, 1944 – June 27, 2014) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. Starting in the early 1950s as the lead singer of his family musical group the Valentinos and as Sam Cooke's backing gui ...

, who originally recorded the song for his top ten album, ''

Understanding Understanding is a psychological process related to an abstract or physical object, such as a person, situation, or message whereby one is able to use concepts to model that object. Understanding is a relation between the knower and an object ...

'', released in late 1972. The Womack version was done in a more blues style.

New Birth recording

In 1973,

New Birth Born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelicalism, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is distinctly and sep ...

recorded a James Brown-esque style recording of the song with lead singer Leslie Wilson, who sounded like Womack, was vocally influenced by Sam Cooke. Their fast-paced version peaked at number four on the R&B charts and number thirty-five on the Hot 100. The New Birth version is the better-known version and has garnered praise.

Other versions

*Bobby Womack's brothers,

The Valentinos The Valentinos (also known as The Womack Brothers) was an American family R&B group from Cleveland, Ohio, best known for launching the careers of brothers Bobby Womack and Cecil Womack. Bobby went on to find greater fame as a solo artist whil ...

, also recorded the song. Their version was released as a single, and became a chart hit. *In 1975 Columbia records released a third version of this classic track. The least known of the three, this version by Kokomo, a British-soul group, includes delicately mixed congas with a tempo similar to New Birth's and is perhaps, musically, the funkiest of the three. This version peaked at #13 on the US Disco File Top 20 chart. Lead singer

Tony O'Malley Tony O'Malley (25 September 1913 – 20 January 2003) was an Irish artist. He was born in Callan, County Kilkenny, Ireland. O'Malley was a self-taught artist, having drawn and painted for pleasure from childhood. He worked as a bank officìal u ...

's vocal style is reminiscent of r. Johns. The background harmonies and ad-libs make this an outstanding track.

References

External links

Kokomo's version
1972 songs 1973 singles Bobby Womack songs New Birth (band) songs Songs written by Bobby Womack {{1970s-single-stub