"If You Need Me" is a 1963 song co-written and originally recorded by

Wilson Pickett Wilson Pickett (March 18, 1941 – January 19, 2006) was an American singer and songwriter. A major figure in the development of soul music, Pickett recorded more than 50 songs that made the US R&B charts, many of which crossed over to the '' ...

. It was made into a bigger hit by

Solomon Burke Solomon Vincent McDonald Burke (born James Solomon McDonald, March 21, 1940 – October 10, 2010) was an American singer who shaped the sound of rhythm and blues as one of the founding fathers of soul music in the 1960s. He has been called ...

, who sent the song to #2 on the R&B charts that year.

Overview

The song was written by

with two former members of the Satintones, Robert Bateman (who had also co-written " Please Mr. Postman") and Sonny Sanders. It was recorded originally by Pickett on March 15, 1963, for

Lloyd Price Lloyd Price (March 9, 1933May 3, 2021) was an American R&B and rock 'n' roll singer, known as "Mr. Personality", after his 1959 million-selling hit, "Personality (Lloyd Price song), Personality". His first recording, "Lawdy Miss Clawdy", was a ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

-based Double L Records.Cliff White
"The Solomon Burke Story"
, ''Black Music'' (1975) It had been rejected by

Jerry Wexler Gerald Wexler (January 10, 1917 – August 15, 2008) was a music journalist turned music producer, and was a major influence on American popular music from the 1950s through the 1980s. He coined the term "rhythm and blues", and was integra ...

(Atlantic), who nevertheless had purchased the

publishing rights A publishing contract is a legal contract between a publisher and a writer or author (or more than one), to publish original content by the writer(s) or author(s). This may involve a single written work, or a series of works. In the case of musi ...

. According to Burke, Pickett gave the song to him on a tour bus: "Wilson sang the song for me in a bus on a tour. I loved it so much that I got Wilson to do it. Atlantic refused to sign him at that time, so we got Wilson to release the song on the Lloyd-Logan label. We were the best of friends. As a matter of fact, I promoted his record and he promoted mine." However, Pickett claims Wexler lifted it from

demo tape A demo (shortened from "demonstration") is a song or group of songs typically recorded for limited circulation or for reference use, rather than for general public release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas in a fixed for ...

s he had sent Atlantic. Burke recalled in 2003: "I was furious when Wexler rejected Pickett",Solomon Burke, in Kurt B. Reighley
"Wilson Pickett: 1941 – 2006"
, ''Farther Along'' #62 (March–April 2006) and when radio personality the Magnificent Montague started spinning Pickett's original version, Wexler rushed out Burke's, with both in ''Billboard'' 's "Singles Review" column on April 13 and both featured on ''Billboards "Artists' Biographies" on May 4, 1963. Although Burke ultimately won the chart war, Burke broke rank and supported his rival: "I would go to the radio stations and say, ‘Hi, I'm Solomon Burke, and I'm here promoting the new record “If You Need Me”…by Wilson Pickett.’"

Release and reaction

Despite his efforts, Burke's version jockeyed with Pickett's for position in the

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

, before "beating Pickett to the punch" because of "Solomon’s popularity and Atlantic’s distribution." Both versions had Cissy Houston singing backup vocals. Despite his anger, in 1964, Pickett signed with Atlantic because he needed the "

bread Bread is a baked food product made from water, flour, and often yeast. It is a staple food across the world, particularly in Europe and the Middle East. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cu ...

." While Burke's version spent 5 weeks at #2 in the R&B charts in the American summer of 1963, kept from the number one position by

Jackie Wilson Jack Leroy "Jackie" Wilson Jr. (June 9, 1934 – January 21, 1984) was an American singer who was a prominent figure in the transition of rhythm and blues into soul. Nicknamed "Mr. Excitement", he was considered a master showman and one of th ...

's " Baby Workout" and

Sam Cooke Samuel Cooke (; January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964) was an American singer and songwriter. Considered one of the most influential soul music, soul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred to as the "King of Soul" for his distin ...

's " Another Saturday Night", Pickett's original stalled at #64 in the Pop charts and #30 on the R&B chart. "If You Need Me" was "the first of several great preaching scorchers": "Can’t Nobody Love You", "You’re Good For Me", and "Goodbye Baby, Baby Goodbye", which were all arranged by Gary Sherman, the man behind many Garnet Mimms hits.

Chart performance

Solomon Burke

Wilson Pickett

Cover versions

* The song was covered by

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

on their album ''12 x 5'' released in October 1964. *It was covered by the Hep Stars in 1965 on the B-side of their third single and on their first live album '' Hep Stars on Stage''. * Tom Jones recorded the song as one of the tracks of his 1965 debut album '' Along Came Jones''.

Notes

{{authority control 1963 songs 1963 debut singles Wilson Pickett songs Solomon Burke songs Hep Stars songs Songs written by Wilson Pickett Atlantic Records singles Songs written by Sonny Sanders