We’re posting lyrics of hit songs so that our songwriters can study them to see how winning songs are constructed. Of course a lot depends on the melody, the rhythm and the artist as to whether or not the song will sell… and whether or not it is in the right place at the right time!
So this week’s Featured Lyrics are from songwriters Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, and were made famous by Billy Paul.
Lyrics to “Am I Black Enough for You”
Shooway, ooway, shooway
Shooway, ooway, shooway
Am I black enough for ya?
Am I black enough for ya?
Am I black enough for ya?
Am I black enough for ya?
We’re gonna move on up, one by one
We ain’t gonna stop until the work is done
Black, black, black enough for ya?
Am I black, black, black enough for ya?
We gonna move on up, two by two
‘Til this whole world gonna be brand new
Black, black, black enough for ya?
Am I black, black, black enough for ya?
Get in line, start marking the time
You better make up your mind
We’re gonna leave you behind
Am I black enough for ya?
Am I black enough for ya?
Am I black enough for ya?
Am I black enough for ya?
We’re gonna move on up, three by three
We’re gonna get rid of poverty
Stay black, black enough for ya
I gotta stay black, black enough for ya
Gonna move on up, four by four
We ain’t gonna suffer no, no more
Stay black, black enough for ya
Gotta stay black, black enough for ya
Get in line, start marking the time
You better make up your mind
We’re gonna leave you behind
Am I black enough for ya?
Am I black enough for ya?
Am I black enough for ya?
Am I black enough for ya?
We’re gonna move on up, five by five
Say no to drugs, keep hope alive
Stay black, black enough for ya
Wanna stay black, black enough for ya
We’re gonna move on up, six by six
Rid this earth of polytricks
Stay black, black enough for ya
I gotta stay black, black enough for ya
Get in line, start marking the time
You better make up your mind
We’re gonna leave you behind
Black enough for ya
Black enough for ya
Gotta stay black, black enough for ya
Wanna stay black, black enough for ya
Gotta stay black, black enough for ya
Wanna stay black, black enough for ya
Am I, am I, am I black enough for ya?
Am I, am I black enough for ya?
(Black, black enough for ya)
I call my bluff
(Black, black enough for ya)
I’m tough enough
(Black, black enough for ya)
Scary kind of stuff
(Black, black enough for ya)
I’m black, I’m black
I’m black in a strong way
I’m black, I’m black
I’m black in a strong way
In search for freedom
(Black, black enough for ya)
Opportunity
(Black, black enough for ya)
International rescue
(Black, black enough for ya)
Is my philosophy
(Black, black enough for ya)
Black enough for ya
Black enough for ya
Songwriters Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff
Published by Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., BMG Rights Management US, LLC
http://www.metrolyrics.com/black-enough-lyrics-steel-pulse.html
[You can also listen to the song on the above website in case the melody is escaping you.]# # # # #
“Am I Black Enough for You?” is a 1972 soul song written by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff and recorded by Billy Paul for his album 360 Degrees of Billy Paul on Philadelphia International Records. Released as a single in April 1973 it failed to replicate the chart success of Paul’s previous number-one smash “Me and Mrs. Jones”, instead reaching #79 on the Billboard pop chart and #29 on the soul chart.
This up-tempo funk song with a political message was a considerable departure for audiences expecting the smooth balladry of Paul’s previous single, although that track dealt with the social issue of adultery. AllMusic’s Andrew Hamilton said that the song “fit in with the times of overt black consciousness, a social message moved along by a perky bongo and clavinet-dominated beat, and well-spaced, brassy horn hits.”
In his 2005 article “Message in the Music: Political Commentary in Black Popular Music from Rhythm and Blues to Early Hip Hop,” Professor James B. Stewart wrote: “The Black Power Movement and the emphasis on black pride arising in the mid-1960s and blossoming in the early 1970s inspired several Defiant Challenge commentaries that incorporated Black Power ideological elements. Representative songs articulating the theme of black pride include James Brown’s ‘Say It Loud’ (1969) and Billy Paul’s ‘Am I Black Enough for You?’…. Gamble and Huff’s lyrics emphasize the need for listeners to continue struggling until the goals have been achieved and to be steadfast in embracing their black identity, as expressed in the turn of phrase, ‘stay Black enough for you’.”
And while the song may have been empowering to the African American community, white audiences did not embrace it. Author John A. Jackson questioned Kenny Gamble’s choice to issue this “unlikely,” “inadvisable” single on the heels of “Me and Mrs. Jones” calling it “confrontational…a defiant paean to black pride and resolve…. [with] an oppositionist attitude.” At the time, Paul explained the choice in a 1973 interview:
“Well, I have to be honest. This wasn’t the one that I really wanted. But the company felt I had to get over to the black audience this time round. And there can be no arguing about that — the record is one of the top sellers in the black areas and one of the most requested records around the stations. I don’t really think anybody expected it to be a pop hit — that’s reserved for the next one, which is the one I wanted all along — ‘Brown Baby’.”
Jackson noted that “the song’s inciting title and subject matter resulted in limited airplay” and the result was nothing short of a “fiasco” for Paul’s career, which never recovered.
If “Me and Mrs. Jones” suggested that Paul was a talent on the path to rivaling Curtis Mayfield and Marvin Gaye, “Am I Black Enough for You?” quickly dispelled any of such notions in the minds of many. Journalist Stephen McMillian wrote: “‘Am I Black Enough For You,’ was deemed militant by pop radio stations and it had been said that his music was blackballed thereafter (a similar fate happened to Curtis Mayfield’s music on pop radio after the mega success of the Super Fly movie soundtrack).” In his review of the 2012 reissue of 360 Degrees of Billy Paul, Joe Marchese noted: “Less commercially successful [than ‘Me and Mrs. Jones’] was the driving ‘Am I Black Enough for You?’ also from Gamble and Huff. Today, the singer regrets the decision to have the funky track follow ‘Mrs. Jones,’ despite its potent message and smoking production.”
While Paul may have regretted the choice to use the song as the follow-up to a #1 pop hit, he does not regret the song in general. He reflected on the song after a Swedish filmmaker produced a feature-length documentary about the song and his life (see below):
“I am very popular in Sweden and this film maker Göran, he liked ‘Am I Black Enough’. ‘Am I Black Enough ‘is popular in Sweden, and the funny thing about it is ‘Am I Black Enough’ is more popular now than before and more popular among white people too. And that’s the good thing about it. When it first came out I had reservations right after ‘Me & Mrs Jones.’ But now it has caught up with time, and I thought it was a good title for the film. I thought it hit on the points of me being good friends with Martin Luther King. The music was timely you know, everything fitted – the civil rights area. Everything fitted very well.”
Paul regularly performed the song live, but not necessarily for reasons one might expect. He explained in a 2012 interview: “‘Am I Black Enough’ is now one of the most requested songs by white people.”
Billy Paul performed the song on Season 2, Episode 13 of Soul Train on December 13, 1972. Paul had appeared on the show a month before on November 18 (Episode 9) performing Me and Mrs. Jones. That airing also featured Joe Simon performing “Misty Blue” and “I Found My Dad” and The Sylvers with “Fool’s Paradise” and “Wish That I Could Talk To You”.
Todd Nathanson’s show One Hit Wonderland used the song, along with many other Billy Paul recordings in his 10 April 2013 show (Season 2, Episode 3) on “Me and Mrs. Jones”.
A feature-length documentary about the song and Billy Paul’s life and work was released in Europe in 2009 and the U.S. in 2010. It features archival footage and new interviews with, among others, Clive Davis, Kenny Gamble, and Questlove. The Internet Movie Database (IMDB) described the film as “a creative documentary about the song recorded by soul-man Billy Paul in the 70’s. But also about the Philly Sound, Philadelphia, racism, cocaine, money and fame in the life and love of a beautiful elderly couple.” Allmovie’s Jason Buchanan gave it 5/5 stars writing that “filmmaker Goran Olsson explores how the singer’s loving relationship with his longtime wife Blanche gave him the courage to endure even in the darkest of times, and offers an informative look the origins of soul music in the American Civil Rights Movement.” Rotten Tomatoes shows that 60% of the critics gave the film positive reviews including reviewers from Time Out, The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, and the Daily Mirror.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Am_I_Black_Enough_for_You_(song)