Share Your Love With Me

Album: This Girl's In Love With You (1970)
Charted: 13
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This soulful expression of unrequited love was first recorded by blues singer Bobby "Blue" Bland in 1963 and went to #42 on the Hot 100. Franklin was a fan of the song and brought it to Atlantic Records producer Jerry Wexler who fashioned a feminine take with co-producers Arif Mardin and Tom Dowd. "I believe a man can sing a woman's lyrics and conversely," Wexler told Billboard, "because what you do is step outside of the frame, and you let the music take it. I have another theory that a lot of songs are fungible. One will work very well - if it's a great song - with another singer who you wouldn't think of it for, as long as you get the arrangement to sit comfortably."
  • Franklin's version, a #1 R&B hit, featured her regular stable of performers, from the Sweet Inspirations on backing vocals to a handful of Muscle Shoals players in the rhythm section: Jimmy Johnson on guitar, David Hood on bass, Barry Beckett on electric piano, and Roger Hawkins on drums. King Curtis, who played on a number of Coasters hits, notably "Yakety Yak," and Franklin's "Baby, I Love You," brought the tenor sax.
  • This was written by gospel-turned-R&B singer Al "TNT" Braggs and Deadric Malone (a pseudonym for Don Robey, owner of the Houston-based Duke/Peacock Records). Braggs, who also penned Bland's hit "Call On Me," frequently toured as his opening act.
  • This earned Franklin a Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance.
  • This was also covered by The Band, Kenny Rogers, and Van Morrison.
  • Franklin's version was used in the 2014 pilot episode of ABC TV series Forever.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

The Girl in That Song

The Girl in That SongFact or Fiction

Billie Jean, Delilah, Sara, Laura and Sharona - do you know who the girls in the songs really are?

Chris Tomlin

Chris TomlinSongwriter Interviews

The king of Christian worship music explains talks about writing songs for troubled times.

They Might Be Giants

They Might Be GiantsSongwriter Interviews

Who writes a song about a name they found in a phone book? That's just one of the everyday things these guys find to sing about. Anything in their field of vision or general scope of knowledge is fair game. If you cross paths with them, so are you.

Director Mark Pellington ("Jeremy," "Best Of You")

Director Mark Pellington ("Jeremy," "Best Of You")Song Writing

Director Mark Pellington on Pearl Jam's "Jeremy," and music videos he made for U2, Jon Bon Jovi and Imagine Dragons.

Macabre Mother Goose: The Dark Side of Children's Songs

Macabre Mother Goose: The Dark Side of Children's SongsSong Writing

"London Bridge," "Ring Around the Rosie" and "It's Raining, It's Pouring" are just a few examples of shockingly morbid children's songs.

Justin Timberlake

Justin TimberlakeFact or Fiction

Was Justin the first to be Punk'd by Ashton Kutcher? Did Britney really blame him for her meltdown? Did his bandmates think he was gay?