I Want To Go Back There Again

Album: Soul Sounds (1967)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This was written by Clark and Motown founder Berry Gordy, Jr., whom she dated for a time.
  • Chris Clark (from Mojo magazine February 2009): "Berry and I wrote this together in Detroit, in the studio, in our houses, all over the place. I probably wrote 87 verses and he chose the ones that made the most sense. I was inspired just by that sense of nostalgia that we all feel at times, that melancholy and warmth that goes with it. We wrote it on the piano. He'd play and I'd come up with vocal pieces and once we had the melody and the lyrics we went into the studio. We all had a quick run through and then we recorded it live. It took eight or nine takes. The musicians were sparking off each other, and I worked off what they were doing. It was thrilling, but Berry was in charge, he told everyone when to come in, what to play. Berry knew what he wanted to hear and he was going to get it out of me. He was like a father-very hard sometimes, but when you please him you think you can leap tall buildings. Today, I'm really proud of the song and I was at the time too."
  • Chris Clark was a six-foot platinum blonde soul singer who was one of the few white artists signed to Motown Records. She achieved little commercial success but a number of her mid 1960s songs, including this one, were acknowledged by the English Northern Soul scene as classics of their kind.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Psychedelic Lyrics

Psychedelic LyricsMusic Quiz

Whoa man! Do you know which band came up with these cosmic lyrics?

Tony Joe White

Tony Joe WhiteSongwriter Interviews

The writer of "Rainy Night in Georgia" and "Polk Salad Annie" explains how he cooks up his Louisiana swamp rock.

Album Cover Inspirations

Album Cover InspirationsSong Writing

Some album art was at least "inspired" by others. A look at some very similar covers.

dUg Pinnick of King's X

dUg Pinnick of King's XSongwriter Interviews

dUg dIgs into his King's X metal classics and his many side projects, including the one with Jeff Ament of Pearl Jam.

Ron and Russell Mael of Sparks

Ron and Russell Mael of SparksSongwriter Interviews

The men of Sparks on their album Hippopotamus, and how Morrissey handled it when they suggested he lighten up.

Janis Ian

Janis IanSongwriter Interviews

One of the first successful female singer-songwriters, Janis had her first hit in 1967 at age 15.