He Was Really Sayin' Somethin'
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| “Really Saying Something” | ||||||||||||||
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| Single by Bananarama with Fun Boy Three from the album Deep Sea Skiving |
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| B-side | "Give Us Back Our Cheap Fares | |||||||||||||
| Released | April 1982 | |||||||||||||
| Format | 7" single, 12" single | |||||||||||||
| Recorded | November 1981 | |||||||||||||
| Genre | Pop/New Wave | |||||||||||||
| Label | London | |||||||||||||
| Producer | Dave Jordan, Fun Boy Three | |||||||||||||
| Bananarama chronology | ||||||||||||||
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"He Was Really Sayin' Somethin' is a soul song written by Motown Records songwriters Norman Whitfield, William "Mickey" Stevenson, and Edward Holland, Jr. in 1964 (see 1964 in music). The song is notable in both a 1964 version by American Motown girl group The Velvelettes, and a 1982 hit version (with the title altered to "Really Saying Something") by British girl group Bananarama.
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[edit] Overview
[edit] Velvelettes version
The original version of the song was recorded by Motown group The Velvelettes in December 1964. An alternate version recorded in October/November had been discarded. Produced by Norman Whitfield, The Velvelettes' version was released on Motown's V.I.P. label on December 27, 1964, and was a minor hit for the group in early 1965. "He Was Really Sayin' Somethin'" peaked at number 64 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, and at number 21 on the then recently reinstated Billboard R&B Singles chart. The single was the second most successful release for The Velvelettes, a minor Motown act which never released a full-length album.
"Throw a Farewell Kiss", composed by Whitfield and Holland and produced by Whitfield, had been recorded in October 1962 and was issued as the b-side of "He Was Really Sayin' Somethin'". Six years later, Whitfield would have The Temptations record "Farewell Kiss" for their 1971 album Sky's the Limit.
[edit] Bananarama version
In 1982, the British girl group Bananarama recorded a cover version of the song and released it as the first single from their debut album Deep Sea Skiving. Providing background vocals is Fun Boy Three, a male vocal trio who had a hit with Bananarama earlier in the year with another cover, "T'ain't What You Do (It's the Way That You Do It)".
The 1982 single became the second consecutive top-five hit for both Bananarama and Fun Boy Three, peaking at number five in the UK singles chart. It also received heavy play on the then-young MTV network in America. "Really Saying Something" was both groups' second chart entry in Australia, peaking at number seventy-four. The B-side, "Give Us Back Our Cheap Fares", has been issued on CD for the first time. It can be found on the 2007 UK reissue of Deep Sea Skiving as one of five bonus tracks.
The song was revived in 2005 by Solasso, who remixed the song and released it as a bootleg remix. It was later included on Bananarama's album Drama. The Velvelettes' original appears on several Motown compilation albums.
[edit] Charts
[edit] Velvelettes version
| Chart (1965) | Peak position |
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| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 64 |
| U.S. Billboard R&B Singles | 21 |
[edit] Bananarama version
| Chart (1982) | Peak position |
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| UK Singles Chart | 5 |
| U.S. Hot Dance Club Play | 16 |
| Australia ARIA singles chart | 74 |
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