The Dark End of the Street
| "The Dark End of the Street" | |
|---|---|
| Single by James Carr | |
| from the album You Got My Mind Messed Up | |
| Released | 1967 |
| Recorded | Royal Studios |
| Genre | Soul |
| Label | Goldwax |
| Writer(s) | |
| Producer(s) |
|
"The Dark End of the Street" is a 1967 soul song written by songwriters Dan Penn and Chips Moman and first recorded by James Carr.
History and original recording
The song was co-written by Penn, a professional songwriter and producer, and Moman, a former session guitarist at Phil Spector's Gold Star Studio, and also the owner of American Sound Studio in Memphis, Tennessee. The song itself was ultimately recorded across town at Royal Studios, home of HI Records.
In the summer of 1966, while a DJ convention was being held in Memphis, Penn and Moman were cheating while playing cards with Florida DJ Don Schroeder,[1] and decided to write the song while on a break. Penn said of the song “We were always wanting to come up with the best cheatin’ song. Ever.”[2] The duo went to the hotel room of Quinton Claunch, another Muscle Shoals alumnus, and founder of Hi Records, to write. Claunch told them, "Boys, you can use my room on one condition, which is that you give me that song for James Carr. They said I had a deal, and they kept their word.” The song, lyrics and all, was written in about thirty minutes.[3]
Soul artist James Carr, as promised, first recorded the song in late 1966, and it became his trademark song, reaching number 10 on Billboard Magazine's Black Singles Chart, and crossing over to number 77 on the Pop chart.
(Six months later fellow soul singer Percy Sledge included his version of the song on his 1967 album "The Percy Sledge Way," but it did not chart as high, as it had a similar sound to Carr's unmistakable vocals.)
Influences
Van Morrison's song Bright Side of the Road includes the lyrics "From the dark end of the street, to the bright side of the road" which many believe was influenced by Penn's song.[4]
Cover Versions
In the years since Carr's original version there have many cover versions of the song, and the following is just a partial list:
| Artist | Album | Year released |
|---|---|---|
| Afghan Whigs | The B-Sides / The Conversation EP | 1994 |
| Aretha Franklin | This Girl's in Love with You | 1970 |
| Archie Campbell & Lorene Mann | Tell It Like It Is | 1968 |
| Cat Power | Dark End of the Street EP | 2008 |
| Deacon Blue | Love and Regret EP | 1989 |
| Diamanda Galás and John Paul Jones | The Sporting Life | 1994 |
| Elvis Costello and The Imposters | The Delivery Man | 2004 |
| The Flying Burrito Brothers | The Gilded Palace of Sin | 1969 |
| Gregg Allman | Searching for Simplicity | 1997[5] |
| June Tabor and Oysterband | Ragged Kingdom | 2011 |
| Linda Ronstadt | Heart Like a Wheel | 1974 |
| Moving Hearts | The Dark End of the Street | 1982 |
| Peter Green Splinter Group | Peter Green Splinter Group | 1997 |
| Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton | Just the Two of Us | 1968 |
| Richard and Linda Thompson | Pour Down Like Silver | 1975 |
| Ry Cooder | Boomer's Story | 1972 |
| The cast of The Commitments | Original soundtrack album | 1991 |
| Chuck Brown and Eva Cassidy | The Other Side | 1992 |
| Black Friday | Hard Times | 2010 |
Notes
- ↑ Guralnick, Peter (2002).
- ↑ Gordon, Robert (2001).
- ↑ Hoskyns, Barney (1998).
- ↑ Stuart Bailie (July 6, 2008). "Playlist". BBC. Retrieved 2008-07-29.
- ↑ Gregg Allman - Searching for Simplicity. AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-11-25.
References
- Gordon, Robert (2001). It Came from Memphis. Atria. ISBN 978-0-7434-1045-8
- Guralnick, Peter (2002). Sweet Soul Music. MOJO Books. ISBN 978-1-84195-240-6
- Hoskyns, Barney (1998). Say it One Time for the Broken Hearted. Bloomsbury Publishing PLC. ISBN 978-0-7475-4137-0