As a fan of a wide variety of popular (and not-so-popular) music from the 1950s (and sometimes even earlier) up through the present, one of my bucket list projects for years has been to put together a list of my 100 favorite songs of all time. At some point I decided that, once I got around to figuring that out, I could put it out on a blog, for the infinitesimally small proportion of the Internet world that might be interested. So, here we are. While the Top 100 will be a major focus, I also plan to post on a variety of other musical (and occasionally non-musical) topics, in which you may or may not be interested. (If a particular posting doesn’t ring your bell, you’re only a few clicks away from a dancing cat video on YouTube.)

Monday, October 27, 2014

#14 Am I The Same Girl -- Swing Out Sister (1992)



This one has an interesting history. It was first recorded in 1968 by R&B singer Barbara Acklin, but became a big hit as the instrumental “Soulful Strut” (credited to Young-Holt Unlimited) when a revised version was released later that year with Acklin’s vocals removed. Both Acklin and Dusty Springfield released the vocal version of the song in 1969, neither with much chart success.

Swing Out Sister finally rescued the song in its full glory from obscurity in 1992. The Acklin and Springfield versions aren’t bad, but Corinne Drewery and crew really make it their own.

Incidentally, one of the best CD bargains I ever picked up was in the mid-1990s in Clearwater FL (down mainly for spring training, naturally), where I found a Swing Out Sister “In-Store Play Sampler” for a mere $1.99. I don’t think I gained a lot of cred from the clerk with my purchase, but the 7 tracks proved that SOS did some great stuff beyond their few hit singles.

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