As you will have spotted, this time out it is "He'll Have To Go". I did wonder whether to bother because the Jim Reeves' version is as close to perfection as you get and one of my favourite records of all time (I believe George at Jim McLean's Rabbit has similar views). But while the rest of them are no match for Jim they are worth a listen anyway. So here goes.
Including Jim we have a paltry nine versions of the song for you, featuring the obligatory reggae version from Luciano and non-obligatory mento and Tex-Mex versions from the Jolly Boys and Ry Cooder. We also have one of those answer songs that used to be popular in country music in the 1950s and 1960s courtesy of Jeanne Black. It is not exactly another "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels", which set the bar for that sort of thing, but hey!
"He'll Have To Go" - Jim Reeves
"He'll Have To Go" - Solomon Burke
"He'll Have To Go" - Ry Cooder
"He'll Have To Go" - Frankie Miller
"He'll Have To Go" - Luciano
"He'll Have To Go" - The Holmes Brothers
"He'll Have To Go" - Wilbert Harrison
"He'll Have To Go" - The Jolly Boys
"He'll Have To Go" - Tav Falco's Panther Burns
"He'll Have To Stay" - Jeanne Black
We end with a short tribute to a man who decided on Friday that he had to go, when it really would have been better if he'd stayed. RIP Ben E King.
"Into The Mystic" - Ben E King
I like Solomon's version but none come close to Gentleman Jim
ReplyDeleteI enjoy putting together personal music collections that feature a lot of the 50's songs and their later covers but you have definitely outdone yourself on "He'll Have To Go". The majority of these I had never heard. Of course I also think it may still be a while before anyone gets close to eclipsing Mr. Jim's version.
ReplyDeleteGreat post. I particularly enjoyed the Wilbert Harrison and Tav Falco versions.
ReplyDeleteRIP Mr King.
That collection would make a great album. That Wilbert Harrison version, after the intro. turns out to be very good. Great post Ernie, great post.
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