"Pipesmoking and relatively intellectual, William Bell was Memphis soul's ultimate journeyman, but what's out of the ordinary is his acceptance of that second-rank status. While it wouldn't be fair to say that he courted obscurity, that's only because the evidence is too sketchy. Bell made 'You Don't Miss Your Water' at producer Chips Moman's insistence; he'd already found a satisfactory niche as featured vocalist with Phineas Newborn's orchestra, the area's toniest show band. Rather than seeking the main chance, he was content to sing with Newborn."
Assessing his music, Marsh remarks again and again (four of William Bell's songs are featured in the book) on his "comparative impassivity," his "contentment with the status quo," his "diffidence" and his "purposeful lack of histrionics."
Ironically, with minor revisions the observations could accurately describe almost any of today's older-generation Southern Soul musicians. But what Marsh describes as "passivity," your Daddy B. Nice (with the benefit of hindsight) would characterize as a refreshing independence and refusal to bend to the artistic "straightjacket" of the mainline record industry and all the hype that accompanies it.
William Bell collaborated with Booker T. Jones (of Booker T. and the MG's) on many soul tunes, and one of them, Bell's "I Forgot To Be Your Lover," rose to #45 on "Billboard" in 1969. The song had a gorgeous and winsome melody made even sweeter by a violin-heavy arrangement.
Oh, I forgot to be your lover.
And I'm sorry, so sorry."
Enter, more than a quarter of a century later, young artist Jaheim Hoagland, who--like R. Kelly--comes to Southern Soul by way of hiphop and "urban" R&B, and who--again like Kelly--has gone to the well of sixties' R&B to connect with soul traditionalists.
Jaheim Hoagland was not the first artist to access William Bell's little-known standard for inspiration. Among others, Johnnie Taylor had covered it in 1988, Robert "The Duke" Tillman in 1992, and Chuck Strong in 1996. Jaheim's version, however, was not a conventional cover. It was a complete re-tooling, a customizing not unlike that of a vintage show car, an addition of elements that not only gave the song a new and dazzling dimension but brought out the original message with even more spectacular clarity.
And the fights keep getting worse. . . "
In the first couple of lines a new melody (related, and cleverly so, by its chord structure to the original) immediately riveted the listener's attention.
And she starts playing little games."
Incorporating the Bell standard into a much more complex framework (see the number of composer credits), Jaheim delivered a song that actually trumped its predecessor and stood by itself as a bona fide original.
You better put that woman first."
When the original melody inserted itself it sounded even better, and the result, surprisingly, was anything but derivative. The key to the recording's enormous success with Southern Soul audiences was Jaheim's heartbreaking vocal, making up with sheer "want-to" and raw emotion the few lapses in technique and experience.
Jaheim supplied the heart, and his cohorts supplied the rest. Say what you will of them, hiphoppers tend to be brilliant, cutting-edge technicians, and their presence on "Put That Woman First" actually strengthened the recording, giving the arrangement and production a technical sheen conventional Southern Soul artists seldom muster. The result was one of the best Southern Soul songs of the last decade.
Jaheim Hoagland was born in 1979 in New Brunswick, New Jersey. His grandfather, Victor Hoagland, sung with many 60's soul groups, including the Drifters, and family reunions were reportedly "songfests." The young Jaheim graduated from local talent shows to winning the talent contest at Harlem's Apollo Theater three times in one year when he was only 15.
Jaheim drew the interest of a Warner Bros. subsidiary and began working professionally with other young R&B/hiphop artists. Jaheim sang background vocals on M.A.G.'s Hustlaz Heaven (Relativity, 1999).
Jaheim's debut disc, Ghetto Love ( Warner/WEA), appeared in 2001. A pair of early singles earned media time on BET and other video shows, and in 2002, with the help of fellow crooners from R&B acts Next, Blackstreet, and Darren and Cliff Lighty, Jaheim released Still Ghetto (Divine Mill/Warner Bros.).
Still Ghetto, fueled by the enormous response to the single, "Put That Woman First," scored #15 on "Billboard's" annual Top R&B albums for 2002.
Totally R&B (BMG/Warner), Jaheim's third CD, appeared in 2003. Two hiphop-oriented albums have followed in 2006 and 2007.
2001 Ghetto Love Warner Bros.
2002 Still Ghetto Warner Bros.
2006 Ghetto Classics Warner Bros.
"I realize that you need love too.
Spend my life making love to you.
Oh girl, I forgot to be your lover."
1. William Bell, the originator of "I Forgot To Be Your Lover" on which Jaheim's "Put That Woman First" is based, made a huge comeback in 2004, collaborating with Jeff Floyd ("I Found Love On A Lonely Highway)" on a song that electrified the chitlin' circuit. The duet, "Someone's Gonna Lose A Good Woman Tonight" (Jeff Floyd's The Power Is Still On, Wilbe 2004) stuck like Velcro to deejay playlists long into 2005.
If you loved Smokey Robinson & The Miracles' "I Second That Emotion," you should acclimate quickly to Jaheim's "Put That Woman First."