In 2007, Darondo's song "Didn't I" was covered by Jack Peñate on his Spit At Stars EP and in 2008, featured on an episode (season 1, episode 4) of Breaking Bad. "Didn't I" was also featured in the 2010 film Saint John of Las Vegas in a scene featuring Steve Buscemi. In 2009, the song "Legs" was featured in an episode (season 1, episode 8) of the American version of Life on Mars. In 2010, "Didn't I" was featured in the films Night Catches Us and Jack Goes Boating. It also appeared in the New Element video, Future Nature.
Recordings of Darondo are available from Luv N Haight, an imprint label of Ubiquity Records. Other works can be purchased from Omnivore Recordings. He died of heart failure in 2013
Darondo Pulliam, who performed in the 70s under the name Darondo, was a funk and soul singer who sounded like a combination of Ronald Isley and Al Green. Little known by anyone except serious enthusiasists of that genre, Darondo is highly respected by that limited audience.
He opened-up for James Brown and lived a colorful lifestyle hanging with folks like the notorious Fillmore Slim. The mythology surrounding Darondo is that he was a pimp. However, he denies this claim.
Releasing three singles in the early 1970s (as Darondo, Darondo Pulliam, or the miss-spelled Dorando) he mixed low-rider soul with blues and r'n'b. He delivered in a variety of styles from the socially-charged "Let My People Go" to the sexually-driven funk of "Legs". All three singles were recorded in the San Francisco Bay Area, and both sides of each of the singles are fantastic productions. But after the release of his three 45s Darondo stopped recording.
DJ Gilles Peterson played his 1973 single, "Didn't I" on his BBC 1 radio program and choosing it for his Gilles Peterson Digs America: Brownswood USA compilation.
The six tracks from the three original singles are featured on the album Let My People Go, released on Ubiquity Records in 2006, along with three previously unreleased songs that were recently discovered on a demo reel. The demo reel was sitting in a box of VHS copies of his cable TV shows which we had requested to use for images in the CD booklet.
Recorded in the early 1970s, tracks from the demo reel were taken into a San Francisco studio in the summer of 2005 for enhancement. Darondo over-dubbed missing background vocals and guitar parts alongside up and coming San Francisco soul man Bing Ji Ling. Darondo warmed up quickly, he hasn't lost his touch. After the session Darondo confessed that he was inspired to start playing again. As yet though there has been no new material released, although further 'lost tracks' were released on the Legs EP.
I'm Lonely
Darondo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I'm all alone
Waiting on a telephone call baby,
I wanna moan
I know I can't call no doctor
Doctor can't cure my ills
I need you baby
To cure my ill
I'm lonely baby
I'm lonely
I need your love baby
I wanna call you up but I
Everytime I call your brother answer
The phone
And he say what in the hell do you want D
Won't you leave my sister alone
Alright I been trying to get in contact with you baby
But I (incomprehensible) and my gas is low,
But I wanna keep on trying baby
Till I just can't try no more, and I'm lonely baby oh baby I'm lonely I need your love
Baby you wanna hurt me so bad
You love me baby
But I kept on keeping on cos I'm a strong man baby
The lyrics to Darondo's song "I'm Lonely" depict a man who is up at four o'clock in the morning and is feeling incredibly lonely. He is waiting by the phone, desperately hoping for a call from his loved one so they can talk and he can share his loneliness with her. The singer acknowledges that he cannot call a doctor as his illness is not physical but emotional. He believes that only his loved one's love can cure his loneliness.
The singer has been trying to call his loved one but every time he does, he gets her brother on the phone who is hostile and tells him to leave his sister alone. Despite this, the singer is determined to keep trying to get in contact with his loved one until he finally succeeds. He is strong and won't give up easily.
The lyrics of "I'm Lonely" express the vulnerability and need for human contact and love when a person is going through a tough time. The singer seeks comfort and support only from his loved one but is faced with obstacles preventing him from reaching her.
Line by Line Meaning
Four o'clock in the morning baby,
It is four in the morning, and the singer is sitting by himself.
And I'm all alone
The singer is feeling lonely.
Waiting on a telephone call baby,
The singer is waiting for someone to call him.
I wanna moan
The singer wants to express his sadness.
I know I can't call no doctor
The singer knows that a doctor cannot help him.
Doctor can't cure my ills
The singer's problem can't be solved by a doctor.
I need you baby
The singer needs his lover.
To cure my ill
The only cure for the singer is being with his lover.
I'm lonely
The singer is feeling lonely.
I'm lonely baby
The singer is addressing his lover about his loneliness.
I need your love baby
The singer needs his lover's love.
I wanna call you up but I
The singer wants to call his lover, but he has a problem.
Everytime I call your brother answer
Whenever the singer calls, his lover's brother answers the phone.
The phone
The phone is what the singer uses to call his lover.
And he say what in the hell do you want D
The brother of the singer's lover asks what he wants.
Won't you leave my sister alone
The brother of the singer's lover is asking the singer to leave his sister alone.
Alright I been trying to get in contact with you baby
The singer has been trying to get in touch with his lover.
But I (incomprehensible) and my gas is low,
There is something unclear that is preventing the singer from reaching his lover, and his car's gas is low.
But I wanna keep on trying baby
Nevertheless, the singer wants to keep trying.
Till I just can't try no more, and I'm lonely baby oh baby I'm lonely I need your love
The singer wants to keep trying to reach his lover, no matter how hard it gets. He is lonely and needs his lover's love.
Baby you wanna hurt me so bad
The singer thinks his lover wants to hurt him badly.
You love me baby
Despite the singer's thoughts, his lover loves him.
But I kept on keeping on cos I'm a strong man baby
Despite the difficult situation, the singer kept going because he is a strong man.
Writer(s): john al tanner, william "darondo" pulliam
Contributed by Aaliyah G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.