Evie Sands was the first artist to record the classic song "Angel Of The Morning," but her version was overshadowed by Merrilee Rush's when legal problems rendered Evie's single out of print. She is often referred to as one of the greatest blue-eyed soul singers.
Evie Sands was born and raised in Brooklyn to music-loving parents, and fulfilled sooner than expected her mother's intuition that, "this baby will come out singing". After cutting two singles on obscure labels (ABC 10458 - The Roll / My Dog – 1963, and Gold 215 - Danny Boy, I Love You So / I Was Moved – 1964), she signed to Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller's Blue Cat Records in 1965, and her initial single was that year's Chip Taylor/Al Gorgoni-produced 'Take Me For A Little While'. However, before the record had a chance to be released, a test pressing was stolen by a Chicago producer, who took it to the established Chess Records recording artist Jackie Ross, who was coming off the back of a recent number one in the Billboard Charts. Ross — who was unaware of the duplicity involved, and who left Chess shortly afterwards — and her producers loved the song, and recorded, pressed and released the record within 48 hours, beating Sands' version to the street by a week. Backed by the marketing and promotional muscle of Chess Records, and with Ross' name attached, this version unsurprisingly received the lion's share of the airplay. The subsequent legal struggle set back Sands' young career before it had had a chance to get started. By the time Chess withdrew the Ross single from the marketplace, Sands' version would only break through in the few cities (like Los Angeles) that had thus far stayed 'on the fence', waiting to see which version to play.
Her follow-up single, 'I Can't Let Go', subsequently got lost amidst the post 'Take Me...' chaos, leaving Brit-invaders The Hollies clear to have a hit with a re-recorded version of the same song in the spring of 1966. That same year, Sands parted ways with Blue Cat, and moved to Cameo-Parkway Records, where she maintained her successful pairing with Chip Taylor, who penned her next single, the hotly-tipped "Angel of the Morning".
However, once again, Sands was unfortunate, for a matter of weeks after its release, Cameo-Parkway went bust, allowing another version of the song, by Merrilee Rush & The Turnabouts, to steal its thunder, topping the charts just months later.
In 1969, Sands moved to A&M Records, where she notched up her biggest hit, 'Any Way That You Want Me', another Chip Taylor composition. Incidentally, this track had earlier been recorded by Liverpool Five and The Troggs in 1966; they also had a hit with another Chip Taylor song, the altogether better-known "Wild Thing". Evie's album of the same name came out on A&M in 1970, several months after 'Any Way...' (the single) had peaked. It was followed by 'Estate of Mind' LP on Haven/Capitol Records in 1975, which was made up of ten Sands original songs. Two tracks from the album, 'You Brought The Woman Out Of Me' and 'I Love Makin' Love To You', had chart success and many artists covered songs from the album. In 1979, she released 'Suspended Animation' on RCA Records. One track,'Lady Of The Night', featured Dusty Springfield on backing vocals and another, "Keep My Lovelight Burning" saw extensive play in the discos. That was to be Sands' last album for almost 20 years, as she mostly stayed away from live performance and instead focused on songwriting and production.
In late 1996, Sands went to see Chip Taylor perform at a club gig, and he invited her onstage to perform with him. Despite not having kept actively in touch through the previous years, the experience was so successful that the two reignited their collaboration, spawning the critically acclaimed 'Women In Prison' LP, which was released in 1999 (and again in 2000) on Taylor's Train Wreck records. A more rootsy project than the blue-eyed soul of her late 1960s-70s output, the album consisted of various Sands-Taylor-Gorgoni originals, including a duet with Lucinda Williams on the track, 'Cool Blues Story'. Several tracks fared well on UK/Euro indie charts.
Evie's earlier albums have recently been made available on CD. Suspended Animation, Any Way That You Want Me, and Estate of Mind were first reissued in Japan in 2001 and 2003. Any Way... and Estate... were reissued again in September 2005 and June 2006 respectively, on Rev-Ola in the United Kingdom. Evie can currently be found performing her own solo material as well as performing as the lead guitar player in eclectic Los Angeles based group, Adam Marsland's Chaos Band. Her most recent recorded appearance is on that band's 2007 live CD 'Long Promised Road: Songs of Dennis and Carl Wilson," on which she sings several lead vocals, including the first-ever recording of Dennis Wilson's "Wouldn't It Be Nice to Live Again."
I Can't Let Go
Evie Sands Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Feel so bad baby, ooh, it hurts me
When I think of how you love and desert me
I'm the broken hearted toy you play with, baby
I can't let go, baby
I'm . . . I'm hung on you
Baby, I . . . I can't let go
And I know there are so many others
You do something strange to me, baby, baby
You got me goin', I need you baby
I can't let go, and I want you baby
I gotta have you you know
And I can't let go
Though I'm just one of your lovers
And I know there are so many others
You do something strange to me, baby, baby
I try and I try but I can't say goodbye
I know that it's wrong and I should be so strong
But the thought of you gone makes me want to hold on
You got me goin', I need you baby
I can't let go, and I want you baby
I gotta have you, you know
And I can't let go
Though I'm just one of your lovers
And I know there are so many others
You do something strange to me, baby, baby
I try and I try but I can't say goodbye
I know that it's wrong and I should be so strong
But the thought of you gone makes me want to hold on
The lyrics of Evie Sands's song I Can't Let Go tell the story of a woman who is deeply in love with a man, but he doesn't feel the same way about her. She can't bear the thought of losing him, no matter how much he hurts her. The opening lines of the song paint a clear picture of the singer's emotional turmoil, as she repeatedly tries to break free from her obsession with the man: "I try and I try but I can't say goodbye / Feel so bad baby, ooh, it hurts me." Despite her pain, she can't help but cling to the hope that she might someday win him over: "Though I'm just one of your lovers / And I know there are so many others / You do something strange to me, baby, baby."
The lines "I'm the broken hearted toy you play with, baby" and "You got me goin', I need you baby" underscore the singer's sense of powerlessness in the face of her lover's indifference. She knows she's just one of many women he's involved with, and yet she continues to hope for his love. The song's chorus, "I can't let go, baby / I'm . . . I'm hung on you / Baby, I . . . I can't let go," repeats the singer's desperate desire to hold onto the man she loves. The final lines of the song reveal a sense of resignation on her part, as she acknowledges that she knows she should be stronger but can't resist her feelings for him: "I know that it's wrong and I should be so strong / But the thought of you gone makes me want to hold on."
Line by Line Meaning
I try and I try but I can't say goodbye
Despite my efforts, I cannot bring myself to end our relationship.
Feel so bad baby, ooh, it hurts me
The pain of your love and abandonment is unbearable.
When I think of how you love and desert me
I am reminded of the cycle of your temporary affection followed by abandonment.
I'm the broken hearted toy you play with, baby
You treat me like a toy, using me until I am brokenhearted.
I can't let go, baby
I am unable to move on from our relationship.
I'm . . . I'm hung on you
I am emotionally attached to you and unable to let you go.
Though I'm just one of your lovers
I am just one of many people you pursue relationships with.
And I know there are so many others
I am aware of your pattern of pursuing multiple relationships at once.
You do something strange to me, baby, baby
There is something about you that keeps me coming back, even though I know it is not healthy for me.
You got me goin', I need you baby
Your presence and affection have a powerful hold on me.
Though I'm just one of your lovers
I am just one of many people you pursue relationships with.
And I can't let go
I am unable to move on from our relationship.
I gotta have you you know
Despite the pain and unhealthy aspects of our relationship, I feel as though I cannot live without you.
I know that it's wrong and I should be so strong
I am aware that our relationship is unhealthy and I should have the strength to end it.
But the thought of you gone makes me want to hold on
Despite my awareness of the problems with our relationship, the idea of losing you makes me cling to you even more.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: AL GORGONI, CHIP TAYLOR
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@GrtSatan
How could this drop dead gorgeous woman with such an incomparable voice not have become a superstar. What happened.
@Keyboardman88
Bad timing. Her version came out almost at the same time as the version by the Hollies. At that time anything from England and British Invasion was dominating the radio.
@juliereminiec4937
@Keyboardman88 The Hollies cover was released in early 1966
@mojowalls8022
Evie was so ahead of her time and underrated. I love all her renditions of songs
@GrtSatan
Evie had it all: looks, talent, and a brilliant repertoire of songs. Baffles me why she isn't the superstar she deserves to be.
@jpw43
The female version of Arthur Alexander
@MikeBlitzMag
Ah, but she is. New album due out shortly.
@will2741
THE best version, hands down. The Hollies cover is okay but it turns gut wrenching soul into jangly pop.
@joshuabloodsworth2262
the song "how you satisfy my" by Sonic Boom/Spectrum pulls almosy directly from this song & her influence. the soul of this song & the way her voice matches to the drone is so ahead of its time!
@thesprawl2361
How You Satisfy Me might as well be a cover version of this - Sonic just took the chorus and span it out for four minutes. One would hope he at least credited whoever wrote I Can't Let Go on his album notes.
He was a pretty shameless 'appropriator' of other people's stuff, which is ironic since he's spent the last quarter century complaining about various people; from The Jesus & Mary Chain and Loop through to Spiritualized; of nicking his ideas.