1) Jesse Powel… Read Full Bio ↴There is more than one artist with this name, including:
1) Jesse Powell ( born in Gary, Indiana, on 12 September 1971; died 13 September 2022) was an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter remembered for his hit "You".
2) Jesse Powell (born in Fort Worth, Texas, on 27 February 1924; died 19 October 1982) was an American jazz and rhythm and blues saxophonist.
1) Jesse Powell ( born in Gary, Indiana, on 12 September 1971; died 13 September 2022) was an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter. Remembered for his hit "You" which peaked at No. 2 US R&B and No. 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100, Powell released four albums, and was the older brother of fellow contemporary R&B singers Trina & Tamara. Powell was credited with a four octave vocal range. He was a Grammy nominee.
His first single "All I Need" was written by Powell, Sam Salter and Laney Stewart and was released in March 1996. It received moderate airplay on BET and Urban stations, peaking at No. 32 on the US Billboard R&B chart. His self-titled album was released on March 12, 1996, opening at No. 35 on the US Billboard R&B and No. 32 on US Heatseekers charts. A second single, a remake of the classic "Gloria" followed later that year and garnered Powell another charting single (No. 51 R&B).
Powell then began work on his second album, debuting the lead single "I Wasn't with It" in 1998 which became his first single to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 (No. 85 US, No. 25 R&B). Bolstered by the success of the single, his sophomore album 'Bout It was released on September 8, 1998, opening at No. 1 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart (for artists who have yet to crack the Top 100 on the Billboard 200).
Following Silas Records merge into MCA Records, Powell's first release on the label was the single "If I" in 2000, which peaked at No. 58 on the R&B chart. His third studio album JP was released on March 27, 2001, opening at No. 18 R&B and No. 71 on Billboard 200. A second single, "Something in the Past" (No. 67 R&B) followed, in addition to Powell doing some promotion for the release. In 2002, he left the label and signed with Riviera Records. His fourth studio album Jesse was released on October 14, 2003 and was supported by the singles "By the Way" (No. 99 R&B) and "Touching It Tonight", peaking at No. 85 on the Billboard R&B chart. The album served as his last release before his retirement from the music industry.
2) Jesse Powell (born in Fort Worth, Texas, on 27 February 1924; died 19 October 1982) was an American jazz and rhythm and blues saxophonist.
Powell studied music at Hampton University, where he became inspired by Count Basie’s Lester Young and Herschel Evans, and played his tenor saxophone with the bands of Oran ‘Hot Lips’ Page (1942-43), Louis Armstrong (1943-44), and Luis Russell (1944-45). In 1946 he accepted an offer from Count Basie to replace Illinois Jacquet in the reed section. After briefly leading his own band in 1948 and being featured at that year’s Paris Jazz Festival, he joined Dizzy Gillespie’s Orchestra (1949-50), but the R&B era found him with copious session work and, again, his own unit, which recorded for Federal (the infamous ‘Walkin’ Blues’ sung by Fluffy Hunter) and Jubilee.
In a November 1951 session for Federal, he backed Fluffy Hunter on the notorious “The Walking Blues” and “My Natch’l Man.” In October 1953 he had a second session for Federal, recording four good R&B numbers – “Love To Spare” / “Rear Bumper” (Federal 12159) and “Leaving Tonight” / “Hot Box” (Federal 12171). These four tracks were featured on the old Westside CD “Groove Station” which utilized the artwork from “Blow Man Blow” on its back cover.
Powell continued his R&B career through the 1950s with sessions for Josie and Jubilee, mainly as an arranger and session man on vocal group sessions, particularly with The Cadillacs. He released three solo singles on Josie – “Moonlight In Vermont” / “Riggin’” (Josie 782), “Can’t Help Myself, Parts 1 and 2” (Josie 799) and “Turnpike” / “Ain’t You Gonna” (Josie 834).
The session at which Josie 782 was recorded also brought forth a couple of novelty numbers by Jesse – “The Head Hunters” and “Scotch On The Rocks”, the latter with bagpipe accompaniment. These two sides were released as by The Goofers on Port 7006.
The Josie and Port tracks featured on the Sequel CDs “Jumping At Jubilee” and “Saxophony!” and also on the Westside CD “Titanic And 23 Other Unsinkable Sax Blasters.”
After recording “Blow Man Blow” Jesse had two more LPs released in the early 1960s – “It’s Party Time” on Tru-Sound and “A Taste Of Honey” on Kapp. Powell died in New York in October 1982.
I Didn't Realize
Jesse Powell Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Two years have passed
I took you for granted
It ended too fast, 'cause I
I wasn't payin' much attention to your needs girl
You tried and tried a million times
You cried to me girl
The pain you went through
I was killin' you softly
But I never knew, 'til I found
I found it in that lonely place
You left for me girl
And now it's killin' me
That's how it's got to be girl
Girl, you build my heart to break it down
Here I'm cryin' out but no one's around
What does it matter now?
What does it matter now?
1 - I didn't realize that I love you
'Till the day that you stopped lovin' me
I didn't realize that I cared for you
'Till I heard the news
That you're leaving me
Now I realize that I love you
And I'm hopin' that it's not too late
Please pack your bags
And come on back
'Cause now I realize that I'm in love with you
Two weeks have gone
My life is a mess
The closets are empty
Not even a dress girl remains
I sit and wonder what I could've done to please you
Is this the penalty for times I would mistreat you?
Now there are no lips to kiss
And no hand to hold
There's no one to hear me
When I bare my soul, and to see
To see you with somebody else would drive me crazy
Knowing you wanna fall in love and have a baby
I'm standing here, broken down
Cryin' out, but girl, you're not around
What does it matter now?
What does it matter now?
I apologize
For all the wrong things that I done
I'm sorry babe
For all the right things that I didn't do
One thing that can change a man
Is living alone
Come back home, oh
Yeah, yeah, yeah (yeah)
Yeah, yeah, yeah (come on, come on back to me)
Yeah, yeah, yeah (I'm sorry)
Yeah, yeah, yeah (yeah, oh oh)
Please pack your bags
And come on back
'Cause now I realize that I'm in love
With you
In "I Didn't Realize" by Jesse Powell, the singer reflects on his past relationship that ended too soon. Two years have gone by, and now he realizes he took her for granted and didn't pay much attention to her needs. He admits that he was killing her softly without realizing it. She had been trying to talk to him, but he didn't listen to her cries until he found a letter she left him in a lonely place. He now realizes that he loves her and cares for her and hopes that it's not too late to make it up to her.
As the two weeks passed, his life became a mess, and he wonders what he could have done to please her. His closets are empty, not even a dress remains. He regrets mistreating her and understands that living alone has changed him as a man. He wants her to pack her bags and come back since he now realizes that he's in love with her. He apologizes for all the wrong things he has done in the past and for all the right things he did not do.
The song is a classic R&B ballad that deals with heartbreak and regret. Powell's vocals convey deep emotion, making the listener sympathize with his perspective. The lyrics are straightforward, making it easy for listeners to relate to the emotions expressed in the song. The combination of the melody, vocals, and lyrics makes it a timeless classic.
Line by Line Meaning
Seems like not long ago
It feels like it was just recently
Two years have passed
It has actually been two years
I took you for granted
I didn't appreciate you enough
It ended too fast, 'cause I
Our relationship fell apart quickly because
I wasn't payin' much attention to your needs girl
I wasn't focused on taking care of you
You tried and tried a million times
You made countless efforts
You cried to me girl
You turned to me for comfort while crying
But I couldn't see
I was blind to
The pain you went through
The suffering you experienced
I was killin' you softly
I was hurting you without even realizing it
But I never knew, 'til I found
I remained unaware until I stumbled upon
I found it in that lonely place
I discovered it in the empty space you left for me
You left for me girl
You departed from my life
And now it's killin' me
It's causing me great pain and suffering
That's how it's got to be girl
That's just the way things are now
Girl, you build my heart to break it down
You built me up just so you could tear me apart
Here I'm cryin' out but no one's around
I'm expressing my emotions but there's no one here to hear me
What does it matter now?
What's the point of even caring anymore?
1 - I didn't realize that I love you
I didn't recognize that I had love for you
'Till the day that you stopped lovin' me
Until the moment when you fell out of love with me
I didn't realize that I cared for you
I didn't realize that I had deep feelings of affection towards you
'Till I heard the news
Not until I received the news
That you're leaving me
That you had decided to end our relationship
Now I realize that I love you
I am now aware of my love for you
And I'm hopin' that it's not too late
I am wishing that there is still time to salvage our relationship
Please pack your bags
I'm asking you to get your things together
And come on back
To return to me
'Cause now I realize that I'm in love with you
Because I have realized that I am truly in love with you
Two weeks have gone
It has been two weeks
My life is a mess
My life is chaotic and disorganized
The closets are empty
There are no items in the closets
Not even a dress girl remains
There are no dresses left
I sit and wonder what I could've done to please you
I am left to question what actions I could have taken to make you happy
Is this the penalty for times I would mistreat you?
Is this the punishment I deserve for mistreating you in the past?
Now there are no lips to kiss
I have no one to kiss
And no hand to hold
I have no one to hold hands with
There's no one to hear me
There is no one here to listen to me
When I bare my soul, and to see
When I express my deepest emotions, and to see
To see you with somebody else would drive me crazy
Witnessing you with someone else would cause madness inside me
Knowing you wanna fall in love and have a baby
Being aware that you desire to fall in love and have a child
I'm standing here, broken down
I am here feeling completely devastated
Cryin' out, but girl, you're not around
Crying out in agony, but you are not here
What does it matter now?
Why does any of this even matter anymore?
I apologize
I am expressing regret
For all the wrong things that I done
For all the bad things I've done to you
I'm sorry babe
I apologize, dear
For all the right things that I didn't do
For not doing all the things I should have done for you
One thing that can change a man
There is one thing that can transform a man's character
Is living alone
And that is being forced to live in solitude
Come back home, oh
Return home, please
Yeah, yeah, yeah (yeah)
Vocalization expressing affirmation
Yeah, yeah, yeah (come on, come on back to me)
Vocalization calling for the person to return to me
Yeah, yeah, yeah (I'm sorry)
Vocalization expressing regret and remorse
Yeah, yeah, yeah (yeah, oh oh)
Vocalization expressing affirmation and emotional pain
Please pack your bags
I'm asking you to gather your things
And come on back
To return to me
'Cause now I realize that I'm in love
Because I've now come to the realization that I truly am in love
With you
With you specifically
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ANDRE WAYNE ALLEN, ANTHONY G. CRAWFORD, MARC NELSON, MONTELL DU'SEAN JORDAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind