Simon was born in Simmesport, Louisiana, United States. Similar to many other African-American artists from the era, Simon began singing in his father's Baptist church. He pursued his vocal abilities full-time once the family moved to Richmond (near Oakland, California) in the late 1950s. There Simon joined the Golden West Gospel Singers and became influenced by Sam Cooke and Arthur Prysock. With this, the group decided to turn secular and recorded "Little Island Girl" as the Golden Tones in 1959.
Hush Records label owners Gary and Carla Thompson urged Simon to record on his own, and in 1964 Simon scored considerable success on the Vee-Jay label with "My Adorable One". Simon scored again in 1965 on the Chicago based label with "Let's Do It Over", which landed a #13 spot on the US Billboard R&B chart. However, the Vee-Jay label folded soon after the latter song's release and Simon found himself traveling across the country singing.
Simon caught the eye of Nashville, Tennessee, R&B disc jockey John Richbourg during this time, and Richbourg not only became Simon's manager/record producer but also brought the singer to Monument Records' subsidiary label Sound Stage 7 in 1966. That year Simon released "Teenager's Prayer", which peaked at #11 on Billboard's R&B chart. Within the next two years, Simon released a string of hits: "(You Keep Me) Hanging On", "The Chokin' Kind" (Billboard Hot 100 #13), "Farther On Down The Road", and "Yours Love". "The Chokin' Kind" was written by Harlan Howard, spent 12 weeks in the charts, and had sold one million copies by 16 June 1969. In addition, Simon was given a Grammy Award in 1970 for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance.
Under the encouragement of Richbourg, Simon moved to the Polydor distributed Spring Records label in 1970, which paired Simon with Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. The team scored a #3 R&B hit in 1971 with "Drowning In The Sea of Love" and a #1 R&B hit in the summer of 1972 with "Power Of Love". Both songs reached #11 on the Hot 100. "Drowning In The Sea of Love" sold over 1.5 million copies and the R.I.A.A. on 6 January 1972 gave a gold disc. "Power of Love", written by Gamble, Huff and Simon was Simon's third million seller, and the R.I.A.A. awarded gold disc status on 29 August 1972.
Simon continued to release R&B hits with "Pool Of Bad Luck", "Trouble In My Home", "Step By Step", "I Need You, You Need Me", "Music In My Bones", "Carry Me", and 1975's "Get Down, Get Down (Get On The Floor)", which gave Simon his third #1 R&B hit, and also a #8 Hot 100 hit. Simon's success escalated with his writing/producing the theme tune for the film, Cleopatra Jones in 1973.
In the late 1970s/early 1980s, Simon decided to remove his tenor/bass-baritone voice from the secular music world and devote it and his life to Christianity. Simon began evangelist preaching in Flossmoor, Illinois. In 1983, he produced the album Lay My Burden Down for former Davis Sisters second lead Jackie Verdell. Simon released a gospel album titled This Story Must Be Told in the late 1990s.
In 1999 Simon was inducted as a Pioneer Award honoree by the Rhythm and Blues Foundation. Joss Stone covered "The Chokin' Kind" on her 2003 album, The Soul Sessions.
Simon has had a number of his songs sampled by other artists, including OutKast, who sampled "Before the Night is Over" in their hit "So Fresh, So Clean" and Lil' Kim, who sampled Simon's "It Be's That Way Sometimes" in "Magic Stick", featuring 50 Cent. Memphis Bleek sampled Simon's "Trace Your Love" for his track "Alright" on the 2005 534 album.
Hangin' On
Joe Simon Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Get out my life why don't cha babe
'Cause you don't really love me
You just keep me hangin' on
You don't really need me
But you keep me hangin' on
Why do you keep a comin' around playing with my heart?
Let me get over you the way you gotten over me, yeah
Set me free why don't cha babe
Let me be why don't you babe
'Cause you don't really love me
You just keep me hangin' on
No, you don't really want me
You just keep me hangin' on
You say although we broke up you still wanna be just friends
But how can we still be friends when seeing you only breaks my heart again
(And there ain't nothing I can do about it)
Whoa, ooh, whoa, ooh, whoa
Set me free why don't you babe
Get out, get out of my life
Why don't you babe
Set me free why don't you babe
Get out of my life
Why don't you babe
You claim you still care for me but your heart and soul needs to be free
And now that you've got your freedom you wanna still hold on to me
You don't want me for yourself so let me find somebody else
Why don't cha be a man about it and set me free
Now you don't care a thing about me
You're just using me
Go home, get out, get out of my life
And let me sleep at night
'Cause you don't really love me
You just keep me hangin' on
You don't really need me
Joe Simon's song "Hangin' On" is a heart-wrenching tale of a man who is being strung along by his former lover. He pleads with her to let him go and move on with his life because she clearly does not love him anymore. Despite her leaving him, she continues to keep him hanging on, playing with his heart and preventing him from being able to move on. He questions why she keeps coming around if she doesn't love him, and begs her to let him go so he can make a fresh start.
The song is a classic example of a breakup tune that speaks to the pain and heartbreak that comes with the end of a relationship. Simon's vocals are filled with emotion, creating a sense of empathy in the listener, and the lyrics are relatable to anyone who has ever been in a situation where they were being held onto by someone they loved but who didn't feel the same way.
Overall, "Hangin' On" is a song about the pain of unrequited love, and the struggle to move on from it. It is a beautifully written and sung tune that has become a classic in the world of soul and R&B music.
Line by Line Meaning
Set me free why don't cha babe
Please let me go, my dear
Get out my life why don't cha babe
Leave me alone and move on
'Cause you don't really love me
You have no real feelings for me
You just keep me hangin' on
You cling to me, despite not really needing me
You don't really need me
You can do without me, but you keep me around anyway
Why do you keep a comin' around playing with my heart?
Why do you keep tormenting me with your presence?
Why don't cha get out of my life and let me make a new start?
Please go away and let me find someone new
Let me get over you the way you gotten over me, yeah
Let me move on, just like you already have
Let me be why don't you babe
Just leave me alone, please
'Cause you don't really love me
It's clear that you don't have any genuine feelings for me
No, you don't really want me
You don't actually care about being with me
You say although we broke up you still wanna be just friends
You claim you want to stay friends after we've ended things
But how can we still be friends when seeing you only breaks my heart again
However, it hurts to even see you and pretend we're just friends
(And there ain't nothing I can do about it)
I feel powerless to change this situation
You claim you still care for me but your heart and soul needs to be free
You say you care but want to be single
And now that you've got your freedom you wanna still hold on to me
You want to keep me on the hook, even though you're free to be without me
You don't want me for yourself so let me find somebody else
It's obvious you don't want to be with me, so please let me go find someone new
Why don't cha be a man about it and set me free
It's time to be mature and end things between us
Now you don't care a thing about me
You are being selfish and don't care how I feel
You're just using me
It's clear that you're only keeping me around for your own benefit
Go home, get out, get out of my life
Get out of my life and never return
And let me sleep at night
Please let me have peace and move on from this
'Cause you don't really love me
It's become clear that your feelings for me are not genuine
You just keep me hangin' on
Despite everything, you continue to keep me trapped in our relationship
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Edward Holland Jr., Lamont Dozier, Brian Holland
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@perryjohnson6248
I grew up listening to Joe Simon back when I was a little boy. I live in the Greenville North Carolina. That's a popular song. I was having a still popular day. Thank you for lying me to listen to that today. And I will shave it body a very special merry christmas on a happy new year
@aj.mcgowan5593
One of the most underrated singer ever.
@barbararichmond2167
Some people say you can't live in the past..... Why am I still loving him after all these years?
I hate that I am not able to forget him. I just keep me hanging on!!!!
@gloriapeebles8484
hope you find him get back together
@mauricegaskin5694
This is a master piece. Great voice and beautiful lyrics. Anytime a song can be this old and still feel so fresh and modern it has to be a classic. I always have to play it 4 consecutive times to be satisfied
@joycesimmons3084
There's nothing like good old songs.
@carolwright9336
I love this song i can listen to it over and over again and will never gets weary
@merrisgrant7342
One of my favourite by joe these songs never get stale
@roberthopkins431
We will never forget Joe Simon
@suejones7254
Will never 4get joe simon from north carolina.