After returning from the military, Price became more financially savvy than many of his fellow early Rock n Roll and gritty R&B artists. In 1957, he decided to launch his own label KRC (Kent Record Company) and retain control of his masters, leasing his tracks to labels like Atlantic and later ABC-Paramount in an arrangement that likely inspired Ray Charles to do the same.
His first single after returning from Korea was "Just Because". That was followed by a massive hit, "Stagger Lee", which has appeared in many multi-artist collection albums and served as one of Price's best known songs. Television host Dick Clark insisted the violent content of the track, which lyrically describes a shooting based on a gambling fight, be toned down when Price appeared on the popular but highly sanitized show American Bandstand.
Price’s biggest year was likely 1959, during which he had four hit records: “Personality,” “Where Were You (On Our Wedding Day),” “I’m Gonna Get Married” and “Come Into My Heart.” His increasing entrepreneurial efforts soon included new record labels and starting the Turntable nightclub in New York City. Price's Double L Records, started with partner Harold Logan discovered Wilson Pickett, who got his career started on their label. Price's biggest hit for Double-l was a 1963 revival of the old standard "Misty", but his remaining efforts at hitmaking drew little national attention. He signed briefly to Monument in 1964 and then Reprise, and later to JAD and to his own Turntable imprint to no avail. By 1971, he was recording in Muscle Shoals his own cover version of BJ Thomas hit "Hooked On A Feeling" for Scepter but the arrangement failed to catch fire.
In 1974 Price was a partner of boxing promoter Don King who staged the famous music festival in Zaire featuring James Brown, B.B. King, Etta James, Bill Withers, The Spinners, and the Fania All Stars as documented in Spike Lee's film about the Ali vs Foreman fight "When We Were Kings"
Price continued touring with a 9 piece group in the 1970's, issuing some singles on the GFS label, but seemingly retired for awhile. He then returned to performing and touring in 1993, when Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard and Gary U.S. Bonds accompanied him on a European tour. He was inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of fame in 1998, and can still occasionally be seen on PBS performing during oldies revue concerts, or during fundraising breaks such as during a recent Sam Cooke documentary special, and remains surprisingly youthful despite well over 50 years in the music business.
Wont'cha Come Home
Lloyd Price Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Won'tcha come home
I'm sick and I'm all alone
Won'tcha come home
Oh, I love and miss you so
Won'tcha come home
How much you'll never know
Won'tcha come home
Whoa, I need you
That's why I'm blue
Come on home
Won'tcha come home
Come on home
And I never thought I'd feel this way
Won'tcha come home
When you up and left that day
Won'tcha come home
But things haven't been the same
Won'tcha come home
All I ever hear is your name
Won'tcha come home
Whoa, I need you
That's why I'm blue
Come on home
Won'tcha come home
Come on home
Whoa, I get so tired of bein' alone
I can't even reach you by telephone
Believe me baby, when I call on you
I've got a whole lot of heartache from missing you
Now tell me baby, how long
Won'tcha come home
And must I sing this song
Won'tcha come home
Oh, I must stop this third degree
Won'tcha come home
Honey, it's killing me
Won'tcha come home
Whoa, I need you
That's why I'm blue
Come on home
Won'tcha come home
Come on home
I never thought I'd feel this way
Won'tcha come home
When you up and left that day
Won'tcha come home
But things haven't been the same
Won'tcha come home
All I ever hear is your name
Won'tcha come home
Whoa, I need you
That's why I'm blue
Come on home
Won'tcha come home
Come on home
Won'tcha come home
Come on home
Won'tcha come home
Come on home
Won'tcha come home
Come on home
The lyrics to Lloyd Price's "Won'tcha Come Home" express the longing of someone who misses and loves their significant other. The singer pleads with their lover to come home, admitting that they feel sick and alone without them. They also express how much they love and miss their lover, and how their absence has affected their life. The singer's feelings are so strong that they are experiencing heartache from missing their lover.
The chorus of the song highlights the depth of the singer's need for their lover to return. They declare that they are blue without them and repeat the plea to come home. They go on to explain that they never thought they would feel this way, and that things haven't been the same since their lover left. Despite the pain caused by their lover's absence, the singer still loves them and cannot get them out of their mind.
In the final verse, the singer expresses their exhaustion from being alone and unable to reach their lover by phone. They continue to plead for their lover to come home, asking how much longer they must sing this song. They admit that missing their lover is killing them and that they cannot continue to live without them.
Overall, the lyrics to "Won'tcha Come Home" convey the heartache felt by someone who has been separated from their lover. They convey a desperate desire for their lover to return and illustrate the impact that their absence has had on the singer's life.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh baby, please come home
The singer is pleading with his loved one to come back to him.
Won'tcha come home
The singer repeats his request for his loved one to return to him.
I'm sick and I'm all alone
The singer expresses his sadness and loneliness without his loved one.
Oh, I love and miss you so
The singer declares his love and longing for his loved one.
Won'tcha come home
The singer repeats his request for his loved one to return to him.
How much you'll never know
The singer suggests that his loved one won't be able to understand just how much he loves and misses them.
Whoa, I need you
The singer acknowledges that he needs his loved one in his life.
That's why I'm blue
The singer is sad and down without his loved one.
Come on home
The singer emphasizes his desire for his loved one to return to him.
And I never thought I'd feel this way
The singer is surprised that he is experiencing such intense emotions after his loved one left.
When you up and left that day
The singer is referencing the moment when his loved one departed from his life.
But things haven't been the same
The singer's life has been negatively impacted since his loved one left.
All I ever hear is your name
The singer cannot escape thoughts and memories of his loved one.
Whoa, I get so tired of bein' alone
The singer is exhausted and unhappy with the lack of companionship in his life.
I can't even reach you by telephone
The singer is unable to contact his loved one and this exacerbates his loneliness.
Believe me baby, when I call on you
The singer is begging his loved one to trust him and come back to him.
I've got a whole lot of heartache from missing you
The singer is experiencing significant pain and sadness from being away from his loved one.
Now tell me baby, how long
The singer is asking his loved one how much longer he will have to wait for them to return.
Won'tcha come home
The singer repeats his request for his loved one to return to him.
And must I sing this song
The singer questions why he has to keep singing about his heartache and longing for his loved one.
Oh, I must stop this third degree
The singer must end his questioning and pleading because it is too much for him to bear.
Honey, it's killing me
The singer is being emotionally destroyed by his separation from his loved one.
Won'tcha come home
The singer repeats his request for his loved one to return to him.
Come on home
The singer emphasizes his desire for his loved one to return to him.
Won'tcha come home
The singer repeats his request for his loved one to return to him.
Come on home
The singer emphasizes his desire for his loved one to return to him.
Won'tcha come home
The singer repeats his request for his loved one to return to him.
Come on home
The singer emphasizes his desire for his loved one to return to him.
Contributed by Katherine P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.