Marshall was the director behind a start-up label, Cadet Concept Records, and wanted to focus on music outside of the blues and rock genres, which had made the Chess label popular. This led Marshall to turn his attention to the burgeoning psychedelic movement. He recruited Charles Stepney, a vibraphonist and classically-trained arranger and producer for sonic wizardry. Marshall then recruited members of a little-known white rock band, The Proper Strangers (Bobby Simms, Mitch Aliotta & Ken Venegas). Sidney Barnes, a songwriter within the Chess organization, also joined, as did Judy Hauff and a Chess receptionist named Minnie Riperton, who would later be successful in her own solo career. Marshall also called up prominent session musicians associated with the Chess label, including guitarist Phil Upchurch and drummer Morris Jennings.
The band released their self-titled debut album in late 1967. It plays like a melange of styles, borrowing heavily from pop, rock, and soul, but in a way that isn't entirely radio-friendly. The album also boasts an Eastern influence through its use of the sitar on Turn Me On and Memory Band. Stepney's arrangements, brought to life by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, imbue the album with a certain dreamlike quality; this would become a trademark of both the arranger and the mouthpiece. The album proved to be a modest success within the Midwest, but failed to make an impact nationally -- this was to be the Rotary's ultimate fate.
The band returned in 1968 with a pair of albums, Aladdin and Peace. The former was the group's proper sophomore effort, and it found Riperton assuming a more prominent vocal role than the "background instrument" status she had on the debut. The latter was a Christmas release, with strong pervasive messages of love and understanding for a nation in the grips of Vietnam. The album's cover art of a hippie Santa Claus more than makes its intentions known. Peace is notable for being involved in controversy: an anti-war cartoon in a December 1968 edition of Billboard magazine featured a graphic image of a bruised and bloodied Santa on a Vietnam battlefield. Mistaking this cartoon for the album's cover art, Montgomery Ward cancelled all shipments of the album.
Rotary Connection would release three more albums: Songs, in 1969, a collection of drastic reworkings of other artist's songs, including Otis Redding's Respect and The Band's The Weight and Cream's Sunshine Of Your Love. Dinner Music followed in 1970, in which they added elements of folk and country into the mix along with some electronic experimentation, and; Hey Love in 1971, where the band, oddly credited as the New Rotary Connection, ended its career with a jazz-oriented affair. From this particular album came the uplifting I am the Black Gold of the Sun, which was famously covered in 1997 by underground dance outfit Nuyorican Soul.
After the break-up of the band, Stepney served as a producer and arranger for other artists, most notably the soul outfit Earth, Wind, & Fire. He died in 1976 of a heart attack. Minnie Riperton enjoyed the fruits of a successful solo career until breast cancer ended her life in 1979. Sidney Barnes continues to work a singer and songwriter, and in recent years has gained a following in the U.K.. The other remaining members of the band either attempted other, lower-profile, musical endeavours or divorced themselves entirely of the business. Thanks to reissues of their catalog in the late 1990s and the appropriation of material through sampling within the hip-hop community, Rotary Connection has been formally introduced to a new generation.
Didn't Want To Have To Do It
Rotary Connection Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Didn't wanna have to break your heart
Didn't wanna have to do it
I kept a-hopin' from the very start
But you kept on a-tryin'
And I knew that you'd end up a-cryin'
And I knew I didn't wanna have to do it at all
Didn't wanna have to be the one to say it
Didn't wanna have to do it
I kept a-hopin' there'd be somethin' to delay it again
Yeah, but then
No, I didn't wanna have to be the one to say "The end"
Was a time that I thought our love could fly
and never, never fall
Why should I suppose we were never really meant
to be close to each other at all
No, I...
Didn't wanna have to do it
Didn't wanna have to be the one to say it
Didn't wanna have to do it
I kept a-hopin' there'd be somethin' to delay it again
Yeah, but then
No, I didn't wanna have to be the one to say "The end"
No no, not the end, no no no
The song "Didn't Want To Have To Do It" by Rotary Connection explores the reluctant feelings of breaking up with someone. The lyrics express the desire to avoid hurting the other person even though the relationship is not working out. The singer is aware that their partner is trying hard to make things work, but deep down they know that they can't keep up with the effort. The phrase "Didn't wanna have to do it" is repeated throughout the song to emphasize the reluctance to break up. The singer also wishes that something could happen to delay the inevitable end, but knows that it won't change the outcome.
The lyrics further explore the conflict between hope and reality. The singer remembers a time when they thought their love could never fall and fly high without any problem. However, they realize that they were never really meant to be together. The phrase "No, I..." shows that the singer backpedals from the positive outlook, and instead focuses on the difficulty of ending the relationship. In the end, the singer wishes that they did not have to be the one to say "The end." Still, they hesitate to use the words, hoping that there could be another way.
Line by Line Meaning
Didn't wanna have to do it
I didn't want to do what I had to do
Didn't wanna have to break your heart
I didn't want to hurt you emotionally
Didn't wanna have to do it
I really didn't want to do it
I kept a-hopin' from the very start
I had hope it would never come to this
But you kept on a-tryin'
But you kept trying to make it work
And I knew that you'd end up a-cryin'
And I knew you would be hurt and cry
And I knew I didn't wanna have to do it at all
And I knew I didn't want to be the one to cause you pain
Didn't wanna have to be the one to say it
I didn't want to be the one to deliver this message
I kept a-hopin' there'd be somethin' to delay it again
I was hoping for something to change so I wouldn't have to say it yet
Yeah, but then
But then reality hit me
No, I didn't wanna have to be the one to say "The end"
No, I didn't want to be the one to end the relationship
Was a time that I thought our love could fly
There was a time I thought our love could overcome anything
and never, never fall
and never fail
Why should I suppose we were never really meant
Why should I have ever thought that we were truly meant
to be close to each other at all
to be together at all
No, I...
No, I don't want to finish this sentence
No no, not the end, no no no
No, not the end, please not the end
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, CARLIN AMERICA INC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JOHN BENSON SEBASTIAN, JOHN SEBASTIAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
neight000
incredible version...just incredible
Joseph Harris
Great work by the late Bobby Simms and company. I bought this album back in 1968.ive been a fan since! 1968!! Little did I know that we would meet and do some work together😊 he was fun to work with as well, performing as Simms and cinnamon. R.i.p.bob.🎼🎸🎹🎷🎵🎵
Bamaboompa
One of my first albums.
This & "Lady Jane" were the best 2 cuts, IMO.
John Ulaszek
Also, Turn Me On
Beckola
I cried a thousand times over this song in the last 50 years... and in '68 fell in love with this voice~
Jerry Johnson
I listened to this album at college for the 3 months I went and was stoned out 99 percent of the time to my folks dismay because they paid for tuition and dorm and all I'm 66 now folks passed away long ago and I do feel a bit sad about that whole sceen✌😎
Tom Cooper
@keep smilin and parents let their kidz down too
keep smilin
Don't beat yourself up too bad,Jerry....What kid never let their folks down...I know I sure did.....But they keep loving you,regardless...peace ,pot,and microdot
keep smilin
wow,hope you're not still carrying that...they loved you and that is all that matters
robert accornero
it all goes to show that college sucks.