He began his adult life as a young preacher in Philadelphia, where he hosted a gospel radio show. In the 1960s, he signed with Atlantic Records and began moving towards more secular music. His first hit was Just Out Of Reach Of My Open Arms, a cover of a country song. Though well-received by both peers and critics, and attaining a few moderate pop and several major R&B hits, Burke never could quite break through into the mainstream as did his contemporaries like Sam Cooke, Otis Redding and Aretha Franklin.
Nevertheless, his emotive delivery, polished production, as well as the touches of country and pop sensibility in his music won him admirers and imitators. In 1964 he wrote and recorded Everybody Needs Somebody To Love his most prominent bid for an enduring soul standard. Covered by the Rolling Stones the same year, other well-known versions include one by Wilson Pickett and another a decade and a half later in the 1980 feature film by The Blues Brothers. Burke's biggest hit was a 1969 cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival's Proud Mary.
His career was to some degree revived in 2002, with the release of the album Don't Give Up On Me, produced by Joe Henry, where he sang songs written specifically for the album by a roster of top-rank artists, including Bob Dylan, Brian Wilson, Van Morrison, Elvis Costello, Tom Waits and Joe Henry himself.
He is featured in the 2004 movie Lightning in a Bottle singing Turn on Your Love Light and Down in the Valley.
As of October 2002 Burke was the father of 14 daughters and 7 sons with 64 grandchildren and 8 great grandchildren. Several of his children and grandchildren have had successful careers in various facets of the music industry, though none as much so as their patriarch.
Burke died, arriving at Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam where he was supposed to perform with Dutch band De Dijk with whom he recorded an album, entitled Hold on Tight.
Rock icon Mick Jagger performed a tribute to Burke at the 2011 Grammy Awards, laying down Burke's classic hit "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love".
A cover of Everybody Needs Somebody To Love received huge exposure as the music for Amazon's 2019 Christmas commercial.
The More
Solomon Burke Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The more I want your warm caress
The more I see you
Is more days I have of happiness
The more I kiss you the more I thrill inside
And I want more and more and more of you
The more I hear your voice
The more loving that it sounds
The more I want to be around
The more that you hold me
The more secure that I feel
And I know more and more this
Love of ours is really real
We don't have to say we'll
Climb the highest mountain
We don't have to say we'll
Swim the deepest sea
'Cause with a love like
Ours that's really real, really real
We don't have to lie about impossibilities
The more of the many pleasures darling that
We share give me more happy memories
In the hours you cannot be here
The more I think of you
The more I don't want to forget
And the more we we see each other
The more we're like lovers that just met
The lyrics of Solomon Burke's song "The More" express the increasing intensity of his love for someone. He sings about the physical, emotional, and psychological impact that his lover has on him. The more he touches her, the more he desires her warmth and affection. The more he sees her, the happier he feels. The more he kisses her, the more thrilled he becomes. And he wants more and more of her.
As the song progresses, Burke also sings about how the couple's love doesn't need grand gestures or promises. Their love is real and doesn't require any exaggeration or pretense. The more time they spend together, the more they feel like they've just met and fallen in love.
The final verse of the song is particularly poignant, as Burke expresses how much he thinks of his lover even when they're apart. He doesn't want to forget her, and the more they see each other, the more their love grows.
Overall, "The More" is a heartfelt and romantic song about the all-encompassing nature of love and how it can deepen and strengthen over time.
Line by Line Meaning
The more I touch you
Whenever I make contact with you
The more I want your warm caress
It intensifies my desire for your tender touch
The more I see you
The frequency of our interactions
Is more days I have of happiness
Directly proportional to my happiness quotient
The more I kiss you the more I thrill inside
The bodily pleasure that your kisses invoke within me multiplies
And I want more and more and more of you
I crave for your company beyond what I already get
The more I hear your voice
The pleasant sound of your speech
The more loving that it sounds
Amplifies the affectionate appeal of my feelings
The more I'm with you
The duration and frequency of our togetherness
The more I want to be around
Increase in my need to spend time in your company
The more that you hold me
The tightness of your embrace
The more secure that I feel
The level of comfort and assurance that it generates
And I know more and more this
My confidence and faith in our relationship
Love of ours is really real
Is strengthened with each passing moment
We don't have to say we'll
We needn't voice our declarations to
Climb the highest mountain
Prove our devotion by scaling the highest peak
We don't have to say we'll
Our intentions and commitment are evident without us saying
Swim the deepest sea
We don't have to take up daunting challenges to prove ourselves
'Cause with a love like
The depth and quality of our emotions
Ours that's really real, really real
Is already beyond doubt and tangible
We don't have to lie about impossibilities
We don't need to exaggerate or pretend
The more of the many pleasures darling that
As we indulge in our shared happy moments
We share give me more happy memories
Each experience increases the joy of our memories
In the hours you cannot be here
When we're away from each other
The more I think of you
My thoughts increasingly revolve around you
The more I don't want to forget
I fear to let go of any detail or memory of you
And the more we we see each other
As we meet each other more frequently
The more we're like lovers that just met
The freshness and passion in our feelings get reignited
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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