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 Price
Solomon Burke Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Heart for you, darling
And I said, if you ever need me
All you had to do was call
I stood up and I told the
Whole wide world that
You were good for me, baby
Yes, then you laughed and
You called me your personal clown
In front of all your friends
You walked away and you left me
Standing up like a fool
I couldn't even go to my
Friends or my relations
All I could do was stand up
And hang my head in shame
You see what you cost me
You cost my mother
The love of my father
Sister, my brother too
Oh, yes, you did
You see now what you've caused
And I know just what I lost
And I know what the price
I paid, I paid, I paid
For loving someone like you
Oh, I can hear my friends saying
I told you (told you) I told you
And I can hear my mother say
Fool, I told you
You see what you
Oh, yes, you do
You look back and
You wonder sometimes
And I see the price I payed
I payed for loving someone
Someone, someone, someone like you
Baby, I don't care
What the world might say
I'm gonna love you any old way
And although you let me down, baby
My, my, my, deep down in my heart
I feel for nobody else but you
(Say what you want)
And I don't care what my
Mother and my father might say
(Say what you like)
And I don't care if the
World talk about me, darling
But, oh, sometimes, sometimes
I just sit in my lonely room
And I moan all to myself
Why don't come back home
Now holler to me, baby
My, my, my, my, my baby...
In Solomon Burke's song The Price, he is expressing the pain and regret he feels after giving his heart to someone who didn't value it. The opening lines convey his willingness to give himself completely to the person he loves and his belief that they will reciprocate his love. However, the chorus reveals that this was not the case, and he was publicly humiliated by the person he trusted. Burke describes the loneliness and shame he experiences after this betrayal, and how it affects not only him but also his family. He knows he made a mistake in trusting this person, but his heart still yearns for their love.
The second verse further emphasizes the repercussions of his actions. His friends and family warned him about getting involved with someone like this, but he didn't want to listen. Burke's passionate delivery of the lyrics reflects the pain he feels from the consequences of his choices. Even though he knows he shouldn't continue loving this person, he can't help it. Despite everything, he still longs for them to come back to him.
The Price is an excellent example of how music can convey deep emotions and personal struggles. Burke's lyrics show how vulnerable a person can be when they give their heart to someone who doesn't deserve it. The pain and regret he feels are relatable to anyone who has been in a similar situation, and the song serves as a reminder to be careful about who we allow into our hearts.
Line by Line Meaning
After I hung up my
After I gave you my heart and my love
Heart for you, darling
My heart belonged to you, my beloved
And I said, if you ever need me
I promised to be there for you, if you needed me
All you had to do was call
A simple call from you would bring me running to your side
I stood up and I told the
I proudly announced to
Whole wide world that
Everyone and anyone
You were good for me, baby
You were the best thing for me, my love
Yes, then you laughed and
But then you laughed at me and
You called me your personal clown
You treated me like your clown or fool
In front of all your friends
In front of everyone you knew
You walked away and you left me
You left me, abandoned and alone
Standing up like a fool
Feeling embarrassed and foolish
I couldn't even go to my
I had nowhere to go, not even to
Friends or my relations
My family or my friends
All I could do was stand up
The only thing I could do was stand
And hang my head in shame
Feeling guilty and dishonored
You see what you cost me
You see what you did to me, how you hurt me
You cost my mother
You caused my mother
The love of my father
My father to lose his love and respect for me
Sister, my brother too
You made my siblings turn against me as well
Oh, yes, you did
Yes, you caused all of this damage
You see now what you've caused
You can now see the results of your actions
And I know just what I lost
I know exactly what I gave up
And I know what the price
I know how much it cost me
I paid, I paid, I paid
I suffered and endured the consequences
For loving someone like you
For devoting myself to you, my love
Oh, I can hear my friends saying
I can still hear my friends telling me
I told you (told you) I told you
That they warned me that you would hurt me
And I can hear my mother say
And I hear my mother telling me
Fool, I told you
That I was foolish to trust you, as she warned me
You see what you
You can see, now
Oh, yes, you do
What you have done to me
You look back and
You remember, now
You wonder sometimes
You may even regret it now and then
And I see the price I payed
I see now what I went through
I payed for loving someone
What I suffered was the price
Someone, someone, someone like you
For falling in love with someone like you
Baby, I don't care
But, my love, I don't care
What the world might say
What others might think of us
I'm gonna love you any old way
My love for you will never change
And although you let me down, baby
Even though you disappointed me, my beloved
My, my, my, deep down in my heart
But deep in my heart
I feel for nobody else but you
I only feel love for you
(Say what you want)
(People can say whatever they want)
And I don't care what my
I don't care what my
Mother and my father might say
Parents think or say
(Say what you like)
(Others can gossip or judge)
And I don't care if the
But, it doesn't matter if others
World talk about me, darling
Talk about me behind my back, my love
But, oh, sometimes, sometimes
But sometimes, sometimes
I just sit in my lonely room
I find myself alone in my room
And I moan all to myself
And I complain to myself
Why don't come back home
Why don't you come back to me
Now holler to me, baby
Now call out to me, my love
My, my, my, my, my baby...
My beloved...
Contributed by Kaelyn M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.