‘Nobody But Me’: The story of soul music’s most negative song
Soul music has a reputation as being the music of optimism, euphoria and, above all else, dancing. For decades, audiences have relished in moving their feet to the sweet sounds of American soul music, from the mainstream hits of Motown to the obscure and forgotten gems of the northern soul scene. Despite its reputation, however, soul music is just as capable of capturing complex emotions and melancholy as any other genre. Even when the tunes sound upbeat, the lyrics themselves can often tell a very different story.
The pages of funk and soul history are littered with countless incredible performers and songwriters, but few could rival the colossal and enduring success of Ohio trio The Isley Brothers. From their initial formation in 1954, the brothers quickly demonstrated their incredible songwriting ability, penning countless hits both for themselves as well as other artists. During their early period, the trio wrote songs that would later become hits for artists like Lulu, Chaka Khan, Whitney Houston, Wham, and even The Beatles.
Often, these cover versions would eclipse the success of The Isley Brothers’ original recordings, as was the case with ‘Nobody But Me’. Originally penned and recorded by the trio back in 1962, released as a single via Wand Records, the track, which blended elements of rock ‘n’ roll, R&B, and soul, failed to chart.
This lack of initial success was not wholly surprising, even for a group as successful as The Isley Brothers. Their version of the track deviated too far away from their usual funk and soul sound, which left audiences largely confused and alienated by the song’s rock leanings. Furthermore, the general policy employed by record labels during the oversaturated musical period of the 1960s was to release as much music as possible and hope that something worked. So, if a record flopped, it would quickly be eclipsed by something new.
Quickly, the original recording of the song was forgotten about – aside from a cult following of fans – and the Isley Brothers moved on to bigger and better things. That would not remain the case forever, though. In 1967, the song was unearthed and dusted off by a fellow Ohio band, The Human Beinz. An unknown band at the time, the group recorded a cover of ‘Nobody But Me’, updating the track for modern audiences by incorporating elements of soul and even psychedelic rock, which went down a storm with audiences.
Reaching number eight in the Billboard pop singles chart in 1968, ‘Nobody But Me’ allowed The Human Beinz to join the growing cast of 1960s one-hit wonders, but the song itself seemed like an unlikely pick for the pop charts. For a song so invariably tied to soul and lyrics detailing different dance crazes from over the years, it is certainly an easy track to dance to. However, its lyrics are undeniably negative, in stark contrast to the wider pop music sense of the late 1960s.
Within the lyrics on The Human Beinz version of the song, singer Dick Belley sings the word ‘no’ over one hundred times and ‘nobody’ nearly 50 times on top of that. These stats are particularly impressive when taking into consideration the fact that the song itself is only just above two minutes in length. Thus, the hit was given an affectionate title as being soul’s most negative song.
For a song so apparently negative, The Human Beinz managed to imbue The Isley Brothers’ track with an incredible sense of late-1960s psychedelia and soul. The new life they breathed into the track committed it to the collective musical consciousness for decades, and thanks to various other cover versions and appearances in film and television, it is still infecting audiences with its confusing blend of soul euphoria and lyrical negativity to this very day.
