“Somebody’s Needin’ Somebody”
Conway Twitty
Written by Len Chera
Radio & Records
#1 (1 week)
June 15, 1984
Billboard
#1 (1 week)
July 7, 1984
Conway Twitty claims his place among the lost souls looking for love on “Somebody’s Needin’ Somebody.”
The opening verse establishes that there are folks all around town experiencing heartache, and it initially seems like Twitty is just going to be a third person narrator this time around. But with the chorus, Twitty reveals that all those heartbroken folks are suffering the same malady as him.
Twitty, of course, sings the fire out of this one. But the production is a step backward from his work with Jimmy Bowen, with the biggest detriment being the return of overpowering backup singers. We didn’t need those ladies chanting “somebody, somebody.” They just get in Twitty’s way.
Production aside, we’ve got a great song delivered with Twitty’s typical excellence. Two out of three ain’t bad.
“Somebody’s Needin’ Somebody” gets a B.
Every No. 1 Single of the Eighties
Previous: Alabama, “When We Make Love” |
I like those ladies!
They are the “somebody” haunting the lonely edges of people’s lives, the just out-of-reach ghostly presences we don’t want to admit we believe in, much less need.
They aren’t so much in the way as they are simply unavoidable. Things we bump into in the night.
I love how the lyrics describe the different lonely scenes around town. It reminds me of the Bobby Braddock song “Revelation” recorded by Both Waylon Jennings and Joe Nichols describing different responses around the world to a revelatory cosmic event.
I don’t think the spooky, moody charm
of this Twitty song works without those back ground vocals. The magical emotional time of this song feels like a quarter to three in the morning.
Twitty remains a vocal tour de force.
It is a gift that Twitty, Haggard, and Conlee seem to be synchronized with their single release schedules and success.