That Lovin' Feeling (Mono) King Curtis

• 1 The Shadow Of Your Smile 03:00
• 2 Michelle 02:11
• 3 Cryin' Time 02:40
• 4 I Left My Heart In San Francisco 02:18
• 5 Moonglow 03:08
• 6 Spanish Harlem 02:54
• 7 You've Lost That Loving Feeling 03:24
• 8 What Now My Love 02:28
• 9 And I Love Her 02:30
• 10 Make The World Go Away 02:09
• 11 The Girl From Ipanema 02:46
• 12 On Broadway 02:15
• Total Runtime 31:43

Info for That Lovin' Feeling (Mono)

Of one of the great sax men of the ‘50s, ‘60s, and – all too briefly – the ‘70s: King Curtis, who can be heard blowing on songs by, among others, the Coasters (“Yakety Yak”), Buddy Holly (“Reminiscing”), John Lennon (“It’s So Hard”), and The Shirelles (“Boys”). Beyond his gigs as a sideman, however, Curtis was regularly recording his own albums, including this effort from 1966.

Whether it’s the best King Curtis album or not is a statement best made by others, but we’ll at least say that That Lovin’ Feeling can certainly serve as an easy gateway into the saxophonist’s solo catalog, given that it features numerous songs that’ll be familiar to just about any music fan, including his takes on the Beatles’ “And I Love Her” and “Michelle,” Tony Bennett’s signature tune, “I Left My Heart in San Francisco,” ‘60s pop classics like “Spanish Harlem,” “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling,” and “On Broadway,” and even Buck Owens’ “Cryin’ Time.” And if that’s not enough to intrigue you, consider that the arrangements for the album were done by the legendary Arif Mardin, who certainly knew his way around an orchestra, not to mention just about anything and everything else connected to music.

That Lovin’ Feelin’ might not have been Curtis’s biggest hit – the only single that charted was “Spanish Harlem,” and even that only made it to #89 on the Billboard Hot 100 – and it probably wouldn’t be most people’s pick for the one must-own album in his catalog (if pressed, we’d likely go with Instant Groove), but it’s still got a lot of fans, and if you’ve never heard it, here’s an opportunity to remedy that.

King Curtis
was the last of the great R&B tenor sax giants. He came to prominence in the mid-'50s as a session musician in New York, recording, at one time or another, for most East Coast R&B labels. A long association with Atlantic/Atco began in 1958, especially on recordings by the Coasters. He recorded singles for many small labels in the '50s — his own Atco sessions (1958-1959), then Prestige/New Jazz and Prestige/TruSound for jazz and R&B albums (1960-1961). Curtis also had a number one R&B single with "Soul Twist" on Enjoy Records (1962).

He was signed by Capitol (1963-1964), where he cut mostly singles, including "Soul Serenade." Returning to Atlantic in 1965, he remained there for the rest of his life. He had solid R&B single success with "Memphis Soul Stew" and "Ode to Billie Joe" (1967). Beginning in 1967, Curtis started to take a more active studio role at Atlantic, leading and contracting sessions for other artists, producing with Jerry Wexler, and later on his own. He also became the leader of Aretha Franklin's backing unit, the Kingpins. He compiled several albums of singles during this period. All aspects of his career were in full swing at the time he was murdered in 1971.

This album contains no booklet.