When Something is Wrong with my Baby - Sam and Dave
One of the enduring joys of listening to Stax soul music is the work of Sam and Dave. Most famous nowadays for their US hit "Soul Man",
they recorded a series of soul classics mostly written by Isaac Hayes and David Porter and backed by the Stax house band which included Booker T and the MG's and the Memphis Horns. Sam was (and still is) Sam Moore who sang tenor, and Dave was Dave Prater who sang baritone. Both were ex-gospel singers which shows in their music. They very famously didn't get along with each other at all, so that at the height of their success they didn't talk to each other at all for years on end, allegedly communicating only through intermediaries. The only thing that kept them together was their continuing stream of hit singles in the US.
Their live concerts were legendary which many put down to their mutual hatred as each tried to outsing the other.
Here Sam leads off, slowly building the sound alongside the Stax musicians, singing beautifully.
Then Dave takes over:
"Just what she means to me now
ooooh you just wouldn't understand....."
and it's so heartfelt you think he's talking to Sam, as he proceeds to sing the pants off his partner. It's a love song but it there's always tension there, which comes out as passion. That's the greatness of soul music. That two people at odds with each other can re-harness their negative feelings and turn them into something beautiful and passionate. It gives new meaning to the term "love hate relationship".