Date: Nov 8, 1969
Weeks: 3
Before Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, Jr. sang a song from the perspective of a married couple, she sang lead on this song, which really surprised me. Considering I didn't like that song, and I only sort of liked parts of the last 5th Dimension song I covered, I didn't have a lot of hope for this one. But I really like it quite a bit.
I just enjoy the overall sound. There's a classic, classy sound to the music here. I think the focus on piano, with drums, bass, and some horn and string accents, creates an appealingly charming sound. It's energetic and upbeat. I often complain that so many songs in the 70s use so many instruments to create so little sound. This is my counter-example. It uses many of the same instruments that are so popular in 70s pop music, but it uses them to create a full, complete, engaging sound. This is a cover of an earlier song by the songwriter, Laura Nyro, and there was also a cover by Lesley Gore. But both those versions lack the fullness of sound that is present in this version.
Marilyn McCoo really sells this song, too. She belts this one out with enthusiasm, possibly because the song had a bit of a personal meaning to her, since she was engaged to, but not yet married to, Billy Davis at the time. They even had fun with this during TV performances of the song. I think she also captures the right spirit of the lyrics.
The lyrics surprised me a bit, because rarely in pop songs do the singers call out the name of the person the love song is about. Sure, once in a while you'll get a "Sherry" (#78) or a "Sara" (#591), but those are deliberately reflected in the title. I think this song says the name "Bill" more times than either of those, too. Regardless, the singer is trying to figure out if Bill is ready to commit to marriage. And I like the sentiment. She's getting fed up with waiting, and she doesn't want to give up on Bill, but she wants to know if he's going to make the commitment. I suppose you can have your own interpretation of what she'll do if he says no or tries to string her along further. Personally, McCoo's performance makes me think she's going to drop him and move on.
My verdict: Like it. It's charming and energetic, what's not to like?
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