Source Material: Dawn Penn 'You Don't Love Me'

One of reggae's sureshot anthems is Dawn Penn's 'You Don't Love Me (No, No, No)'. What isn't as widely known is the song's past - this post will trace the history of 'You Don't Love Me', from its roots in blues music through its revival in dancehall, and its sample usage in the modern day.

The song's first appearance is attributed to Bo Diddley under the title 'She's Fine, She's Mine' from 1955. Other blues variations of the song include Clarence Edwards, Cornelius Edwards, and Butch Cage's 'You Don't Love Me' from 1959, Willie Cobbs' 'You Don't Love Me' from 1961, and Junior Wells' 'You Don't Love Me Baby'. Stax blueser Albert King covered 'You Don't Love Me' from his 1968 album 'Years Gone By' and a year later Ike and Tina Turner covered the song, titled 'You Don't Love Me (Yes I Know)', for their ultra-funky 1969 album 'Hunter'.

Dawn Penn's original version of 'You Don't Love Me (No, No, No)' was released in 1967, though most dancehall fans will know the 1995 remake of the song, also titled 'You Don't Love Me (No, No, No)'. Another notable version on the 'No, No, No' riddim is Big Youth's 1973 hit 'Screaming Target' from his album of the same title. Since the 1995 version, 'No, No, No' has become a must have for DJs inside and outside of dancehall. The song has been covered and sampled many times, including Melaaz's remarkable 1998 French language version titled 'Non Non Non' and Eve's less remarkable 'No, No, No' produced by Stephen Marley from her 2001 album 'Scorpion'. In 2005, Rihanna covered 'You Don't Love Me (No, No, No)' with Vybz Kartel on her dancehall inflected debut album 'Music of the Sun'.


The Lowdown:
Bo Diddley 'She's Fine, She's Mine'
from 'She's Fine, She's Mine' 10" (1955) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Clarence Edwards, Cornelius Edwards, and Butch Cage 'You Don't Love Me'
from 'Country Negro Jam Sessions' (1959) (MP3/CD)
Willie Cobbs 'You Don't Love Me'
from 'You Don't Love Me' 7" (1961) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Junior Wells 'You Don't Love Me Baby'
from 'Hoodoo Man Blues' (1964) (MP3/CD)
Albert King 'You Don't Love Me'
from 'Years Gone By' (1968) (MP3/CD)
Ike and Tina Turner 'You Don't Love Me (Yes I Know)'
from 'Hunter' (1969) (MP3 not available/Import CD)
Dawn Penn 'You Don't Love Me (No, No, No)'
from 'You Don't Love Me (No, No, No)' 7" (1967) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Dawn Penn 'You Don't Love Me (No, No, No)' (1995 Version)
from 'No No No' (1995) (MP3/CD not available)
Big Youth 'Screaming Target'
from 'Screaming Target' (1973) (MP3/CD)
Melaaz 'Non Non Non'
from 'Melaaz' (1998) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Eve 'No, No, No'
from 'Scorpion' (2001) (MP3/CD)
Clean Edit: 'No, No, No'
Rihanna 'You Don't Love Me (No, No, No)'
from 'Music of the Sun'(2005) (MP3/CD)

Related Posts:
Pull Up: Drum Song Riddim (Dawn Penn appearance)

Five On It: July 2008's Essentials

Back once again with Five On It, the last months five most essential beats. This months recap starts off with Otis Redding's 'Hard to Handle' featured in the second half of this blog's post on 'It Was Written' by Nas. 'Hard to Handle' will be covered in depth for a future post in this blog, but it shouldn't keep you from busting it out right now. It's kind of unbelievable to think about it, but it took 20 posts in this blog before the first mention of the Meters. 'Same Old Thing' from 'Struttin'' was one of the many breaks featured on part 1 of Pete Rock's Producer Profile. Without a doubt, many more Meters breaks are to come.

Both 'I Want to Take You Higher' by Sly and the Family Stone and 'Think (About It)' by Lyn Collins were mentioned in the first installment of Dr. Dre's Producer Profile. There is no doubt that even back in the late 80s, Dre could lace a beat. Finally, Kool and the Gang's widely used open drum track on 'N.T.' was mentioned in the first part of this blog's coverage of Main Source's 'Breaking Atoms'. 'N.T.' is one of the building blocks for hip-hop and is a necessity for all beatmakers who want to achieve classic golden age sounding tracks.

The Lowdown:
Otis Redding 'Hard to Handle'
from 'The Immortal Otis Redding' (1968) (MP3/CD)
The Meters 'Same Old Thing'
from 'Struttin'' (1969) (MP3/CD)
Sly and the Family Stone 'I Want to Take You Higher'
from 'Stand!' (1969) (MP3/CD)
Lyn Collins 'Think (About It)'
from 'Think (About It)' (1972) (MP3 not available/Import CD)
Kool and the Gang 'N.T.'
from 'Live at P.J.'s' (1971) (MP3/CD not available)
BONUS CUTS:
'I Want to Take You Higher' was a smash hit for Sly and the Family Stone, and like many smash hits in the 70s, it was covered extensively by peers. Kool and the Gang delivered a live version of 'I Want to Take You Higher' on 'Live at the Sex Machine'. Additionally, Ike and Tina Turner deliver a pretty slick version of 'I Want to Take You Higher' as well. Enjoy!

Rewind: Main Source 'Breaking Atoms' (Part 1)

'Breaking Atoms' has all of the ingredients of a modern day myth. It is the debut album of the short-lived rap unit Main Source, highly acclaimed upon release and leading to no less than five singles that went out of print as its stock started to rise. Add Nas (here as Nasty Nas) and early beats by super producer Large Professor to the mix and the interest in one of East Coast hip-hop's mostly widely recognized classics is risen.

One of 'Breaking Atoms'' indisputable classic cuts is the single 'Just Hangin' Out' that cribs samples from Gwen McCrae's '90% of Me Is You', Ike and Tina Turner's 'Bold Soul Sister', and most famously 'Bam Bam' by Sister Nancy (which was covered extensively in a past post on this blog). 'Looking at the Front Door' is the album's first and highest charting single, reaching #1 on the Billboard rap charts. 'Front Door' features, among other samples, bits of 'Think Twice' from Donald Byrd's 1975 album 'Stepping into Tomorrow' produced by Larry Mizell. Main Source's album cut 'Scratch and Kut' has the notable drum break from Kool and the Gang's live version of 'N.T.' from their album 'Live at P.J.'s' (the 'N.T.' drum break is a cornerstone of Large Pro's sound).

Check back for part 2 of 'Breaking Atoms', which will include the track that broke Nas to the rap world.

The Lowdown:
Main Source 'Just Hangin' Out', 'Looking at the Front Door', and 'Scratch and Kut'
from 'Breaking Atoms' (1990) (MP3/CD)
Gwen McCrae '90% of Me Is You'
from 'Rockin' Chair' (1975) (MP3 not available/CD)
Ike and Tina Turner 'Bold Soul Sister'
from 'Hunter' (1969) (MP3 not available/CD)
Sister Nancy 'Bam Bam'
from 'One, Two' (1982) (MP3/CD not available)
Donald Byrd 'Think Twice'
from 'Stepping into Tomorrow' (1975) (MP3/CD)
Kool and the Gang 'N.T.'
from 'Live at P.J.'s' (1972) (MP3/CD not available)