Anatomy of a Song: Hello It's Me
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Hello It's Me is one of those classic compositions that people tend to love, no matter who is singing it. Since the late 1960s, this song has crossed genres and captured the hearts of music lovers everywhere. Ironically, as loved as the song is, not many people know the origins or that there are 4,375 versions of it (ok, I kid... I can only think of about 12 versions of the song). The most interesting thing about the song to me? Its origins lie in the American Civil War.
The basic structure for Hello It's Me comes from one of the most recognizable songs from that time period. When Johnny Comes Marching Home was written in 1863 by Irish-American bandleader Patrick Gilmore. It's said that Gilmore wrote the song with his sister in mind, who was praying for the safe return of her fiancé, a Union soldier.
Fast forward 97 years, and famed jazz organist Jimmy Smith decides to record a version of the song...
If you're not already familiar with the music of Jimmy Smith, get familiar. He's one of 20th century jazz's greatest musicians. You may remember his name being in the news earlier this year because of his estate's lawsuit against Drake over a sampling dispute. (we will definitely be talking more about Jimmy Smith in depth later)
![Jimmy Smith](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/937f03_0d3de7e838d94abd8bc996c31ba95a38~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_842,h_900,al_c,q_85,enc_auto/937f03_0d3de7e838d94abd8bc996c31ba95a38~mv2.jpg)
Eight years after Jimmy releases his version, Nazz forms in Philadelphia, PA. Four members strong, Nazz was a psychedelic rock band marketed as a pop act, much like The Monkees. Lead guitarist Todd Rundgren heard Jimmy Smith's version of When Johnny Comes Marching Home and was inspired to write Hello It's Me from just the short introduction of the song.
...the main influence for "Hello It's Me" was an eight bar intro that Jimmy Smith played on a recording of "When Johnny Comes Marching Home." He had this whole sort of block chord thing that he did to set up the intro of the song. I tried to capture those changes, and those changes became what are the changes underneath "Hello It's Me." I then had to come up with melody and words, but the changes are actually almost lifted literally from something that was, from Jimmy Smith's standpoint, a throwaway.
— Todd Rundgren, puremusic.com
![Nazz, 1968. Todd Rundgren is 3rd from the left.](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/937f03_f94f7e48a0ef47e99d6666b95ba25eb4~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_455,h_441,al_c,q_80,enc_auto/937f03_f94f7e48a0ef47e99d6666b95ba25eb4~mv2.jpg)
In 1968, Nazz releases their self-titled debut album and the first single, Open My Eyes, isn't performing well on the charts. The B-side, however, did the exact opposite.
The story goes that a radio station in Boston accidentally played the B-side, Hello It's Me, and the popularity of the song soared. By 1970 the song had gained audiences all over the USA.
Todd Rundgren left the group in 1969 because of frustrations with the band's production. He moved to New York and educated himself on audio engineering and production. His intentions were to focus on the production of other bands and his hard work paid off. He was soon one of the most sought-after in the business.
Todd released his third album in 1973. Among the songs recorded, was a re-worked version of Hello, It's Me. This time, he sped up the tempo. The newly re-worked version was an instant hit, surpassing the popularity of the version he'd recorded with Nazz just four years earlier. It reached no. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100.
(Fun fact: Todd Rundgren believed he was the father of Liv Tyler until she was 8 years old and her true paternity was revealed. Todd and her mother, Bebe Buell, were in a long distance relationship when Bebe had a brief affair with Aerosmith front man Steven Tyler. Todd and Liv remain close to this day, even after changing her name from Liv Rundgren to Liv Rundgren Tyler.)
Two years later, The Isley Brothers included a sexier, slower version of the song on their twelfth album, Live It Up. It became a staple on R&B stations before The Quiet Storm was a thing. When (most) people think of the song, this is the version they are thinking of.
Another short two years after The Isley Brother's turned the song into a bedroom classic, Lani Hall recorded the song for her debut album, Hello It's Me. Lani is the wife of famed musician Herb Alpert.
Y'all know Herb Alpert, right? You may have heard the Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis produced collaboration he did with Lisa Keith and T̶h̶e̶ ̶G̶h̶o̶s̶t̶ ̶W̶h̶i̶s̶p̶e̶r̶e̶r̶ Janet Jackson in 1987.
If not, then surely you've heard his Grammy Award winning Rise
Rise is the song The Notorious B.I.G. sampled for Hypnotize
Lani's version of Hello It's Me is gorgeously haunting. There's a yearning in her voice that none of the previous versions of the song managed to capture.
1979 rolls around and Brooklyn-born singer Robin Beck records a version on her debut album, Sweet Talk. Her version features Luther Vandross and Irene Cara on background vocals. This is blue-eyed soul at its finest! Robin also has an impressive resume, singing backup for artists like Chaka Khan and Cher. I could hear a group like The Emotions covering the song and it sounding similar to Robin's version.
It would be almost 20 years before anyone else covered Hello, It's Me. In 1995, Bryce Wilson and Amel Larrieux formed Groove Theory and released their debut album. It featured a remake, closer to The Isley Brothers' rendition.
Four years later in 1999, Gerald Levert teamed up with Lil' Mo to record the song for The Mod Squad Soundtrack. I personally love Gerald Levert but think the song would've better been suited as a Lil Mo' solo.
In 2005, John Legend covered the song for a GAP compilation album. Favorite Songs featured contemporary artists performing some of their... wait for it........ favorite songs. John chose to cover Hello It's Me and...
The Queen of Hip Hop Soul gave the people what they were waiting on in 2007 when she included her Mark Ronson-produced cover as an iTunes bonus track from 2007's Growing Pains. Whereas each version prior had been made into a ballad (an ode to The Isley Brothers, no doubt), Mary's cover was much more in-line with Todd Rundgren's 1972 uptempo version.
In 2015, after a 5 year hiatus, soul songstress Erykah Badu released a telephone themed mixtape entitled "But You Caint Use My Phone." She teamed up with her ex, Outkast's Andre 3000, and duetted on an abridged version of the song. Hello was a return to The Isley Brother's smooth cover.
Which version is your favorite? I personally hold Todd Rundgren's 1972 take on the song as the GOAT. Robin Beck's cover holds the no. 1 spot for production and Amel Larrieux's vocal gives Groove Theory's version a slight edge above most. I love the way Mary J. Blige picked the tempo back up, but also love the way Erykah Badu smoothed it back out.
There are certain songs that I believe belong in some sort of Great Black American Songbook or something... Hello It's Me is one of those. Although the song didn't originally start out as an R&B song, I think Jimmy Smith's jazz influence coupled with The Isley Brothers' revolutionary quiet storm rendition place it in the category of R&B classic.
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